Forget math and English, advisory is what students actually need

A recent neighborhood research study conducted by a renowned mathematician and reading specialist, who goes under the alias of “Mr. Deaton”, suggests that the traditional curriculum of arithmetic and literature is outdated. The results have persuaded the Edina Public Schools district to shift their focus away from traditional education and instead devote more resources towards a comprehensive and all-encompassing advisory course. 

Thoughtfully placed in between fourth and fifth periods for only 25 minutes every even day, advisory is a time for reflection, absent-minded phone scrolling, and repeated viewings of Student Council videos. “I legitimately cannot tell you the last time I have used math as an adult,” Deaton said. “However, I spend, give or take, about 75 percent of my time at work on my phone trying to ignore whatever ‘facts’ I’m supposed to be researching.” If Edina High School claims to prepare students for life outside of school, expanding the length of advisory would be a great way to do this, especially since advisory realistically prepares students for the scenarios that  they will face in a post-graduation world.

High school is a stressful place for students, and advisory gives them a chance to relax in between difficult classes. “I love Advisory because it’s a great chance to see my friends, form bonds with my teachers, and best of all, because the teachers care even less than we do, it gives me a chance to vape in the bathroom for as long as I want without anyone getting suspicious,” freshman Ron Smoderlarious said. Students need the time to blow off steam—or rather, vape clouds—every now and then, and advisory gives them the chance to do this in a safe and judge-free environment.

Aside from Advisory, Flex Block also teaches students—especially underclassmen—important life lessons. “An open campus sticker on my student ID may not exist, but neither does a person checking for them at Door 7, so I see me leaving as a win-win situation for both the school and me,” freshman Monika Sayori said. Without Flex Block, students would have a much harder time learning important skills, like getting out of school in a way that looks as shady as possible. Flex should clearly be longer and perhaps replace all of sixth period in order to help out our underclassmen friends. 

Overall, EHS clearly does not place enough emphasis on both Advisory and Flex Block, and the amount of time for both should be increased. I suggest Advisory is reformed  into an everyday class, and offer students who excel an AP Advisory curriculum. Instead of teaching students the Pythagorean Theorem, we need to switch to teaching the ‘Get Out of Flex Block While Looking as Shady as Possible Theorem’.