Child and Family Studies, also known as CFS, focuses on the scientific study of child and family development.

Many CFS majors learn how societal institutions and writing are connected to the development of children, families, and youth. Through this guideline student will enhance in the knowledge of social, economical, and cultural context of this major and how to create opportunities for themselves and to become successful in the years to come. Child and Family Studies programs and classes have prepared students to enter the work field and show us how to gain authority through the scientific knowledge and practical skills preformed everyday. This higher-level major of Social and Public Health requires a hundred hours of volunteer work and a successful work environment throughout the classroom. This guide will examine Child and Family Studies as a major, and how one can use this information to prepare themselves for the journey ahead. We will approach different writing methods and types of writing, along with some background information regarding the specific knowledge a first year student would be excited to know. CFS students will not only learn about child adolescence but this field also focuses on scientific studies as well, for example, anatomy, biology, nutrition, and health classes may be required. Some other classes involved include: Child development, interaction patterns, interpersonal and professional skills, family dynamics, and research methods, all of which will bring upon skills and effectiveness to your future. You will see later in this guide a more vivid and professional schedule used for this major, that will help you understand the different steps to take. Child and Family Studies have a huge impact on peoples lives and it is our job to improve a families welfare but also to give them faith for a better and brighter life. We are the people who give others hope and to push them to be all that they can be. We are the once who individuals and families turn to when they need help or when they think they have hit rock bottom. CFS is not only just a career and job but it is a life changing experience for you and the people you are helping.

Child and Family Studies students and graduates are engaged in working in many different backgrounds and environments. They are also prepared to intervene with individuals and groups of highly diverse settings, this may include clinical work, hospitals and also schools such as early childhood educators. I had

interviewed Joan Jurich, CFS professor, along with a few other professors here at Ohio University to get some personal and academic information regarding this field of study and their own thoughts and opinions. Through Joan I was able to capture some of the recently employed positions after graduation. Public and Private school teachers Teachers and staff of child care and pre-school agency Counselor Abused children Behavioral problems Family issues Sales representative for insurance or other products Family support workers Teaching parenting skills Therapist for individuals with mental health problems

Many roles that students encounter through this field that have prepared them for graduation and for their future may include: Social work Adult education Exercise science Nursing Counseling (Joan Jurich)

Depending on the type of career choice you pursue in the future will depend on the certain type of writing used. For example, if you choose to get involved with the education field and become an early childhood educator then you will partake in writing lesson plans and creating events that are appropriate for the students to learn from. Exercise science will deal with workout plans and charts of how well the patient is coming along with the activity, Nursing careers usually have to be able to read a doctorate form and be able to connect with the patient and fill out all the forms needed with the patients personal information. There are many different types of writing in this field but it all depends on the students and the direction they choose to go along. Writing is very important because without lesson plans, or forms of personal information then the job could not get done and the patient or child will be unsatisfied.

Through this major you will take an arrangement of classes that will prepare you for your future goals. This list of classes are career oriented and will help guide you through your college years and will allow you to advance to different experiences and even to a higher level of education. Below is just a sample of possible classes you are likely to see from beginning your freshman year to ending college as a senior. Keep in mind that through general classes and the main CFS classes, students will get in touch with their writing and learn about different writing techniques and values. In college most of the writing undergoes the general experience of adolescence and you will write papers and expressions of your life and how you have changed and what you have learned from the different experiences you have encountered. With experience of my own and help from my advisor and present CFS educator, Gregory Janson, we were able to crate a table to help you better understand your responsibilities in the classroom setting. As a freshman, you are obliged to focus more on your core work and getting through your general classes. Therefore in freshman year you will only be taking one or two classes related to the actual major itself, such as CFS 2200 Marriage and Family. Through this course students will learn how to write and examine marriage as a whole, the ups, the downs, divorce, the thought of bringing a child into the family, and more. Writing in these courses just involves understanding the deeper meaning of issues and being able to write how they have changed, how they have stayed the same, the wrongs of it all, the rights, and basically just dissecting the subject to where the reader has a better understanding of the matter or problem. Freshman Year: CFS 2200-Marriage and Family

