Work-life balance – almost impossible for high school students. Parents, teachers, administrators expect the most from us, always. Overwhelming amounts of work – piles and piles. After school, no relief.  Extracurriculars take up so much time.  When we finally arrive home, we can’t unwind. We have mounds of homework, and little gas left in us. It’s inevitable; an exhausting cycle.

 The demands of balancing academics, extracurriculars, homework and life are getting harder to juggle every day for teens. Grownups keep telling us that it’s important to be productive. To not waste a second. Fifteen extra minutes can make a big difference. In my opinion, our school could make an important change to the Advisory program and give students time back in our schedules, providing us with some relief. 

In theory, the Advisory period is meant to serve as a place for students to communicate openly with their advisor and each other. However, it rarely works as it was intended. The Advisories lack focus and feel forced. Teenagers are not excited to sit in a circle four days a week for fifteen minutes and talk about their “feelings.” Instead, they mess around and waste time. In my opinion, the 15-minute Advisory periods should be used as personal time; time to prepare for our day, time to organize ourselves, time to do more academic work, or time to just sit and relax. 

If the 15-minute Advisory periods were turned into personal time, they could also be used by students to have quick club meetings. Currently, all club meetings are after school, which adds more time to the day. The option to have quick club meetings would help all students, especially those who cannot stay after school because they take the bus.

With those 15 extra minutes, students could also get additional guidance from teachers. Office hours are important and should continue to be held after school. But providing students with a bit of extra time during the day to ask teachers for help with assignments would be helpful. 

I don’t think that Advisory should be eliminated completely. If done right, Advisory periods can provide important mental health support, guidance, and they can help students develop better interpersonal skills. What I propose is that we turn the 15-minute Advisories into personal time and keep the 45-minute Wednesday Advisory as regular Advisory, and make the weekly Advisory meetings more structured and engaging.  I believe that making an Advisory a one-time-per-week meeting will make students take it more seriously and learn to see its value. Advisors will also focus better because it is a once-a-week extended meeting and not a daily, rushed, unfocused meeting.

With these changes to the Advisory program, I feel our school will be helping students, allowing us time to use those 15 minutes more productively, helping us take better care of our needs,  alleviating after school workload, helping reduce our stress levels, and supporting  our mental health.