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		RA Training: Training the “Whole” Person By Levi Esses, Director of Residence Life, Bethany College During the summer of my first year as Director of Residence Life I had many tasks to complete. The biggest of all those tasks was organizing and planning training for our residence life team. Having gone through many RA trainings, I wanted a training module that was fun and worthwhile. I wanted RAs to be able to use their experience outside the “RA world” to better themselves as individuals in society. Then I thought to myself, how could I relate the RA position to our everyday lives? It was not an easy task. I spent most of the summer planning, changing and adjusting the RA training schedule, but nothing seemed to work. In need of direction, I scheduled an extended lunch at Pizza Hut (3 hours) with the Dean of Students to focus on RA training. He told me that my training schedule looked good but asked what my philosophy behind it was. I asked, “Philosophy? What do you mean?” He asked me what do I want to accomplish through RA training. I told him that I want RAs to be able to use their training beyond the residence halls. He suggested providing a training program to teach the RAs the basics the first few days, and then address the values that will enhance their character. The Dean also told me that RAs, especially newcomers, are nervous the first few days of training. Since they are nervous and anxious, he told me that they want to know what the job entails and what they need to know to do the job. Then it hit me. I started to develop a training module based on our residence life slogan and the NAIA Champions of Character. The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Champions of Character was designed to “assist those influenced by sports programs to know the right thing, do the right thing, and value the right thing inside of and outside of the sports setting.” It is the intent of this development program to have NAIA student-athletes exhibit exemplary character and sportsmanship in NAIA athletic competitions.” The NAIA examines five core values: Respect, Responsibility, Integrity, Servant Leadership, and Sportsmanship. Based on these values and tying in our slogan, The Building Blocks of a Strong Community, we developed five building blocks of Respect, Responsibility, Servant Leadership, Attitude, and Integrity. The support behind our slogan relies on the staff because they set the tempo for the year. We believe that our strong communities within the halls are built through our residence life team. Below is the residence life model that we call our “Blue Prints” of the program. We give each staff member a copy and they are expected to know the building blocks and what they stand for. The illustration below gives the RAs a visual of the Foundation, Core and Pinnacle. The Respect, Responsibility, and Servant Leadership blocks are the foundation of our program. If we are missing one of these values in our community or in our lives we will not grow or advance. Attitude and Integrity make up the core and Character represents the pinnacle. This training module starts from the foundation and its ultimate goal is to reach the pinnacle through enhancing the character of our RAs and community members. The Office of Residence Life Model The Building Blocks of a Strong Community Core Values Foundation Respect --- Showing respect to yourself, the needs of others and property. Respect to those of different backgrounds, cultures, race, religion, living space, etc. Responsibility --- Community members are responsible for their actions, words and behavior. Community members are also responsible for their living environment, their community surroundings and the building they live in. The residence life team will be responsible for the above statements as well as providing a safe, fun, learning environment. Servant Leadership --- A community based on serving each other and oneself. A community that goes the extra mile, that volunteers in community service, that will keep their hall clean, that participates in organizations, programs, activities etc. The Core Attitude --- A community that promotes attitudes that are proactive, that are willing to change, that form good habits, etc. Becoming a community member who tries to be the best they can be. Integrity --- Integrity goes beyond honesty. Honesty means conforming our words to reality, integrity means conforming reality to our words. Personal integrity builds trust and you treat everyone by the same principles (you are loyal to those not present). Pinnacle Character --- Community members will enhance their character by getting involved in quality programs and services that promote personal growth, foster the understanding of human diversity, and encourage academic success. Resident Assistant Training Module Philosophy: To teach values rather than skills To provide RAs the nuts & bolts to the position To examine the bigger picture To implement the building blocks into hall communities and programming Organization: Opening Day Training: Welcome Back Staff Residence Life Dinner Team Pictures Staff gets connected with one another During opening day of training we want the RA staff to feel welcomed – sort of like when you go home after a long trip. We want an atmosphere of acceptance and excitement. Once RA training begins we break the schedule into two sections. The first section is called Knowing How to be an RA. During this section (4-5 days) our RD staff will train the RAs in the basics such as duty rounds, fire safety, mailroom responsibilities, policy, etc. During each day of this section we organize our training under the five building blocks (Respect, Responsibility, Servant Leadership, Attitude, and Integrity). KNOWING HOW TO BE AN RA (DAY ONE) RA Training Example: TEAM BUILDING 1:00pm Building a Team 1:30pm Scavenger Hunt – Knowing Bethany College 2:45pm Scavenger Hunt