As each school year begins, Lynbrook sees its fair share of prospective club ideas. From a freshman just entering high school to a junior preparing for college applications, there’s never a shortage of students aspiring to create new leadership positions. While the current process to establish a club is a result of careful design, it can still be improved with mindful student-teacher communication and other reforms, minimizing challenges for all those involved.
The number of new club applications rose from 16 last year to 29 as of Oct. 29. Though Lynbrook’s vibrant club scene of nearly 70 active clubs offers a flexible ecosystem for students to nurture their interests, clubs are often started for reasons other than genuine passion. In a school like Lynbrook where college clout is everything, gaining leadership positions for college applications is a common motivation. While understandable, this can defeat the purpose of club creation: to foster genuine passion and interest.
“For a lot of the people that I met who want to start clubs, it’s more about adding it to their college applications, rather than having a real interest in making something that people can come and enjoy together,” said sophomore Taranjot Gill, who plans to start a philosophy club.
The overflow of students eager to find a club adviser can put pressure on teachers. As students rush to meet this requirement by emailing teachers en masse, clear and respectful conduct with teachers can erode.
“I know that times have changed with the competitive nature of college admission, but sometimes it seems like students are just starting clubs so that they can put that on their college applications,” culinary arts teacher and club adviser Megan Miller said.
Students should also be upfront about adviser commitments. Some clubs simply need an adviser present during weekly meetings, while others demand off-campus supervision, which is not feasible for teachers who cannot commit hours outside school to monitor students.
“My first year at Lynbrook, there was a club that didn’t communicate well and was having problems on field trips, and their adviser dropped them because they just weren’t being respectful of their time,” ASB and Model United Nations adviser Anna Kirsh said.
Teachers are not compensated for advising a club on campus unless they advise larger after-school activities like Model United Nations, Distributive Education Clubs of America and Future Business Leaders of America. As such, ASB encourages staff to take on a maximum of two clubs per year.
Additionally, clubs take up teachers’ brunches and lunches, which are often crucial times to recharge or prepare lessons. As a result, students should approach potential advisers with clear outlines of duties and an estimated adviser time commitment.
“Teachers advise clubs because we care about our students,” Kirsh said. “All the clubs that are done at lunch are done on our own time. Our lunches are unpaid, so we’re doing it because we like students, not because of the incentives.”
Furthermore, face-to-face correspondence is key. Although mass emailing may seem like an easy shortcut to save time, students should visit teachers in person to show appreciation for the teacher’s time and have a personalized conversation.
“I mostly talked to teachers in person, because I thought going to them in person probably leaves a better impression and they would actually remember who I am and how I asked,” said sophomore Aditi Skandan, who plans to start a nutrition club.
Some students may wish to confirm advisers after receiving club approval rather than before to relieve stress. However, this process was created to ensure all approved clubs will have an adviser.
“It would not be fair for me to say, ‘oh, your club’s approved,’ then have you find an adviser and say, ‘oh you can’t find one, then you can’t have your club,’” said Assistant Principal Tara Grande, who oversees teacher supervision for clubs. “It’s a really hard hurdle, but we have to have an adviser; students can’t meet together on their own.”
One solution could involve a self-selection system where teachers indicate their availability to advise, alleviating pressure on advisers who are unwilling to take on more clubs. This year, a spreadsheet that details adviser status was accessible through ASB Community Link’s club resources. However, it did not specify which teachers may be more willing to advise, or whether a teacher wished to be contacted at all — two helpful elements that could be implemented in the future.
“I think some students have found that the resources are not that detailed, because obviously, it’s new,” junior and CLink lead Ojas Kothari said. “We didn’t really know what kind of things they needed. But also, I think it’s been mostly helpful, because when you’re going from nothing to something, you at least have some idea of what’s going on.”
Other commendable changes this year have refined the club application process for both students and teachers. For example, CLink held their first-ever informational meeting at the beginning of the semester for applicants. The application process was also spread out: in the past, clubs were approved for the same school year. Since advising a club fulfills one of four yearly supervision events required for teachers, some teachers have swapped spots in school supervision events like sports games ticket sales to advise clubs instead. As clubs are now approved for the next school year, teachers have more time to plan ahead.
“We are trying to streamline that process and make it more consistent and more fair for all of the teachers,” Grande said. “We need to know who’s advising clubs before we do the signups, so that we can make sure that we have all of the events covered.”
In order to further polish club applications and ensure minimal stress for everyone involved, students must take it upon themselves to be more transparent with their motivations and communication, and ASB should continue improving clarity in the process. Taking advantage of the momentum created by recent changes, now is the perfect opportunity to implement student and teacher feedback.
