I've been ridiculously busy but life has been so much better this Fall. And you know why it's been so much better? Because I'm in MY BUILDING and I can get to know my residents.
My staff and I don't always see eye-to-eye. I don't always agree with how we do things in this department. But then there are those moments, when you have a great conversation with a student, and that reminds you of why you are in this field.
The other night, I walked into a lounge and found two students, one an exchange student from Germany, the other an American student, discussing the differences between education systems and talking about what they like about each system. The conversation eventually turned toward economic backgrounds, the pros and cons of having to pay for your education, welfare and much more. I shared some of my experience of having done service and worked with underprivileged students. The students shared their thoughts, asked questions - LEARNING WAS HAPPENING. :-)
Another day, I was in the office and one of my students sent me a message on Facebook telling me that she had made it into the next round for Homecoming Queen. The next hurdle is an interview with faculty. The student talked about needing to prepare for the interview and I told her that she'd do well - especially living in the Global House Learning Community and being interested in global awareness - I mean, let's be honest, faculty and staff LOVE those students, right? ;) The student then shared that she wanted to do doctors without borders after school and we talked about service opportunities here and alternative spring break trips. Students like that just INSPIRE ME - I know they have a great future ahead of them and I'm happy to be a small part of their life.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Friday, September 10, 2010
What a day....
Today has just not been my day. I was really really tired when my alarm went off (and it won't be any different tomorrow since it's 12:30 am now but I need some good venting/reflecting/blogging or I won't be able to go to sleep anyway). The morning was spent buying ice cream for a program, which led to me losing my parking spot. I wasn't able to find one in the parking lot behind my building (there's ALWAYS one there); so suddenly I found myself driving around campus going, "Where is the nearest employee parking lot?" and realizing that I had no idea. I finally found a spot about a 10-minute walk from my building. Not the end of the world, but definitely a bit annoying.
The rest of the morning/early afternoon was fine, but then I had a meeting that left me feeling a bit disappointed and frustrated. I think I just want too much too quickly. I hate that there's so much politics in our field; shouldn't it all be about what's best for our students?
And after that, it just kept going downhill - running around like crazy trying to catch up on work and things; a program getting out of hands, disgruntled residents, duty issues and and and. I didn't leave the office until 11 pm and then had to go back to do some more work - that's just not cool.
But back to that meeting - because that's what I've been thinking about the most.
I think the first school I worked at after graduating from my master's program has spoiled me; not that working there was perfect because, as those of you who have followed this blog for a while will know; I was often stressed and frustrated and struggled with building relationships with colleagues. But - and I didn't realize that at the time - that school really fit my values and believes - especially the way things were being run toward the end of my time there. There we WERE educators - no questions asked. I thought of myself that way; my supervisors thought of me that way; the department thought of us that way. We were in the thick of student learning.
Here I sometimes get the feeling that not everyone thinks of us Hall Directors that way. It's like I have to justify that I want to be an educator; that I should be an educator. Like working with my learning community here - yes, there's faculty involvement (a lot more than what I'm used to) but that doesn't mean that my role isn't that of an educator as well - in a different way maybe but I shouldn't just be the "fun" person who does some social programs and is just there. I mean, I didn't get a Master's degree for nothing now, did I? Or when RAs do programs - it shouldn't just be about what students "want" - it's about what they need, what's best for them! Could you imagine a faculty member coming in on the first day of class and doing an interest survey asking students what they want to learn in class; and say in a history class nobody says they want to learn about world war II, the professors leaves out that chapter and just focuses on world war I because students seem more interested in that? And yes, I know that's class and this is ResLife; we have to convince students to come to our programs, so we have to gear them a little more toward their interests - but we shouldn't forget over that that in the end, it's about what students are LEARNING. And how do we know what they're learning - or even what we want them to learn - unless we have well defined learning outcomes and strategies and some assessment to see if what we're actually doing what we say we do.
You know what my problem is - there's so much I want to change and make better. And I have this awesome picture in mind of how things should be and I'm so excited and eager to get there, that I forget it's all about baby steps and getting everyone to buy into this.
So step 1) I'll have to really think about our programming model. What's working? What's not working?
