For the final assessment piece of her Bachelor of Education the author was asked to use the STELLA Standards Framework (Standards for Teachers of English Language and Literacy in Australia) to critically analyse and reflect on personally significant incidents which occurred during her final practicums. The objective was to be able to communicate how her "beliefs and values about English and English teaching" had developed. In this article, the author reflects on her experiences as a pre-service teacher using the STELLA standards as a framework. She describes her experiences in a rural school during practicum, and the tensions caused by using the STELLA standards both as a tool to help her think about her learning and for assessment purposes.