Teachers and students participate in lessons about mental health, school events and policies, or culture every Wednesday during advisory in students’ second period classes due to mandatory Wellness Wednesday’s by the county.
People in favor of Wellness Wednesday could say that they like the extra time in second period if they need extra help or support from their teachers once the lesson is over. The lessons go by quickly and do not take up the whole advisory time, so there is time to get extra work done or to relax afterwards in class.
However, during regular advisory days students can still get the support they need from teachers without Wellness Wednesday. Sitting still in a classroom once the lesson is over can compel students to feel trapped and anxious to move around so their brains can catch a break. Being stuck in second period can also affect students’ focus levels in their next two classes before lunchtime. Students are so used to being able to move around during advisory and sit somewhere besides a classroom to clear their mind.
The supporters of Wellness Wednesday may also say that the lessons are beneficial for students and staff to become more culturally aware and perceptive. There are often lessons created by language honors societies and ethnic clubs that honor and educate the faculty and adolescents at our school.
While it is important to grow up being culturally aware and exposed to other cultures surrounding you, a majority of students do not end up listening to these brief lectures. Students are mainly focused on using this time to complete their homework, talk to friends in their class, or play on their phones. Students are so used to using this daily time to get their own responsibilities finished, that the lessons end up being ignored by a majority of students.
People who are in favor of Wellness Wednesday may claim that it is a needed time to announce important county and school information like sporting events, standardized testing information, or dues for clubs and other societies. For example, the announcement of implementing student IDs in our school was mainly found out through Wellness Wednesday when the second period teachers were vocally saying the new policy to students.
However, much of the information that students must know is so important that it is mentioned in morning announcements and on Canvas as well. It is unnecessary for the county to take away a whole day of advisory that could be spent studying or refocusing for the next two classes to solely hear announcements that have been displayed in multiple other locations.
Lastly, to satisfy both those in favor of Wellness Wednesday and those against this concept can be resolved without strenuous changes. We should still have the lessons in second period every Wednesday, but once they are finished we should be dismissed from class for the remainder of advisory time. This will allow more freedom to get responsibilities done in school, and students will have an incentive to listen during the lessons since it will be known that they can leave class afterwards.
