My first year as a teacher was both exhausting and exhilarating. Each Monday I faced a rush of anxiety and the weight of responsibility that awaited me; however, each Friday greeted me with pride and accomplishment for the 150 lessons I taught and created. It was a year filled with ups and downs, laughter and stress, learning and more learning. My knowledge grew vast though this experience compared to the four years of college preparation. I grew as a professional and I grew as a person.

My mother, a former educator, passed down advice and wisdom for which I am grateful. She explained to me that I was entering a profession that many consider to be saintly. Her advise: to maintain a good sense of humor, take pleasure in my job, have enthusiasm about the subject I was teaching, and above all else, enjoy my students. I am thankful for my mother’s simple, yet excellent, advice, which I still follow today. I laugh a lot as I enjoy each school day. As a second year teacher I do not consider myself a veteran of the profession but I give myself credit for successfully finishing my first school year. I continue to build on past experiences along with the new ones of this year.

The standards consist of 116 benchmarks that are organized to parallel the content in the Illinois Learning Standards. The Learning areas consist of: Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Physical Development and Health, Fine Arts, Foreign Languages and Social/Emotional Development.

The Early Learning Standards provide teachers that are working with preschool children guidelines to assist them in developing age appropriate lessons for their students. The standards focus on seven guiding principles in their foundation.

The first is that early learning and development are multidimensional and developmental domains are highly interrelated. Therefore it is important to keep in mind that benchmarks listed in one domain could also be utilized in others as well.

The next principle is that young children are capable and competent. All children are able to have positive outcomes developmentally and need to be challenged regardless of backgrounds and previous experiences.

The third principle reminds us that children are individuals and develop at various rates.

Similarly, the fourth principle discusses the fact that children will exhibit a range of skills and competencies in any domain of development. Not all children within a certain age range will reach a benchmark at the same time.

Also, children may reach a benchmark in one goal under a learning area but not another for example they may reach benchmark 1.A.ECc Identifying labels and signs in the environment but not yet 1.A.ECd Identifying some letters, including those in own name.

The fifth principle is that teachers need to have a knowledge base of how children grow and develop, together with expectations that are consistent with growth patterns that are essential to develop, implement and maximize the benefits of educational experiences for children.

The next principle focuses on the idea that children learn best through active exploration of their environment in both child-initiated and teacher-selected activities. It is important to keep in mind the importance of play in a young child's curriculum and giving each child ample opportunities to explore his/her environment and interact with adults and peers throughout the day.

The final principle deals with the importance roles that families play in the lives of young children and to remember that families are the primary caregivers and educators of young children. Therefore it is essential to keep all children's families aware of goals, experiences to provide for the children and expectations for their performance at the end of the preschool years (Illinois Early Learning Standards, 2001).

The process of this application is still subject to resolve. However, the development of a professional portfolio is favored. The portfolio should provide documentation such as summations and artifacts that notate how the applicant implements and practices the Illinois Professional Teaching Standard. The other possibility is developing professional videotape that gives evidence of the same. No matter what its final form, the fact matters, that all teachers with Initial Certifications must become familiar with these standards and begin collecting artifacts (lesson plans, reviews, student work etc.) that give evidence to the practice of these standards.

Please note that in order to feature student work, photographs, or videotape of students you must have written parental/guardian consent. A copy of these forms should be included as one of your artifacts.

Anyone employed by the Chicago Public School (CPS) system under this Initial Certification should already be involved in the Mentorship and Induction Program for New Teachers (MINT). The second year of this program is dedicated to developing a professional development portfolio.

Any other teacher with an Initial Certification that does not work for CPS and is not involved in a mentorship program that addresses this issue, should contact the MITL: New Teacher and Mentorship Team at Roosevelt University.