More UFac-ing - A Peek into the Process

So i dug up some of my notes from my time as UFac for Unit 1 and since I get to decide what to blog about, I'm going to document some of the more boring (but important?) aspects of the experience.
Hopefully, if one were to read this, they would understand just a little bit more of how this worked. And when I look back, I could remember this too.

One of the first things that UFac-ing revealed to me was the huge importance of goals and planning. It was ridiculous how many things we micromanaged and microplanned - we planned how long it would take to plan an activity. Then we would make goals -goals for us, goals for the entire student group, goals for our planning process, and goals for each activity.

For example: Our goals for the student group were -
 1.Students understand the role of UFacs.        
2. Each student increases their understanding of agricultural issues.    
3. Maintain posimotihesion atmosphere in the group.  
4. Students build connections with homestay families, communities, etc.  
5. Students represent CIEE and American culture well.

Then we had our own UFac goals -
1. Maintain posimotihesion      
2. Create an honest and open space.
3. Improve facilitation skills.
4. Be thorough and efficient.
5. Deepen understanding of content.

Then we had our goals for each activity. Here are the goals for the Reading And Discussions (RAD) -
1. Students are engaged in sessions.
2. Students understand material
3. Students have equal opportunities for participation.
4. Students will be well-prepared for unit.

Then we had about 3 or 4 "how-tos" for every goal. Whee. Once we did that, then we would actually start the planning and make sure that everything follows the goals we set. It helped later on as well when we had to analyze the positives/negatives/necessary changes because we would decide how well we did on whether we achieved our goals.

This is probably why our planning sessions for 1.5-3hour long activities took at least 6 hours. We took things really seriously and thought everything out super-thoroughly. It really makes a difference when everything you do is intentional - to be able to explain your actions and anticipate the reactions and effects of your actions as well.
Of course, not all UFacs took this approach and it was probably for the best that they didn't - every UFac group had their own style of planning things. Some had a stronger internal process that never seemed to show any conflicts in front of the student group and some had stronger creativity to introduce new activities.
I have to admit, coming right out of Unit 1 into Unit 2 was a little difficult for me. Making the transition from unit facilitator to student group member was weird - I kept making comparisons with my unit and the second unit's facilitators - were we better? were they rejecting our ideas or building off of them? do they think we're overstepping our bounds if we try to help or oppose?
Either way, those thoughts weren't necessary to dwell on and it was part of the process of figuring out what the heck UFac-ing meant. We did have a different role within the student group but eventually we learned that it wasn't a box we were supposed to put each other into. We needed to have the same expectations and standards for each other as if we were always part of the student group so we had to challenge each other, push each other and voice our opinions. It was a long but fulfilling process - one I felt happy to be a part of.