Within the current school year, we have not had advisory. Although some enjoy this, personally, I do not. Many of the teachers have seen a decline in grades throughout the middle schoolers, and high schoolers. I believe taking away advisory has played a major role in these statistics. Some students do not need the extra time/help, but for those that are slower learners, or miss school for sickness etc., it has been quite difficult. They have no designated time to pursue good grades on their homework. Not only has it been difficult in this aspect, it has also been a struggle for the organizations such as Student Council, NHS, DFY, and class fundraisers, to find a time to discuss what is needing to be done. Currently, Student Council is having to meet in the mornings at 7:15, to be able to plan everything, and this is not something that teenagers who are still developing should have to do. As one of the leaders within this group, I have seen a decline in attendance because students are not willing to wake up early. Do you enjoy not having advisory, or do you think it is a necessity for the students within our school?

Growing up I had always hoped to learn another language, yet it never happened because I did not have the time nor opportunities to do so. However, this would have been a much easier quest for me if it was offered during school. As we all know we need at least one language credit during high school to pass. In our high school this credit can even come from band or choir–which in my opinion should not be considered a language credit. There is only so much one can learn from one semester of spanish (or otherwise). Although this is not a large problem within schools, would it be beneficial and sustainable to require students to take a language class from kindergarten through high school? If so, what language would be the best, or should there be multiple options? 

I believe that it would be a good opportunity for schools to require kids to learn a second language, because it broadens incoming adults to have more opportunities when it comes to communicating and interacting with diverse groups of people with new perspectives. A reference for the sustainability of this idea is how Canada teaches students in elementary school both English and French, and this has been their standard for a while now. I think every school would simply need one or two more teachers to make this proposal function, and it would go a long way for students' futures and increase the quality of public education. It could be more challenging to offer more than one language, so that each kid could choose what they desire, because there would have to be more teachers to do so. I think that the best language for this would be Spanish, as it is one of the largest languages.