Time Management
CREAM members have averaged
15 or more hours per week during two semesters in carrying out their CREAM
responsibilities, which include business meetings, committee work, chores,
and additional activities. You need to budget your time for other classes,
activities, and work responsibilities in order to be able to spend the
required time with CREAM. You will probably want to spend more time with
CREAM than you are able to so try to limit other commitments. Your peer
evaluations will reflect both the quantity of time and the quality of work
that you do. Do not wait for others to do the jobs that need to be done.
The officers, herdsperson, and assistant herdsperson positions, as well
as the committee structure, can all help you use your time more efficiently.
Transition
To make the transition of
CREAM's business from one group to the next as smooth as possible, several
students form a transition team. These students will work with your Student
Herd Advisor(s) to insure a smooth transition. They will initially help
you get started with organization of your group, formation of your committees,
as well as scheduling and management of chores. As the new group gets up
and running in the first month, the student advisory group will suggest
improvements to various parts of the CREAM program. As soon as you feel
comfortable as a group in running CREAM, the transition team will leave.
The target date is November 1 at the latest. Also available to help in
the transition, and to be with you as advisors throughout CREAM, Doug Watkin,
Don Maynard, and the UVM farm staff, as well as Dr. Gilmore and your Student
Herd Advisor(s).
Learning on Your Own
and as a Group
As a member of CREAM, you
must take responsibility for your own learning. There are a myriad of different
resources to help in this task, from your peers and advisors to the handbook
and magazines. Ask questions, stay involved, and use your journal to help
you keep organized and to document learning. You must stay motivated, and
take the initiative to complete tasks without being told to do so. As members
of CREAM, each of you will need to participate in discussions that lead
to decisions which CREAM, as a group, must make. You must participate and
develop confidence in your ability to express yourself and ex plain your
position. The effectiveness of CREAM and what you accomplish as a group
depends a great deal on how effective each member is in contributing to
the team. Stay positive, and help other members of the group learn and
make decisions. This will aid in your own learning and will help build
important skills for the future.
Journals
Journals are an important
part of your CREAM experience. As already stated, they should be used to
document your learning. Any notes you may take or questions you may have
should be written here. Entries should include what has been learned since
the previous entry, and any interesting ideas or thoughts regarding improvement
or change in the CREAM program. Journals can also be used to help you work
through problems you are having in CREAM or with other CREAM members, and
to evaluate your own progress in the self-directed learning process.
Chores
Chores are one of the most
important parts of being a CREAMer. Through the milking of cows, money
is made, which is the ultimate goal of the business. If each member pays
careful attention to the herd, then the cows have a better chance of remaining
healthy and producing higher amounts of milk. Chores also give you the
opportunity to work one-on-one with other group members. As the schedule
changes each week, you will be able to get to know each member of the group,
and to discover each other's strengths. Each group member completes two
chores per week. It is the responsibility of each CREAMer to insure that
the chore schedule is complete and that all spots are filled.
Attendance
It is the responsibility
of each member of CREAM to attend all scheduled chores, checks, business
meetings, and any additional activities. Being on time is just as important
as being there! If meetings or chores are missed, then important decisions
may be made without your input. Your thoughts are important to the decision
making process, and both you and the group miss out by you not being there.
Keep in mind the huge commitment you have made to CREAM, the herd, your
fellow group members, and yourself, and don't let any of them down!