Education Essay: Positive Reinforcement on Child Behavior
Directions: Be sure to make an electronic copy of your answer before submitting it to Ashworth College for grading. Unless otherwise stated, answer in complete sentences, and be sure to use correct English, spelling and grammar. Sources must be cited in APA format. Your response should be four (4) pages in length; refer to the "Assignment Format" page for specific format requirements.
Let’s say you have been reflecting on your first few weeks as a preschool teacher. You often find yourself asking yourself things like, “Is this child just grumpy, or is there something more going on?” “Why aren’t the children cooperating?” “How can I manage this negative behavior that is occurring? Is there something more I can do?” With that in mind, consider the scenarios in Part A and Part B.
Part A
Three-year-old Tommy is crying and upset because he can’t draw a truck like Sam’s.
For this scenario
Determine the cause of the behavior. Provide one (1) supporting fact to justify your answer, citing your source.
Develop a guidance approach that you might use to address the cause of the behavior. Provide one (1) supporting fact to justify your approach, citing your source.
Part B
The block area is a popular area within the classroom. By the time clean-up arrives, nearly every block is on the floor. As clean-up is announced, children move to other areas, refusing to assist in clean-up of blocks.
For this scenario, describe
two (2) possible causes
two (2) possible guidance strategies. Justify your strategies.
Positive Reinforcement on Child Behavior
[name]
[school/course]
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[date] Tommy
Child behavior management is a challenge that not only parents and guardians experience. Most times, educators also receive the unpleasant developing attitudes of children (Rice, Naarden Braun, Kogan, & CDC, 2014). Three-year-old Tommy is one of the many children that show behaviors that need management and supervision, especially when they are at the age of interaction. Early childhood education needs sensitive handling of toddlers and children because they are at their emotional development.
Tommy's reaction after comparing his work to Sam's is a manifestation of jealousy among children their age. At this stage, children are learning about their preferences and what they think is the best quality of something (Scharf, Scharf, & Stroustrup, 2016). In Tommy's case, Tommy thinks that Sam's drawing is better than his, making him want to draw like him to do better. He is showing normal emotional development of jealousy over something he feels is better and of good quality.
Early childhood is the stage when children start to explore their creativity and style. They begin to choose and form their preferences from what they perceive in their surroundings (Scharf, Scharf, & Stroustrup, 2016). Tommy may have found Sam's drawing appealing and attract more than his. The drawing must have passed Tommy's primary creativity standards. His being upset is a manifestation of dissatisfaction or discontent that he could not achieve his preferred creativity. Seeing it from another child makes him feel less competent in the field.
We could not also deny that competition at this age touches children more sensitively. It is because they use their emotions to express how they evaluate their and others' works. The upset feeling expresses their desire to achieve something that they put on a pedestal (Scharf, Scharf, & Stroustrup, 2016). Tommy perceives Sam's drawing as better, making it superior, and it upsets the former that he could not draw the same way. On the other hand, crying is the way children release the tension their bodies feel from the emotional conflict. Some children may even throw things, shout, or leave the class out of anger or jealousy.
Addressing child behavior in this situation must focus on making the child feel understood and at the same time educated with the right thinking. The least we would want to do to the children is make them feel more upset and invalidated (Miller, 2015). Instead of avoiding children from comparing their works to others, it is more efficient to teach children gradually the uniqueness and validity of their creativity and imagination. Such a strategy will be challenging on the part of the educator. However, because it will help children develop positively, they must make the extra effort for the children.
Educators must be the first ones to encourage and affirm the children's spirit in any activities they do, so long as it contributes to their positive development (Miller, 2015). For instance, drawing activities should not have numerical grading or descriptive grading that invalidate the personal preferences of childr...