Many people assume that every aspect of family life is “instinctual,” that parents should know how to cater to and teach their children at each stage of their development. Families are often looked down upon when they mistreat their children or have unrealistic expectations of them at certain stages of life. However, many families have lacked the appropriate models for good parenting or healthy family life because of their own chaotic upbringing. They did not have anything to compare their current ways of parenting to, so they turn to dysfunctional techniques without realizing the damage that is being done to their children. This is why Family Life Educators are desperately needed and important.
According to ncfr.org, Family Life Education Methodology is “an understanding of the general philosophy and broad principles of family life education in conjunction with the ability to plan, implement, and evaluate such educational programs.” Family Life Education can include everything from teaching parents how to help tune their young child’s fine motor skills to helping the family create and maintain a budget. Family Life Educators often cater to low-income families with low knowledge about child development and healthy parenting styles, but this is not always the case. Family Life Educators are needed for many types of families, whether their children have special needs, behavior problems, or they simply want to know what proper nutrition looks like. As family professionals, we must have at least a general understanding of how to plan an implement educational programs for families who need it.
According to ncfr.org, Family Life Education Methodology is “an understanding of the general philosophy and broad principles of family life education in conjunction with the ability to plan, implement, and evaluate such educational programs.” Family Life Education can include everything from teaching parents how to help tune their young child’s fine motor skills to helping the family create and maintain a budget. Family Life Educators often cater to low-income families with low knowledge about child development and healthy parenting styles, but this is not always the case. Family Life Educators are needed for many types of families, whether their children have special needs, behavior problems, or they simply want to know what proper nutrition looks like. As family professionals, we must have at least a general understanding of how to plan an implement educational programs for families who need it.
Academic Preparation
- Working with Parents
- Early Childhood
- Core Conflict Resolution
A lesson plan my group and I presented in FSHS 670 - Working with Parents.
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Work/Volunteer Experience
- Undergraduate Research Assistant
- House Church Leader (Ichthus Manhattan)
The house church I lead - Foundry - won the all-Ichthus dodgeball tournament this year!
Reflection
Family Life Education is extremely important, and I believe it is an underemphasized area of family life in general. Many families are not aware that resources exist to teach them how to raise healthy, functional children within their unique system. I am grateful that I have a baseline understanding on how to effectively implement programs that will encourage families to keep moving forward in healthy ways, even through difficulty. I believe that the most important theory to keep in mind when implementing education programs for families is Systems Theory. As family life professionals, we must always keep in mind the idea that a family is a complex system made up of many different parts. Affecting one part of the system will undoubtedly affect the system as a whole, and no education program will be effective if it addresses the needs of one member of the system while neglecting the rest, or vice versa.
My personal experience has reminded me time and time again how effective education is extremely important, not only for families, but for the individual members. I have been privileged to be a volunteer house church leader in my local church for about two years now. This means that I get to teach on topics that are relevant to college students’ lives. I have learned that effective education always needs to involve the people you are teaching, and that being a teacher means you will often feel as though you learn more from the people you are teaching than they learn from you. Although I have not yet had direct experience with implementing actual family life education programs, I have had plenty of experience leading discussions, gather feedback, and casting vision for groups and individuals. This will carry me into my future career as someone who hopes to be a leader and teacher in whatever career I pursue.
This area is one I would like to “gain more ground in,” so to speak. I have not jumped at many opportunities to interact with families during my college years, and those opportunities are already quite hard to come by in a largely college-oriented town. This is definitely an area I will seek more opportunities in as I develop as a family life professional. I think that my natural strengths will complement any family life education I participate in. One of my favorite strengths is “developer,” because it means I love casting vision for people and encouraging them towards their full potential. For this reason, family life education is extremely interesting to me and I hope to get involved more in the future.
My personal experience has reminded me time and time again how effective education is extremely important, not only for families, but for the individual members. I have been privileged to be a volunteer house church leader in my local church for about two years now. This means that I get to teach on topics that are relevant to college students’ lives. I have learned that effective education always needs to involve the people you are teaching, and that being a teacher means you will often feel as though you learn more from the people you are teaching than they learn from you. Although I have not yet had direct experience with implementing actual family life education programs, I have had plenty of experience leading discussions, gather feedback, and casting vision for groups and individuals. This will carry me into my future career as someone who hopes to be a leader and teacher in whatever career I pursue.
This area is one I would like to “gain more ground in,” so to speak. I have not jumped at many opportunities to interact with families during my college years, and those opportunities are already quite hard to come by in a largely college-oriented town. This is definitely an area I will seek more opportunities in as I develop as a family life professional. I think that my natural strengths will complement any family life education I participate in. One of my favorite strengths is “developer,” because it means I love casting vision for people and encouraging them towards their full potential. For this reason, family life education is extremely interesting to me and I hope to get involved more in the future.