Cheryl Dorward

Tell us why you became a teacher

I became a teacher after doing the corporate “ thing “ and being accepted into law school. I had always wanted to teach, but my parents steered me away from it. After, the other avenues I pursued , it never left me to pursue a career a job in making a difference … and that was working with students, from teaching on an Indian reservation in Arizona in 1998 to a school outside of Princeton, New Jersey. I have always tried to bring the world into the classroom to enrich and educate my students.

Tell us about your most memorable teaching experience

I do think going from the corporate world to the world of education was the most memorable teaching experience. My first classroom experience was teaching students from all over the world and they did not speak English. So I brought the world of education into our classroom, teaching them Pre-algebra, geography based on the books we read and then they ended up teaching me so much about the “ worlds “ I was not from. The expectations were hard to always do your best, in an explorative classroom.

What would you do with the $25,000?

I think the 25,000 would be spent for the classroom and students I would be teaching. There is so much technology and ways to really bring the world into your classroom and so I would research ways with technology to do this. I would also do more project and STEM based activities which require a lot of supplies, such as simple tool activities of building strong structures based on materials they have, and rubrics given or keeping a marble suspended, the possibilities are endless.