Portfolio Entry

Portfolio Entry
(Book Review on Early Childhood Education)

Brittany Green (Clayton)

Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana

Portfolio Entry

The NAEYC standard I chose was standard 5b: Knowing and using the central concepts,
inquiry tools, and structures of content areas or academic disciplines. The assignment that I did
over this standard was the journal article critique. In this assignment we were to read an article
and think about the ideas that the writer had about spanking children. After reading it and
deciding what the key points were, we were to write about what information the article
contained. After we finished this we were to write our comments and opinions on it and how we
would be able to use the information in our classroom.
The article was a good example of the NAEYC standards because it explained how you
should handle a situation with a child throwing a tantrum when you are both upset. It explained
why time outs were counter productive and gave other options for you to help calm the child
down. If you are aware of this information and these ideas, you will be better knowing and able
to use the concept of a time in. When you are an educator you need to make sure that your
students are always aware that you are there for them and that they are not bad and this is a great
way to show them this while showing them that their behavior is not acceptable.
I believe that this assignment was an example of excellence because after reading it, I
tried it. To my amazement it worked! My son loved the idea of having his own safe space and
being able to write his feelings down. When he would get upset, he used to throw things, scream
and cry. He is now able to walk straight to it, sit down and begin to write. I am also able to read
his feelings that he isn’t able to express through words which helps me better understand why he
got as upset as he did.
In conclusion, I believe that positive reinforcement and encouragement are better than
negative responses and punishments. Children who are seeking attention will learn how to better
respond to frustrations and emotions, then those who are removed from the community of
learning and those who are shamed. Unfortunately, negative responses can leave children feeling
defeated and unable to know how to cope with the same situation in the future.