Adapting to Advisory

When we return from a restful break, typical Exeter lives begin, and so do typical complaints, especially with regards to the new advising block. “I always do my Chemistry homework that format. How am I supposed to finish it in 30 minutes?” a friend told me. Other complaints include: loss of nap time and the advising block’s general lack of purpose.Let’s look at it again. We all agree that the current interaction between advisers and advisees is sometimes inadequate and needs to be improved. Although most students live in the same dorm as their advisers, some students talk to their advisers as rarely as once a term. Also, some students know their advisers, but they often do not seek their advice because they are scared to do so. The perceived distance between students and faculty is too great.The advising format is designed to bridge this gap. Arguments about the specifics of this block have been raged across campus for weeks. If we are to have an advising block, it should be on Wednesday, not after Assembly on Tuesday or Friday, because sometimes the Assembly is longer than half a format and there is no other place in our timetable to fit this block in. Should we make the advising meeting optional, in case advisers or students are sometimes unavailable? No, because that would not solve the current problem of the gap between advisers and advisees. Should we meet less often, say, biweekly or monthly instead of weekly? Perhaps. While all these issues still need to be thought over to make the meetings more effective and satisfactory, they are secondary to the core point of advising meeting.Although students may be tempted to sleep in or complete homework during this time, the advising format has a clear purpose, and it has the potential to achieve a lot with our cooperation. The format is not just a time for advisers to make announcements; it is as useful as what we students make out of it. We have our say, and we can shape the meeting by our contributions. But if we approach it as a waste of time and do not contribute to the meeting, we achieve nothing—it will inevitably become an actual waste of time.How often do we turn our school’s clear benefits into something grudging and obligatory? Assemblies are a clear example of this. The school invites acclaimed writers, innovators, scientists, politicians and artists from all over the country to talk to us twice a week. Their speeches are generally engaging and informative—a product of lifetime expertise. With such talks, the school clearly intends to broaden our vision beyond the Exeter bubble and to increase our knowledge of the world beyond ourselves as we prepare to enter it.Many students take due advantage of this opportunity and go to Assembly every week, even without Mr. Cosgrove checking attendance. However, some of us find creative ways to miss these lectures, reasoning that they are not essential to our academic lives. I would argue that they are in fact an integral part of life at Exeter. By listening to a speaker, we learn how to convey what we care about with passion, how to make arguments articulately and how to react to the audience at the same time. Aren’t all these skills applicable to academics, and more importantly, to real life? But those with negative thoughts in mind still refuse to cooperate by sleeping or texting during Assembly, and the great benefits that the school tries to bring to us are lost.The advising format saga largely follows the same plot. This, like Assembly, was created by the school to support and complement the students’ normal education. Similarly, the advising format was made required so that students would not miss out on the opportunity. Most important of all, adviser meetings require some effort from students to be truly meaningful.In my own adviser meetings, we take responsibility to shape our meetings and make the best out of them. We discuss both social life and academics. We share stories from Thanksgiving break about our families and new hobbies we’ve picked up. We talk about interesting news stories and upcoming events. We bring up issues in the dorm and discuss potential solutions. We share tips and experiences on time management and exam preparations. We believe that the meetings will work, and because we try to make them work, they do. Our meetings become an intimate circle of sharing and giving, thinking and understanding. Through these formats, we maintain a close relationship with our adviser. From our discussions, our adviser also has a better understanding of all aspects of our lives and can offer even better advice.Advising format can be meaningful and productive if you keep a positive attitude and invest in it. And I assure you, it is a worthwhile investment.