Do you ever find yourself bored during the advisory period, and feel like you have no choice but to go to the cafe? Well I certainly do.

Advisory should be similar to recess if you’re not a part of Academic Overtime (AOT). 

According to the Centers for Disease Control, it is important that kids from kindergarten to 12th grade are physically active during the day and not only is that beneficial for your well being but it also encourages peers to interact with each other in activities of their choice.

Advisory should be treated as recess and you might think recess is a silly thing, but in reality it’s an opportunity to get active for the day. Recess is taken out right when you get to middle school. The reason for that is because schools believe that students should be more “serious” about their education and recess is only for little kids. 

The Grayson School also agrees that the reason why they take recess out in middle school is because it’s the transition to high school. Therefore, they should get the kids prepared to become more independent and to grow up.

Imagine sitting at a desk for eight hours and the only exercise you receive is transitioning from class to class.

Although, students receive gym class, it’s different from having the freedom to be physically active and not have to follow certain instructions. 

Majority of students during advisory just sit in the café because there isn’t enough room in the gym for enough students to be physically active. A  result of that you’re just going from sitting on a chair for hours to sitting for another 40 minutes when you could get some exercise in. 

If the school had more options for gym during advisory there would be more students with energy for their remaining classes.

 According to the World Health Organization kids from ages 5-17 years old should receive at least an hour of physical activity. Advisory is a great opportunity for students who don’t do any sports to get their exercise done for the day. 

I’m sure many students get home from school and are tired, not having the energy to do anything physically active. Having more options in the gym during advisory can also reduce the amount of screen time during school hours. Many kids sit in the cafe and just go on their phones because they have no other option on what to do.

The problem here is the amount of space and capacity of the gym. Especially, if you’re someone who likes to get a snack in the café before heading to the gym. You would have to hope that when you come back there’s room for you, but there most likely isn’t. Not only do you feel rushed but you now might not even be able to get in the gym, and would have to return to the cafe. 

There should be more gym options during advisory whether that be having to use the other gym, as well, or come up with another solution, but something must be done about it because physical activity is very important for students.