Ms. Caroline Sheridan is a Criminal Justice and 10th-grade Honors English teacher, but her journey didn’t begin as a teacher. Ms. Sheridan graduated from college with a degree in history, and she had two options coming out of college: to be either a lawyer or a teacher. She decided to become a lawyer and was one for 20 years.
Eventually, Ms. Sheridan began volunteering at her kids’ school, where she fell in love with the idea of teaching, and started her transition from lawyer to teacher. She didn’t give up law entirely; she still occasionally works with her daughter, who is currently a practicing lawyer. She chose to teach at Chandler High because she loves the students and diversity at CHS.
Although she loves teaching Honors English, her favorite class to teach is Criminal Justice. The class is so interrelated with what is going on in the real world; they get to study real-life problems and use justice to find solutions. Other than teaching, Ms. Sheridan has many hobbies outside of school. She loves to hike, exercise, participate in yoga, and do crafts.
Ms. Sheridan’s favorite part of being a teacher here at CHS is being able to enjoy interacting with her students. She likes teaching here because of the history of Chandler High School and the fact that it’s been around for so many years. If there’s anything CHS could improve on, Ms. Sheridan suggests making the grading calculations and their weights more straightforward. For example, she thinks that semester grades should be worth more than quarter grades instead of cutting them in half. Even though she has different opinions on the growth of Chandler High, she stated, “I never think any place is perfect and there is always room for improvement. But I also think that a lot of times, people are working on trying to make changes.”
Throughout the years, Ms. Sheridan has been an English teacher and Criminal Justice sponsor. She has learned about different attitudes from various students. Her advice to past and future students would be this: “Care about the way things are and realize that if enough people care, things can change. Always be looking to make stuff better.”