And this leads me to a favor - for anyone out there reading this, if you're an RA or a hall director or have ever been an RA or Hall Director - what are your thoughts on what I like to call "traditional programming models"? Pillars, categories; something were RAs are asked to do programs around certain topics, in certain categories.
What do you like about that? What don't you like about that? What made the implementation challenging? And most of all, what do you think students learned in those situations? How consistent was that learning - meaning did student in that one hall that one year learn a lot because they had an awesome RA who just really got diversity programming or did students across campus in all residence halls learn a lot because the model worked for all staff members? What did RAs struggle with when it came to implementing that program? Any thoughts, stories, comments are greatly appreciated!!!
The rest of the morning/early afternoon was fine, but then I had a meeting that left me feeling a bit disappointed and frustrated. I think I just want too much too quickly. I hate that there's so much politics in our field; shouldn't it all be about what's best for our students?
And after that, it just kept going downhill - running around like crazy trying to catch up on work and things; a program getting out of hands, disgruntled residents, duty issues and and and. I didn't leave the office until 11 pm and then had to go back to do some more work - that's just not cool.
But back to that meeting - because that's what I've been thinking about the most.
I think the first school I worked at after graduating from my master's program has spoiled me; not that working there was perfect because, as those of you who have followed this blog for a while will know; I was often stressed and frustrated and struggled with building relationships with colleagues. But - and I didn't realize that at the time - that school really fit my values and believes - especially the way things were being run toward the end of my time there. There we WERE educators - no questions asked. I thought of myself that way; my supervisors thought of me that way; the department thought of us that way. We were in the thick of student learning.
Here I sometimes get the feeling that not everyone thinks of us Hall Directors that way. It's like I have to justify that I want to be an educator; that I should be an educator. Like working with my learning community here - yes, there's faculty involvement (a lot more than what I'm used to) but that doesn't mean that my role isn't that of an educator as well - in a different way maybe but I shouldn't just be the "fun" person who does some social programs and is just there. I mean, I didn't get a Master's degree for nothing now, did I? Or when RAs do programs - it shouldn't just be about what students "want" - it's about what they need, what's best for them! Could you imagine a faculty member coming in on the first day of class and doing an interest survey asking students what they want to learn in class; and say in a history class nobody says they want to learn about world war II, the professors leaves out that chapter and just focuses on world war I because students seem more interested in that? And yes, I know that's class and this is ResLife; we have to convince students to come to our programs, so we have to gear them a little more toward their interests - but we shouldn't forget over that that in the end, it's about what students are LEARNING. And how do we know what they're learning - or even what we want them to learn - unless we have well defined learning outcomes and strategies and some assessment to see if what we're actually doing what we say we do.
You know what my problem is - there's so much I want to change and make better. And I have this awesome picture in mind of how things should be and I'm so excited and eager to get there, that I forget it's all about baby steps and getting everyone to buy into this.
So step 1) I'll have to really think about our programming model. What's working? What's not working?
And this leads me to a favor - for anyone out there reading this, if you're an RA or a hall director or have ever been an RA or Hall Director - what are your thoughts on what I like to call "traditional programming models"? Pillars, categories; something were RAs are asked to do programs around certain topics, in certain categories.
What do you like about that? What don't you like about that? What made the implementation challenging? And most of all, what do you think students learned in those situations? How consistent was that learning - meaning did student in that one hall that one year learn a lot because they had an awesome RA who just really got diversity programming or did students across campus in all residence halls learn a lot because the model worked for all staff members? What did RAs struggle with when it came to implementing that program? Any thoughts, stories, comments are greatly appreciated!!!
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Oh programming
It's really hard going from a curricular approach to student learning back to a regular programming models with pillars and such. I think I've lived in this little dream world for the past few years where we talk about learning outcomes, strategies and self-authorship and I've forgotten that outside of my little dream world most people still think about programs and pillars and programming requirements. I really struggle with those models. The RAs' focus always seems to be on fulfilling those requirements. No matter how much I try to get them to assess the needs of their community and think about what they want their floor to learn from these experiences, we always get back to those pillars and how it'll fit into one of them. How many times last year did I try to tell my staff, "Don't worry about the requirements! Think about the students' needs first." But when there are requirements, students will think about them.
