Meet Me in the Middle Ch. 12: Advisories--A Proposal for Change

Wormeli sets advisories up in 3 forms (full day, monthly and individual) throughout this chapter, in my school our advisory teacher was the teacher we had first block. Our advisory teachers basically took attendance and gave out report cards at the end of each semester. We had no real contact with them, whereas the advisories described in this chapter seem extremely beneficial. Wormeli first introduced the chapter with a story, I kept wondering what the point of telling me about a field trip was until I reached the end. This field trip was an advisory trip that should have never happened due to weather, but in the end the students all learned how to work together as a team. They grew together. Through the teacher’s flexibility, she learned that there are teachable moments everywhere, for instance, page 144 hit home when the kid said, “Is this what you meant by irony?” A classroom is not the only place to learn or teach. I see the full day advisories as the most beneficial set-up because the advisor has the time to get to know all of his/her advisees and have active, engaging conversations that build confidence and independence. Having an advisor, a home-base, gives all students a place to feel safe and a person to confide in. I wish my school would have had something like this in middle school because it helps build life-long relationships as well as gain ownership for actions. I also agree full-heartedly with having the guidance counselor involved in advisory because then it gives the students another loyal person to trust and confide in.