The Illinois Teaching Standards are designed as a sort of constitution of what is expected of teachers so that that they enable their students to learn. All students have the potential to learn as long as they have qualified licensed teachers who create a positive learning environment.
The first standard stresses that a qualified teacher should have knowledge and capabilities of the basic skills that enable them to be effective in lesson planning, lesson execution, as well as the evaluation process. Students ask a variety of questions and teachers need to be able to answer them or guide them to the answers to their questions. The second standard goes future to say besides the academic skills, teachers need to be able to address the emotional, social and personal development of their students so that they develop fully. If a teacher does not meet the different needs that the student brings with them to the class then they are doing the student a disservice because they will not be in the mental framework to understand the lessons being taught. The third standards tackle the issue of diversity. In today's schools it is very difficult to find a class that looks the same. There are ethnic, cultural, religious, and language differences to name a few. A teacher needs to be able to bridge these differences so that every child can not only be accepted but also be able to see a student like them the lesson. If standards 1, 2, and 3 are done properly then students should feel comfortable and be put in a frame of mind were meaningful learning can occur.
Standards 4, 5, 6, and 7 are important to the classroom environment so that students can learn. When working with young children “winging it” does not work. Students can pick up when teachers are not prepared. The 4th standard requires the teacher to be prepared prior to the lesson. The 5th standard deals with the environment of the classroom. A teacher with good class management skills and an understanding of effective groups for activities provide an environment where students can learn. Standard 6 deals with the issue that students have a variety of learning styles and the teacher must provide their students with different strategies and techniques so that the whole class can be able to excel. Standard 7 carries on to say that the instructor should use different ways to communicate so that all students can understand lessons weather they learn cognitively, visually ECT.
The final standards are written to ensure that the assessment and team teaching strategies are used. In standard 8, assessment is addressed so that a teacher understands that different strategies of assessment is used because often times testing is not the way to asses students alone. Many times test scores do not evaluate the whole person or provide the students on a fair playing field because of development, ethnic reasons, or disability of students. Standard 9 is very useful because teachers who work as a team are better able to evaluate their own teaching styles and share ideas and lessons. Teachers are also learners. It is important especially for new teachers to be able to seek the wisdom of other professionals in the field to gain experience for their own class. It is also important for teachers to be able to asses themselves. The way of self assessment can best be obtained by journal reflections as stated in standard 10. Journals can help a teacher understand themselves, find patterns in their teaching styles as well as an indicator of what did or did not work. A teacher that knows themselves is better able to know their students and identify what services the students need.
The final standard relates to the profession of teachers.
By becoming a teacher you are becoming a role model for many young minds.
Teachers must carry themselves in a manner that is positive to students.
Teachers should also know that they are in leadership roles and should
be willing to share their strengths and enjoyment by being active in a
group or activity outside of school. Teaching is not 8 hour a day
job 9 months a year. Teaching is a lifelong commitment and students
can be inspired or uninspired. Teachers should take the role of role
model very seriously.
In today's ever changing society, it is important that teachers understand
and are able to incorporate different technologies to help their students
and communicate with parents. Technologies are so important in today's
workforce. It is almost impossible to have a job today that does
not use technology. Teaching must not be the exception because students
will need this skill to have successful students. Technologies can
also help parents to stay informed like using voice mail systems to communicate
or e-mail each other. Technology can also be a tool that allows teachers
to have access to their work at home or at school. It can help them
organize their information and lesson plans. Technology can also
make it very easy to show trends or patterns that may be needed in IEP’s.