I can see the same trend here. My staff and I had quite the "lively" discussion about floor dinners and whether or not they should count as a program. In my mind, floor dinners should be happening anyway - everyone needs to eat, so why not eat with your residents once a week. Especially since we have a dining hall in the building! And what would be an easier strategy to build community?
But for the RAs, if it doesn't fulfill a programming requirement, it's not "worth" doing. They forget that there are other sections on their evaluation that talk about community development and the connections that they've built with their residents....
I guess what I really struggle with is the idea of the RA position being this check list:
1) Duty? Done.
2) Programming Requirements? Done.
3) Go to Staff Meetings? Done.
In my mind, the RA position should be so much more. It shouldn't be about what I am required to do but about what will be best for my residents. Yes, maybe I've completed the "required" number of programs already, but if I feel that my floor really needs some education on diversity, I will bring in a speaker or take them to a diversity workshop; maybe we have completed our community development programming requirements but if we haven't truly bonded yet, I'll think of some more ideas to bring the floor together.
And yes, I realize it's hard to think about the RA position that way when you are a busy, over-involved undergraduate. But maybe if we changed some of the structures (e.g. our programming models), we could help RAs think about the potential of their position a little more and strive to really do what's best for their residents.
I can see the same trend here. My staff and I had quite the "lively" discussion about floor dinners and whether or not they should count as a program. In my mind, floor dinners should be happening anyway - everyone needs to eat, so why not eat with your residents once a week. Especially since we have a dining hall in the building! And what would be an easier strategy to build community?
But for the RAs, if it doesn't fulfill a programming requirement, it's not "worth" doing. They forget that there are other sections on their evaluation that talk about community development and the connections that they've built with their residents....
I guess what I really struggle with is the idea of the RA position being this check list:
1) Duty? Done.
2) Programming Requirements? Done.
3) Go to Staff Meetings? Done.
In my mind, the RA position should be so much more. It shouldn't be about what I am required to do but about what will be best for my residents. Yes, maybe I've completed the "required" number of programs already, but if I feel that my floor really needs some education on diversity, I will bring in a speaker or take them to a diversity workshop; maybe we have completed our community development programming requirements but if we haven't truly bonded yet, I'll think of some more ideas to bring the floor together.
And yes, I realize it's hard to think about the RA position that way when you are a busy, over-involved undergraduate. But maybe if we changed some of the structures (e.g. our programming models), we could help RAs think about the potential of their position a little more and strive to really do what's best for their residents.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
What a week
It's been a crazy week - Opening always is but this one has been quite ridiculous. It started last Wednesday. I was in the middle of last-minute preparations for Opening while still going to RA Training all day long, when I got a phone call from my bank. I may have been the victim of credit card fraud!!! WHAT!?!? They asked me to verify these charges and those were clearly NOT charges I'd made. I mean, come on, I'd been in training all day. How would I have time to spend hundreds of dollars at some department store? I'd gotten up early that day to run a few errands - I bought some food at a grocery store, gotten donuts for breakfast and had filled my tank with gas.
It must have happened somewhere there... How does that happen to begin with? How does someone steal your credit card information when they don't have your credit card?
AHHHH!!!! Not that credit card fraud is ever fun to deal with, but of all days....
Opening itself went alright. I only had a few frustrated parents. One of them was quite frustrated though and started yelling at me in front of the entire staff - he continued to yell and complain all the way up the stairs, continued in the student's rooms - and every time I tried to say something, whether it was explaining something or simply answer one of the many questions he threw at me, he interrupted me before I got even half of it out. His wife finally stopped him and said, "Maybe you should let her finish the sentence." Haha.
I guess over the years I've just learned to shrug it off. Parents can get frustrated sometimes; it's nothing personal. You just have to take it, listen and eventually they'll calm down enough, so you can provide them with some options and try to actually find a solution for the perceived problem or issue.
