CONTENTS

Administration

Alcohol & Other Drugs

Calendars

Community Development

Conduct

Counseling

Emergencies

Programming

Resources

PROFESSIONAL ETHICS

A good leader acts professionally and has a set of ethics that govern his or her behavior.  In residential communities, this means adopting good educational practices and good management practices.  The following suggestions will help your credibility as a leader and your effectiveness as an educator:

• Establish relationships of mutual respect.  If students know and understand that you will treat them with respect and dignity, they are more likely to do the same to you.  Your ability to be an effective leader and teacher depends heavily on maintaining respectful relationships with the students in your community

• Remember that consistency doesn't mean treating all students exactly alike.  It would be simple if we could always treat every situation the same or "be consistent."  Most of the time, this is a good practice.  However, it is also important to remember that each student is different and has different learning needs.  Therefore, you may need to treat two similar situations differently to help a student learn and grow.  A tool you can use to help explain this rationale is "time, place, and manner."  For example, you may be dealing with two students who have alcohol violations.  One has had repeated violations and you suspect a drinking problem.  The other, however, has not had a violation before, and you are aware that he or she just ended a relationship.  Each of these students has different issues and different needs.

• Look for progressive solutions:  Remember that the learning process is one that may require several different interactions in several different ways.  It takes time and patience if you are to be effective in assisting the learning process.  Therefore, solutions should be progressive.  That is, they should focus on long-term solutions rather than short-term quick-fixes.  To use the above example, the student with a drinking problem needs assistance from professional counselors, not just another sanction.

• Always consider the delicate balance of challenge and support:  If you are to help your residents grow and learn, you must always seek the appropriate balance of challenge and support.  In some cases, you will you need to challenge students to grow or to become better citizens.  In others, you will need to support them.

• Strive for effectiveness, not expediency:  As a staff member and a teacher, always think in terms of effectiveness, that is, what will work best in the long run.  It may be tempting, for instance, to humiliate a student in order to get their cooperation.  In the long run, however, that action may ruin your credibility as a leader and damage the relationship of mutual respect you have with that student or others.