Cheryl Darlene Cho

Cheryl Cho's Response:

I was disheartened to see that I was rated "Less effective than average" overall for a three year period when I taught 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade. In 2004 I taught 3rd grade and it was a difficult year, but I tried my best. In 2005 I taught a 4th grade class that was part of the Special Ed. Inclusion program. On my roster I had three special day class students that stayed with me during all academic subjects and after lunch went to the Learning Center. In 2006 I was given the same class, because our school was following a program where teachers stayed with their students for two consecutive years. Within this same class I referred 3 other students to be tested for special education services. Two of the students qualified because they had learning disabilities. I remember one had a disability in math. Much of my time was spent individualizing instruction for the special day class students and the other students. The Inclusion program was being piloted at my school and there were many problems. The special day class teacher who worked with the students in the afternoon at the Learning Center was a brand new teacher. I remember that the special day class students didn't score well on the CST tests, but that is why they were in special ed. The other regular ed students in my class did well on the CST tests. Were the special day class students' scores used to rate my effectiveness? I may not have been effective in raising their math and English scores, but I do know that they felt happy being in a regular class and that the other students were accepting of them. Those were two very productive years with a tremendous amount of learning and joy for all students. I have taught every grade from pre-school to 7th grade. I taught 1st grade for 8 years and experienced the joy of teaching reading. The love of learning is what I teach and that cannot be measured by a CST test score. I tell my students each year and I truly believe this to be true, " A test score can never measure how very wonderful and unique that you are as a person." I will try to heed my own words, because the rating of "Less effective than average overall" stabbed me in the heart.