Josh Justice is a
Counselor/Therapist in the Johnson County, Kentucky school system. He works for an agency that services students
with behavior and psychiatric issues. The children he works with have IEP’s and
most have and IQ of around 75. He has
worked in the program since August 2011, alongside a Psychiatrist. Their goal
is to help students progress to the point of discontinuing their psych
medicines.
One of his students was very
aggressive in elementary school. The
student stabbed a teacher. After working
with Josh in the program, this 4th grade student was able to achieve
3rd place in the Accelerated Reader Program. He had a complete personality shift. Some of
the strategies that Josh used with this student consist of: consistent
structure, utilizing a behavior chart, calling three times a day, relationship
intervention, after school programs, reinforcement schedule, and a token reward
system.
Josh also implemented Parent-Child
Interaction Therapy (PCIT) to change the relationship between the caregiver and
the child. This involves the caregiver
responding to good behaviors and reinforcing it. The student should be praised
for doing well in class also.
Josh uses a stopwatch when the
student starts misbehaving and he will keep the student after school. He describes his position as, “a job one does
with passion, not for a paycheck!” He is a strong believer in communication
with parents and developing rapport with them. Students are with him in the
summer and the program includes many fun activities and home visits. They frequently play Xbox games together and
this nature of relationship changes the dynamic of the student-educator
connection. A student will learn best
from a teacher that they like and respect.
He feels it is extremely important for him to remain involved in the
student’s life and the lives of their family members by default. The teacher
and student can achieve great progress when they work together as a team and
support one another.
To achieve success in his program,
Josh applies an extremely high level of dedication to his role. His life
maintains flexibility and he is always available for the students. He does not have a wife or children of his
own. He finds the most pleasure in
watching his students’ progress in their program. He enjoys the time he spends with them and is
constantly focused on helping them improve.
I was impressed with Josh’s level
of dedication and commitment to his profession.
He talked a lot about his students, and did so with a great deal of
passion. I was also impressed with the level of fulfillment he receives on a
personal level, from seeing progress in his students. I would like to have had an opportunity to
meet him personally and talk about his experiences. I believe that he would have even more
interesting stories to tell. He does some beautiful work and has changed the
lives of many students. It makes me
happy to know that there are people like him in the world, and I will strive to
model his dedication in my own position.
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