Being a Resident Assistant means being ready for anything. Being a Resident Assistant means being a leader, a role model, and a caregiver. Being a Resident Assistant means being prepared for the future. In my case, being a Resident Assistant is of the greatest benefit, especially relating to my future career choice of being a teacher. Being a teacher presents many obstacles from the beginning, many of which being a Resident Assistant already covers, and prepares for. The skills I develop now as a Resident Assistant are key to my future as a teacher.
Many of the skills a Resident Assistant gains are those of administration. These skills include filling out forms, keeping up with paperwork, and making sure the proper pathway is sought in the department to solve a problem. These same skills will be very vital to me when I begin my career as a teacher. Keeping up with student papers, grades, filling out related material needed for the class, all of this I already know, thanks to my work as a Resident Assistant. I have also gained very important skills at working with the chain of administration inside the Resident Life Department. This skill will be valuable when I work the school’s administration at solving problems and other aspects.
As a Resident Assistant I am faced with deadlines almost everyday. These deadlines are usually very important and deal with the safety of the students and the building, and need to be handled quickly. As a teacher I will be faced with the same type of problems. Pressure to get grades in, keep my curriculum on track, and get my students ready for facing their own deadlines. Needs assessment is also ties into this area. By looking at deadlines and setting goals, both the teacher and the Resident Assistant can gain a better understanding of what the student needs to be successful in learning and life. This skill ties into all the other skills as well.
The ability to set goals and expectations is key to being a Resident Assistant and a teacher. Setting goals for my hall will be very similar to setting goals for my classroom. Mrs. Pittman, retired High School teacher, says that setting goals are key in a classroom environment. Every month as a Resident Assistant I have to develop a new goal to meet the needs of my residents. Each month we have to take a look at how floor life is going, and alter our expectations to better suit the students. This skill is very important in the classroom and relates heavily with setting deadlines. As a teacher you have to set small goals and reach those goals effectively and quickly, something I have to do now as a Resident Assistant.
As a Resident Assistant you encounter confrontations everyday. These confrontations deal with many different areas, from drug use to disagreements. I know that when I teach high school, the problems my students will face are very similar to those that they face in college. Also, I can help my students who are preparing to go to college know what to expect when they get there and how to handle certain situations. I think that my skills at intervention will also help when it comes to student disputes. Counseling confrontations is a vital part of the Resident Assistant job, and will help me greatly in dealing with situations in the classroom.
In high school, you do many projects that involve leading and setting up group interaction. As a Resident Assistant I have gathered many experiences in leading groups of students in certain tasks. Many of these tasks were used to help promote community and got the residents to know each other. I firmly believe that community is an essential part of development, and through community not only does the student develop, but the teacher as well, or in this case, the Resident Assistant.
Mrs. Pittman, my grandmother who taught high school all her life, told me that one of the most important skills you can have as a teacher is the ability to make learning fun. How can you present something in a fun way? This problem not only plagues the teacher, but the Resident Assistant as well. As a Resident Assistant I have gained useful time in planning fun, but informative programs, and programs that keep students interested as well. I think that is perhaps the most important aspect of being a teacher and a Resident Assistant, and that through this, you make life and learning fun, which IS part of the job description.
Earlier in life, I was terrified of speaking in front of large groups. All through high school I would dread the day I had to present something. I think that my experience as a Resident Assistant has given me a better feeling about speaking in front of a group and getting my point across in a productive way. This skill is very important in teaching, because everyday you have to stand and teach in front of large groups. Along with this comes in the presentation skills that I have developed as a Resident Assistant. Presenting things to my staff, my peers, and directly to classes have helped me develop a certain style of teaching, which is an important aspect of teaching.
As a Resident Assistant it is very important to be able to evaluate yourself and your work. It is a process I go through everyday. Was I effective in getting the residents to do this? What was the reaction like to this program? As a teacher you need the same skills in looking at your work, and recognizing if your students responded well to the material. The Resident Assistant also gains a certain ability to evaluate how important certain things are to your staff and Residence Hall. This is important in planning where to go from you current point to achieve your goals as a building. Being a teacher requires the same aspect in seeing where your students are now, in relation to where they need to be a few months down the road.
Stress management is an important side effect of being a Resident Assistant. Dealing with your floor, your duties as a Resident Assistant, and your schoolwork can be very stressful. So naturally you develop the ability to juggle all of these areas and somehow come out on top, which I feel will be key in being an effective teacher. Also, as a Resident Assistant, you deal with your student’s stress as well. You develop certain activities, which help you take the edge off of everyone on your floor. This will also help in being a teacher and helping your students relax during testing.
Another positive aspect of being a Resident Assistant is getting to know your residents and dealing with different standpoints on every issue. These interpersonal skills help you in dealing with counseling issues, and in everyday life as a teacher. As a Resident Assistant I face many obstacles with getting introverts to express their feelings and opinions. I think that this will help when it comes to getting my students to give me feedback when I am a teacher. Counseling and helping students is already an important part of being an effective Resident Assistant, and will help me when I go into the school environment.
Overall, I think that being a Resident Assistant and being a teacher are one in the same. Both jobs deal with the same aspects of helping, caring for, and leading students. Mrs. Pittman told me that the issues I deal with on a daily basis are very similar to those I will face as a teacher. I feel that after this experience I will be prepared for what the classroom will present to me, and I will be ready for what school life as a teacher has to offer. I hold my experiences as a Resident Assistant close, and think they will be very valuable in developing myself as a better teacher and parent.