How residents are like elementary school children

Hello! Welcome back to this blog!

If you've stumbled upon this post, I'm assuming you're an RA. Or you want to be. Either way, I hope you enjoy another installment of this blog!

On my off hours (the afternoon), I'm a student teacher. I'm an elementary education student with way too much time on her hands when it comes to choosing which children's book to use for a read aloud, and how to bring community into my classroom as well as into my res hall.

Well, believe it or not, the two are very similar.

My third graders need just as much community building as my first years do, and there's no surprise that both involve icebreakers, name games, and some crafts to get the year started.

In an elementary school classroom, the first six weeks are all about community building, routine building, and relationship building. (Which sounds eerily similar to my blog post about the first six weeks of being an RA).

In my classroom, we build community through morning meeting, the birthday wall, and partner work. Well, being an RA is not that different from being a teacher. In my own res hall, I have a birthday wall where residents have their birthdays posted for all to see. I also have our move-in banner hung up, as well as bulletin boards. Just like in a classroom.

First year residents are like young children: they're nervous about going to school, they know no one in their residence hall, and they need guidance. As an RA, it's your job to build the community, to guide your residents, and to help them succeed. Just like you would do as a teacher.

Some ways I love building community is through the first hall meeting, and playing ice breakers. Or, planning fun community building events! My first one this year was brick decorating, and it brought in around 30 residents who came, mingled, and painted bricks. But, that one event wasn't enough; my residents need more. So, I host impromptu movie nights and board game nights, to get them out of their bedrooms on a Friday night. I knock on doors and greet all my residents, just like how I greet all my third graders in the morning.

My common room is decorated like my classroom is: I have string lights, fun banners, some decorations on the wall. Soon, I want to have resident-made things on the walls as well, so that the hall starts to feel like home. Right now, it feels like a brick building that is a place to sleep. Just like how my classroom feels bare and foreign to my students as well.

Some first years need their hands held through some difficult processes, like registering for classes, or managing their schedules, or dealing with roommate issues. Just like how some third graders need their hands held through difficult processes.

They're both shy. First years don't know anyone, so they're slow to meet other people. They're excited, but nervous, and don't always know how to act. Third graders on the first week of school are exactly the same!

Don't be fooled: first years may act like they know what's going on, but most first years have no clue what they're doing, or how to use their meal plans, or where their classrooms are. First years also need a little push, a little hand holding, and a lot of attention.

So, if you take anything away from this post, it's that your residents are like children. They may misbehave, they may throw fits, and they may be mean. But they also need you to stick by them, give them guidance, greet them in the halls, always be there for them, and be a reliable resource.

Young students in the classroom can be absolute terrors, but an important part of teaching is handling situations, then starting new with your students. You cannot hold grudges, you have to keep trying, and you can't give up on them. Residents are the same way. Some will be behaved, some will love you from the start, but some will hate school and say they hate you. But like children, they need someone stable in their life to help guide them through the year.

So, the next time you hit a wall with a resident? Remember that you're a role model for them, and that even if they don't realize it, they need you.