My name is Erin, I currently live in Connecticut. I have a bachelor's degree in criminal justice and psychology and currently work in the behavioral health field with children in a residential facility. I have been working in the field of behavioral health for 8 years and it has its challenges. I attempted to pursue a Master's in Social Work before deciding it was no longer the direction I wanted to continue. I decided to transition into the business world with aspirations to work in Human Resources. While I am very appreciative of my experience and growth, I am looking forward to this next chapter.
I have had the experience to work in several settings. The main goal is always the same--to provide support, promote safety and educate clients tailored to their skill levels and programming needs. The school was staffed with about 40 employees of different positions, but mainly paraprofessionals. As a behavior technician, going to work every day was not a chore but enjoyable. Staff members were not there because they had to be, as MacGregor's Theory Y describes,we were there because we enjoyed what we do and every day we could grow alongside our students (Newstrom, 2015tti. With such high staff turnover, the group dynamic was stuck between the storming and norming phases (St.Thomas Aquinas College, 2016tti with assigned classroom groups and groups formed by choice. There were those who were passive aggressive, those who did not want to be there and those who made their opinions known. Looking back at this experience, there teamwork and support while students were there, after hours there was a lot of negative feedback toward one another. Quarterly we would attend professional development days, along with each school in the state, aimed at topics that would benefit us individually and promote teamwork. Many staff members dreaded these days because it was uncomfortable, forced interaction. Again once these ended, everyone broke off into their individual groups and returned to work the following day.
A hierarchy existed composed into classrooms which included behavior technicians and a teacher. A behavior analyst oversaw the teacher and analyzed student educational goals and progress. The program director oversaw both the teachers and worked with the behavior analyst. Above the director was the state committee, overseeing all the schools in the organization within the state. The successes of the students came down to what happened in the classrooms and the work of the paraprofessionals and behavior therapists. If something wasn't working, as a classroom we brought our ideas to the behavior analyst. The classroom staff are considered the foundation of the program. We are the ones dealing with students and guiding them to be successful. Without this role, there would be no data to be looked at or successes to be measured. The director ensures the program runs smoothly and rules are followed but can only be successful with the work of the team.
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uL6x99-VSBA
Newstrom, J. W. (2015tti. Organizational Behavior: Human Behavior at Work. New York,