New Potential Job ???

     The job is listed as “substitute behaviour technician” at a pediatric therapy center. Essentially the responsibilities would include: recording behavioural data of each student, following their specific individual education plan ( standardized by the BCBA ), and assisting the teacher with the classroom environment. The way that the roles have been laid out are very similar to a normal classroom and being a student observer. 

     While I was still in the field of Childhood Development, I was placed into classrooms to take notes about a specific child, write lesson plans, and help the teacher with tasks around the classroom or assisting the teacher with tutoring / other classroom activities. In the classroom, we are directed not to carry our phones or not to have them out- as it can be a distraction for us, but also we should limit the screen time of the children if they watch us. It is also not proper / respectful to be on our phones when we have been granted access to be able to observe in their classroom. Therefore, I took notes on my handy-dandy-notebook, which was decorated like Steve’s notepad from Blue’s Clues. The second semester when I was taking notes over the whole class- rather than just one student like I had been doing previously, I switched to carrying a Transformer’s themed loose-leaf folder with notebook paper because I was filling out homework about their behaviours, quotes, and how they reacted to being asked specific questions or acting upon specific tasks. At the end of the semester, my Childhood Development Portfolio consisted of a: family interview, four week meal plan, three structured observations, blerp from an article review, one lesson plan that I created for Kindergarten through second grade, Philosophy of Guidance, Philosophy of Education, two Pre-K lesson plans that I taught to a set students in the classroom setting with their evaluations, and a signed copy of the NAEYC code of Ethical Conduct. 

     While I am still not confirmed if I have the job yet or not, I have passed the informal phone screen and I will have the formal in-person interview, as well as a tour of the facility, next week. And, while I have admitted to not having all of the prior experience and/or training that they would have liked I to have, they are willing to train and teach me- as I am to learn. I have been interviewed for other positions- one being a part-time position that requires more transportation to different locations in a specific district for restocking and the other being a seasonal position in a crafts store. However, I am really hoping that this is the position that I get accepted for. Although it states that it will be a substitute position for now, it would work with my schedule as I am working 0-6 hours a week in another retail seasonal position and I am still in uni. They are looking for someone that would be interested in later being a part-time teacher, and if I enjoy the job then that would certainly be what I would like to go into. I do believe that the experience for this position would greatly benefit what I wish to pursue as my dream career, and overall as my end-goal. 

     My end-goal in my studies and experience through careers is to be a children's animator and create cartoons that emphasizes positive mental health role models that work through difficult emotions and/or situations- such as: divorced parents, single parent, adoption, group homes, anxiety, depression, autism, bpd, dbd, and other mental illnesses that children face but don't know how to peacefully resolve their emotions. I believe that it is important to teach our generation after us how to resolve their problems from the roots, and that is during their childhood. 

     During childhood is the most important part of a person's life as they are developing. And, with iPad kids being on the rise and social media growing to engulf every living being, I believe this generation more than ever needs to take action to use this to our advantage- rather than turn it down. Yes, screen time can cause more behavioural issues- but that's not the issue I am currently speaking of at hand, I will address that at another time and date. iPad kids are being sat down and are constantly consuming whatever is placed in front of them. They mimic and grow in their development based on what we provide for them. Keeping a lock on their types of media that they take in and allowing them to watch specific media that only grows them into better people can help them both mentally and educationally. 

     I hope that through my learning experiences in both my education and my work experiences, I can either be a part of a team or be someone to help the next generation through media to grow in a healthy mentality.