Sophomore Year: CFS 2110- Development in Infancy and Childhood CFS 2200- Development in Adolescence and Adult

Junior Year:

CFS 3200- Family Interaction CFS 3850- Diversity Among Child and Families CFS 3950- Introduction to Research Methods & Stats Senior Year: CFS 4050- Development of Professional Skills CFS 4700, 4720, 4800, 4900Practicum

Your sophomore, junior and senior year you will take more advance classes that deal with the major, I had just put a couple in to show you an example of the class work that will need to be completed. The writing through all these classes will just focus on your ability to examine a certain situation and being able to analyze it and figure out what the main problem is and how to fix that problem. Filling out examination forms and maybe some lesson plans, working with charts and understanding how to read them. These years of class work are very important because it is your chance to get some one on one interaction with writing and with different experiences. You will complete volunteer work up until your graduation and through that line of work you will be able to experience hospital settings and clinical work, or even working in a classroom or daycare center. All of which you will need to be able to read a form and fill it out correctly or read a lesson plan and be able to teach it properly. The practicum is the main part that concludes the program because it is a combination of what has been learned in the classroom and the demands of the real world experience. This is the students opportunity to learn more about families, children and support services and it also gives them a chance to explore career interests. Through this opportunity students will be able to become a member of the community. They will be getting hands on experience and learning how to do the job correctly. This is their chance to make something of themselves and to use the information they learned in class out in the real world. This is their chance to be apart of something and make their name known out in the community, if they succeed and reach their goal through their classes, volunteer work and this practicum then they will be noticed by job leaders who are looking to hire someone, and that someone will be you (Gregory Janson).

Child and Family Studies majors are given a choice between three different concentrations when they first choose to be apart of this program, these three include: Child, Adult and Family Services, Child Life, and Family Gerontology. Once you choose the best fit for you then that will help you decide the correct and appropriate classes to take. Jenny Chabot who is the main advisor and leader in the field of study gave me a general basis of what these three conceptions were all about.

Child, Adult, and Family Services

Students focus on the nature of individual and family interactions: how the influence of school, peers, gender, and poverty influence an individual and their family functioning, or how an individual within a family is shaped by the different dynamics. This concentration allows students the opportunity to work with individuals, families, and couples through a broad range of human service settings. This is a great program to get involved in and allows you to pursue in human and social service agencies or other programs involving children and adults through their stages of life. The use of writing is important in this type of concentration because students will need to be able to fill out and understand the different developmental forms used to examine a child or family. They must be able to write down the specific information needed to help them succeed in the process of helping this individual, whether it be notes, background information forms, or maybe in certain situations medical forms.

Child Life
This concentration deals with a more hospitalization experience for children and families. Once you graduate you are then qualified to become a Certified Child Life Specialist, or CCLS. This program includes, teaching coping skills to children with health care issues, supporting individuals or families, preparing families for the stress of medical procedures, therapeutic medical play, and also planning activities and events to advance a childs development and growth. The main courses for this program revolve around child life, psychology, biology, health and early childhood education. This concentration allows a variety of career opportunities for students and deals with a huge part of hospital and clinical settings. Medical forms, planning forms, procedure; these are all types of writing students in this section need to be able to understand and analyze. Working in a hospital setting deals with a lot of paper work and medical information, so the student will need to know how to read it all correctly and be able to fill out each section to the best they can.

Family Gerontology
Students in this concentration will receive an undergraduate gerontology certificate. It focuses on support needs, typical changes, and the different outcomes experienced by family members and adults as they age. It also connects to the quality of their relationship across the lifespan. Careers branching off from this program are ones that involve helping older adults and their family members. This certain concentration deals with the process of background information and knowing everything about your patient. Writing down the changes they go through and the different challenges they have experienced. Understanding support method and being able to interact with that older individual with ways they feel comfortable(Jenny Chabot).

