The Family Systems Theory

This week in my Family and Community Relationships class, we have learned about the family systems theory. This theory says that families are a systems and that whatever happens to one of the family members happens to all of them. This also brought home to me that each family member is an individual and should be treated as such. As a future educator it is vital for me to know each of my students and their families individually. Each student will have a different family dynamic that I will need to work with and respect. Learning about this theory has helped me to see how different families interact with each other, what types of relationships interweave in the family, and how the family as a whole and as separate parts work together. 

We also talked about what the definition of a family is. Is it people who consider themselves a family and perform typical family functions, not related by blood or marriage? Is it a husband, wife and children? Or is it two or more people who are related by birth, marriage or adopting residing together? Whatever your definition of a family may be, I know that I will need to show respect to my students and their family, regardless of what their family may look like. Other aspects that have an influence on what a family looks like includes size and form, mentioned earlier, cultural background, socioeconomic status, and geographic location. All of these things define what a family is.

Knowing these things will help be to become a better educator because I will respect and not judge. I will recognize strengths and not weaknesses. And I will know that families and their culture are constantly in motion so I should not take one picture of the family and instantly know everything about them.   


Higher, Wider, Deeper Project
For my HWD project, I have decided to learn all I can about how to become a behavioral interventionist. I chose this topic because I have really enjoyed learning about behaviors and strategies I can use to help students with their behaviors. I also chose this topic because I also like working with students individually. This helps me to get to know them individually and I can plan specific strategies that will help them inside and outside of the classroom. With the information I gather, I hope to be able to start down the path of becoming a behavioral interventionist before I graduate from BYU-Idaho.