Portfolios

When it comes to the topic of portfolios, many people think of folders filled with the work students have dont rhoughout the school year or a specific marking period. During my grammar school and high school career I can clearly remember doing a portfolio only one time and that was my senior year and it was for art class. However, it was not a portfolio that I liked because it had work that I was not happy about, work were i didn't do good because art has never been my strong point.
Portfolios, a word that after senior year for me meant a folder that had work made by me, but picked by my teacher. I did not hear or see again another portfolio uintil this past spring break while I was doing my junior field experience. I observed a second grade teacher in a school located in Union City, NJ. The first day I was there, the teacher gave me an overview/tour of the classroom and then she came to the table where she kept two 2 "boxes" and those boxes had folders, one box was labeled Math & Science and the other one Language Arts. Those folders had work done by the students and most importantly PICKED by the students. Also, those pieces of work had a paper attached to them written by the students on why that piece of work is part of their portfolio.
Students work hard on their assignments and when they are proud it should be in a place where other people can see it if needed. As a teacher, I would definetally keep a special area where their portfolios will be and the student can pick the work that should go there.