Not everyone succeeds when they leave college and enter into the work place. You might mess up or draw blanks or even freeze up because you are so nervous being in the real world and away from the classroom. These things happen to everyone when they experience opportunities for the first time and especially when its real life opportunities standing right there in front of you. Going through college courses and getting your volunteer hours and practicum done will help you feel accomplished and ready to tackle anything that comes your way. As I was speaking with Joan she gave me some tips on how to gain authority and credibility when you are first setting foot in that new work place because lets be honest it can all be a little scary and overwhelming at times. 1) SHOW NO FEAR: Act confident and reliable when you get that first job or first client and let them know that you are ready and willing to help them with whatever they need. If you show fear then that client of fellow employee might think you are not qualified to take on the job, so go into the work place with your head up and confidence in yourself. 2) SHOW RESPECT: Yes be confident but dont go in there acting like you are better than everyone else, be respectful to the people around you and to your other employees and especially to your clients. Being a respectful individual is one main key to getting you far in life, without respect then you have nothing.

3) BE PREPARED: When you get that first job and first client to work with then make sure you are prepared for whatever they throw at you. Take notes and bring them to work with you, study your procedure and client background, look at the different cases that could occur. These are some of the little things that will help you be prepare for work, the more knowledge and skill you obtain the better off you will be when taking steps into that new work place. 4) HAVE FUN AND DO YOUR BEST: the most important part about gaining authority and credibility is to have fun and be all that you can be. Go into the office with a smile on your face and a positive attitude. No one wants to be around depressed or negative people so show them that you are happy to be there and you are ready and dedicated to making the best out of it. Other people feed off of positive attitude so when your happy then your fellow employees and your clients will all be happy as well. With any job that you take on it should always be fun and you should never give up no matter how hard times get. You dont work a day in your life if you love your job and are having fun, make the most of every opportunity and experience and good things will happen. (Joan Jurich) These are great steps in gaining credibility and authority in the workplace and they also are great for gaining it all through writing. If students are prepared in the techniques they have learned through class and volunteer work then they will be prepared to write out in the real world. They will be prepared to write their lesson plans and their medical and developmental forms, they will be prepared to write about the different problems they discovered and they will be prepared to fix those problems. Also writing in this major/field is supposed to be fun and exciting. You should have fun interacting with your client and be able to dissect and write about the situation with a high head and smile on your face. Writing in everything we do should be a fun and life changing experience. You are able to write about another persons life and the hard times they face, you should not be scared or fearful of it all, but you should respect them and understand the challenges they they come up against everyday. This is your chance to write forms and charts and documents relating to the problem of the client and to help that client in the best way that you can. You are making a different in someone elses life and you should be proud and confident in everything that you achieve.

References
Chabot, Jenny. Personal Interview. 31 October 2013. E-mail. Janson, Gregory. Personal Interview. 1 November 2013. E-mail. Jurich, Joan, Personal Interview. 25 October 2013. E-mail

Appendix
Some Interview Questions used: 1) How does one gain credibility and authority in the field of Child and family studies. Joan Jurich answered with a list of show no fear, show respect, be prepared and have fun and do your best. Listed in the guide above. 2) To show a better understanding of a guide I thought it would be good to show some main classes so I asked Gregory Janson what would be the typical class schedule from freshman year to senior year in this type of study? He answered with the class chart above. 3) What are the different types of genre used throughout this major? Jenny Chabot answered with the three concentrations 4) Then I just asked some general questions about why they wanted to get involved with the field and I kind of used some of that information in the introduction. 5) I asked Joan the different steps she took from being in college to where she is now but I didnt feel like that information fit well with all my other stuff because she had a little twist in hers because she was first a psychology major. 6) What are the different roles and positions held in child and family studies? Joan and I worked together to write out a list of the most popular employment after graduation and then she provided me with some different roles mentioned in the guide above.