Then the week started and craziness continued. I work with a learning community - usually the community has a faculty director and a graduate student, who work with it. This year, we do not have a faculty director. The grad is stressed but also clings to the community and how it used to be and seems a bit resistant at letting me get too involved (or change anything). The community has also participated in Homecoming for the past years; however this year, Homecoming is a month earlier (end of September) and we weren't sure if we could and should try to pull it off this year. We brought it up to the students and guess what? They're all into it. They don't just want to participate in one or two things - no, they want to do ALL of them (seven all together). So we've all spent the past few nights in Homecoming meetings. I'm having a ton of fun; but it is a bit stressful when you go all day and then have more meetings at night that last until 10 or even 11 pm.
But I love my job again. I feel like me again. I'm excited; I have plans and ideas. Apparently some of my returners are "waiting" to see when I get frustrated - they (or at least one of them) think that changes won't happen in this department and that I'm just wasting my time. But I don't believe it. Everything I've brought up so far has been well received. I still now a lot of the main players here. I am given a decent amount of autonomy in regards to how to run my building. I've gotten to know a lot of students; and even if I don't know all their names yet, many of them say hi to me in the hallways and smile at me. I've also had some great conversations with students already.
I do miss being an academic advisor though; not that I miss those marathon days of having advising appointments, but I like knowing and understanding the general education requirements and being able to answer students' questions. One of my residents asked me today about what classes to take and what his chances were of getting into a class that's full. I could give him some generic information but I don't know all the details. I'm really tempted to spend some time reading up on the gen ed requirements and advising model here. But then again, I have a building to run, staff members to meet with, an area council to get off the ground, two learning communities to worry about and and and; maybe learning more about academic advising here will have to take a back seat for now. I really wish there were more hours in the day.
It must have happened somewhere there... How does that happen to begin with? How does someone steal your credit card information when they don't have your credit card?
AHHHH!!!! Not that credit card fraud is ever fun to deal with, but of all days....
Opening itself went alright. I only had a few frustrated parents. One of them was quite frustrated though and started yelling at me in front of the entire staff - he continued to yell and complain all the way up the stairs, continued in the student's rooms - and every time I tried to say something, whether it was explaining something or simply answer one of the many questions he threw at me, he interrupted me before I got even half of it out. His wife finally stopped him and said, "Maybe you should let her finish the sentence." Haha.
I guess over the years I've just learned to shrug it off. Parents can get frustrated sometimes; it's nothing personal. You just have to take it, listen and eventually they'll calm down enough, so you can provide them with some options and try to actually find a solution for the perceived problem or issue.
Then the week started and craziness continued. I work with a learning community - usually the community has a faculty director and a graduate student, who work with it. This year, we do not have a faculty director. The grad is stressed but also clings to the community and how it used to be and seems a bit resistant at letting me get too involved (or change anything). The community has also participated in Homecoming for the past years; however this year, Homecoming is a month earlier (end of September) and we weren't sure if we could and should try to pull it off this year. We brought it up to the students and guess what? They're all into it. They don't just want to participate in one or two things - no, they want to do ALL of them (seven all together). So we've all spent the past few nights in Homecoming meetings. I'm having a ton of fun; but it is a bit stressful when you go all day and then have more meetings at night that last until 10 or even 11 pm.
But I love my job again. I feel like me again. I'm excited; I have plans and ideas. Apparently some of my returners are "waiting" to see when I get frustrated - they (or at least one of them) think that changes won't happen in this department and that I'm just wasting my time. But I don't believe it. Everything I've brought up so far has been well received. I still now a lot of the main players here. I am given a decent amount of autonomy in regards to how to run my building. I've gotten to know a lot of students; and even if I don't know all their names yet, many of them say hi to me in the hallways and smile at me. I've also had some great conversations with students already.
I do miss being an academic advisor though; not that I miss those marathon days of having advising appointments, but I like knowing and understanding the general education requirements and being able to answer students' questions. One of my residents asked me today about what classes to take and what his chances were of getting into a class that's full. I could give him some generic information but I don't know all the details. I'm really tempted to spend some time reading up on the gen ed requirements and advising model here. But then again, I have a building to run, staff members to meet with, an area council to get off the ground, two learning communities to worry about and and and; maybe learning more about academic advising here will have to take a back seat for now. I really wish there were more hours in the day.
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