I have to get right to the point before A) I lose everything in my head and B) before the next session. So here it is.
I hated the "diversity training" portion of RA training when I was in the front lines of Residence Life. It was run by a brow-beating, in-your-face person every year, so I never felt comfortable revealing what was actually going on in my head or heart. (And to be quite honest, a lot of things still haven't changed for me in terms of my biases, blind spots, stereotypes, etc. I'm a hot mess.) Plus, the activities were dumb.
PHEW. Glad that's out.
So! As the In-Service on Social Justice is just around the corner, I am faced with how I want to approach my RAs. I have re-learned in the last couple days of this conference, that the best trainers are the ones who are willing to be vulnerable and be a model of learning to their students. They will have real conversations during the training, and be transparent during it as well. I need to admit that I am a hot mess, and guess what...so are they. :)
School of Mines RAs are terrifying. They're too smart for their own good, and way too competitive for MY own good. I know that going into a social justice training session is immediately going to put them on edge. But maybe that's the same with every group of students, and I'm assuming too much about SDSMT students.
Whatever. Either way, this is not an easy session to go into.
I do have activities that I think aren't terribly lame. I like to think that I'm approachable and not a brow-beater (except maybe on LGBTQ issues...again, I'm a hot mess). And I'm craving having a discussion of some sort. My thought is to go into this being transparent, stating my own needs, and then inviting them what their needs are. Good start? Yes. What are my needs? I'm not an arguer. I'm a harmonizer. So if my RAs learn by having heated debates/discussions, then that can be done after our session. I was just trying to think of other needs, but I think that's really the only one that I have in order to be a successful facilitator.
That took a lot of words and a lot of blog space to get that out. Off to the next session!
Dear PC Becky,
ReplyDeleteI understand that social justice training is essential so we remember the importance of advocating for minorities, letting knowlege paint over our ignorance with soul-felt understanding of being politically correct, and that only by striving for educating and understanding will we stop the cycle of injustice from perpetuating...but, my question is...in our attempts to do so, do we lose our VOICE? In an attempt not to offend, not to say the wrong thing, not to come across as ignorant, to protect the image of being "educated student affairs professionals" who should "already know better,"....do we ever truly grow and BECOME better, or stay regimented in who we are? Coming from a masters program in which we tip-toed around on egg shells in order not to offend, I feel half the students in the program silenced their ignorance with the false pretense of knowlege and competence but in doing so stifled their ability to truly grow.
How do we learn without offending? How do we paint the picture that unintentional offenses may be part of the growth process, but only with a space safe enough for these "flaws", will we ever become better? Aren't we all ignorant in a sense? How do we bridge the gap? Certainly not with a sense of pretentiousness or elitism; only with love, understanding, and creating a safe space....so I think THAT's what we do....we create that safe space. Becky, only by exposing your vulnerabilities and truths will others feel safe to do the same. <3
That's what I'm learning to do! :) And I'm going to start tonight with our first SJ training. Eek! :)
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