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This monthly
planning guide is a supplement to the ResidentAssistant.com.
For each month, you will find links to programs
on the site as well as programming ideas and
other information. Please let me know if you
have suggestions for this feature.
Programming
Ideas for October
Contents
of this October Planning Page:
Issues
Students May Face In the Month of October
As
you plan your programs, keep in mind that there
are "seasonal student issues" that
you can program around. Keep these in mind as
you determine what programs to offer. These
may also help you identify issues your residents
might be going through.
October
- Academic
stress from mid-terms builds with the great
demand for studying and preparation. For some
students this may be their first exam of the
semester. For many, the mid-term workload
pressures are followed by feelings of failure
and loss of self-esteem.
- Roommate
problems continue, but they are smaller in
scope than previous months.
- Values
exploration continuing, especially in the
area of sexuality.
- Dating/non-dating/friendship
anxieties extremely high. Non-dating students
feel a sense of loss of esteem because so
much value is placed upon dating. For women
who do date, the pressure to perform sexually
increases and consequently increases feelings
of rejection, loneliness and guilt and in
some instances leads to unwanted pregnancies.
- Homesickness
may be still felt by a number of students.
- Job
panic for mid-year graduates starts with the
onset of resume preparation and interviewing.
- Students
decide to withdraw from school because they
either realize that college is not the place
for them, they return home for personal reasons
or they transfer to another school.
- Grief
from not being part of a group develops because
of inadequate skills for finding a group,
or from not being selected by one.
Financial strain sets in from lack of budgeting
experience.
- Homecoming
blues develop because of no date for social
affairs, and/or lack of ability/opportunity
to participate in activities.
- Graduate
school syndrome starts to emerge from graduating
seniors. Signing up for graduate school exams,
wondering if you will be accepted, wondering
which school to apply to and questioning whether
graduate school is the right thing to do.
- Time
conflicts between academic and social expectation
emerges.
- Signing
up for classes involves starting to think
about he following semester
- Adjusting
to new study habits includes not just being
able to study the way they did in high school.
More time and greater workload needs to be
incorporated into their schedule for studying.
- Disenchantment
with school - low reward level because student
begins to realize that life at college is
not as perfect as they were led to believe
by parents, teachers and counselors. Old problems
seem to continue and new ones are added. An
external reality they had put heir hopes in
has failed them.
Program
Ideas & Links
Based
on the above issues, here are some
ideas for programming, some of which are linked
to programs on the site.
Halloween
Programs:
Academic
Success
Wellness
& Personal Development
Interviewing
skills, resume preparation, job search strategies
Relationships
and Sexuality
Highlight
Diversity!
- Minority
awareness
- Individual
differences workshop.
- Gay
and Lesbian History Month Bulletin Board
- Coming
Out Day Program
- Tons
more ideas in Human
Awareness Programming
Roommate
communication and conflict management
Community
and team building, campus or community service
projects.
- Check
out all of the community service programs
at ResidentAssistant.com
Connect
people!
- Alternative
homecoming activity or dance, loneliness
seminar, attending football games, campus
activities as a floor
Grad
school application workshop, GRE prep, MCAT
prep
Useful
Articles and Resources
Beating
the Senior RA Slump - This
is a great article with some tips to keep
you motivated as the semester progresses.
Use the message boards! – This is a great
way for you to interact with other RAs and
Professionals all over the world! Be sure
to search before you ask a question to see
if there is already a thread with that topic.
http://www.residentassistant.com/cgi-bin/forums/ikonboard.cgi
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