The class meetings held on Friday, Dec. 2 were not effective for students. 

The goal of these meetings was to hold students accountable for the number of tardies and low grades that were present in each grade level. However, there were no reforms or ideas given to students to help with academic performance and presence. 

Rather than seating students of all grade levels to give insight and aid on how to avoid these issues, statistics were given to warn students. 

What could have been done instead?

School officials could have followed up on the high numbers of tardies with tips on how to get to class on time and acknowledge the consequences of serving time in academic recovery. The amount of failing grades could’ve been an outlet to introduce tutoring available inside the school. 

The material addressed in the class meetings could have easily been covered in an advisory class period rather than students having to leave in the middle of their classes to head to the auditorium. If advisory has the main goal of being an additional required class to further academic performance with students, it is more appropriate and efficient to discuss it in that setting. 

From a student’s standpoint, I felt more unaccomplished and lectured after the meeting rather than educated on what to do to avoid receiving tardies and failing grades. 

The last class meeting discussed Homecoming Week and the activities and opportunities regarding it. This class meeting was a success because students had the ability to vote and choose how they wanted the school’s Homecoming Week to look. In addition, students voted for who they wanted the student body president to be. This is how a class meeting should be structured, with students having the power to participate and use their voices as input.

In the future, I would hope that class meetings would be beneficial for teachers and students. Rather than a platform to lecture students, it should be a platform to educate and guide students in completing high school over the years.