wrap-up 3:00pm Break RESPECT BLOCK 3:15pm Mission & Goals 3:30pm “If I am OK, & You’re OK, then We’re OK!” 4:00pm A RESPECTFUL Community 5:00pm Dinner 6:00pm In Hall Time 9:00pm Campus Mile Run (Optional) As you can see, our first day of training is building our team through a scavenger hunt and ending the day with our mission and examining a respectful community. Each day is organized in similar fashion examining the different values by providing seminars, discussions, and activities. We also include recreation in our training where RAs can get outside and have fun. It provides an adequate stress reliever from the “classroom.” The second section of training (4-5 days) is called Knowing How to be a Great RA. In my professional opinion, knowing how to be a great RA means knowing how to make adjustments in your life. In housing no situation is ever the same because the people you work with or associate with are different. No matter how many alcohol situations you have confronted they all are different in some way. Thus, we try to teach RAs to see the Big picture and become an educator. In order to accomplish that goal we study issues such as diversity in the residence halls/society, peer counseling, crisis response plans, drug and alcohol abuse, sexual assault/abuse, etc. The RAs also get the opportunity to help the community through service during the United Way Back to School Fair. During the fair the RAs help give underprivileged kids backpacks with school supplies in them. This participation provides a very humbling experience for the RAs and appreciation for the service they are doing. Below is an example of our training during Knowing How to be a Great RA. KNOWING HOW TO BE A GREAT RA (DAY ONE) RA Training Example RESPONSIBILITY BLOCK 8:30am Policy Review 9:00am Education/Enforcement 9:30am Confrontation/DUTY Discussions 10:15am Incident Report Writing & Break 10:30am Alcohol Awareness 11:30am Lunch PANEL DISCUSSIONS: Dean of Students, College Counselor, & Security Staff 1:00pm Mediation & Conflict Resolution 1:30pm Problem Solving 2:00pm What If? 2:30pm Break 3:00pm Code of Student Conduct 3:30pm Crisis Response Plan 4:00pm Security 4:30pm Police 5:30pm Dinner 6:30pm Hall Tours In summary, the Bethany College residence life program model (stemming from the NAIA “Champions of Character”) is designed to assist the residence halls in promoting inclusiveness, student activism, and to develop awareness, advocate, teach/model, and hold community members accountable for the values of respect, responsibility, servant leadership, attitude, and integrity. It is through the community actions and values that will exemplify positive character development. The residence life staff undergoes a training session geared towards these five core values. The purpose of training is to discuss the importance of approaching student leadership development as a values-based process rather than a skills-based one. At the end of training the residence life staff will evaluate the training and input any ideas to make the training a more effective one. During the academic school year, the residence life staff will be assessed under these values during their in-services (twice a semester). The assessment tools are designed to measure both skill development and value development. Below is an example of our assessment tool. Resident Assistant Character Development Assessment The Residence Life program model is designed to assist the residence halls in promoting inclusiveness, student activism, and to develop awareness, advocate, teach/model, and hold community members accountable for the values of respect, responsibility, servant leadership, attitude, and integrity. It is through the community actions and values that will exemplify positive character development. Please answer the questions below as sincere and as honest as you can. Our goal is to see what you have learned about yourself this year as a Resident Assistant and as a person. Please be open and express your thoughts to the group. RESPECT How did you respect yourself this year? (in general or specific examples) How did you show respect for your residents? (same as above) How did you show respect for your community? RESPONSIBILITY Describe a time when you held yourself accountable as an RA. Describe a time when you felt you were acting as a role model to one of your residents. SERVANT LEADERSHIP Talk about a situation when you put others ahead of yourself. In your opinion what is the difference between a leader & a team leader? ATTITUDE Describe a situation when it was hard to maintain a positive attitude. How did you overcome it? INTEGRITY Describe a situation this year when your Integrity was tested. How did you handle the situation? In your opinion, were you a trusted team member (could people count on you to get the job done)? How do you build and maintain Integrity? CHARACTER What type of person do you want to be in life? In closing, when training staff members it is always important to see the bigger picture. In our program the bigger picture is to train RAs to do their jobs, but to help teach them how to better themselves each and everyday. We are not making RA robots for a year and then do it all over again the next year. Under our program we hope students and staff get more out of themselves and out of each other. The relationships that are built during training are long lasting and self-fulfilling. Click here to review and print our “Building Blocks for a Strong Community” Model. About the Author Levi Esses is in his second year as Director of Residence Life at Bethany College in Lindsborg, Kansas. He graduated from Bethany College with a secondary math education degree and is working on his masters at Wichita State University. At Bethany Levi was student body president for two years, a resident assistant for three years, a resident director and an intercollegiate football player. Forward comments or questions to essesl@bethanylb.edu.