Mrs. Chollman, the Anatomy and Marine Biology teacher, has been a teacher at Carter High School for 20 years. Mrs. Chollman attended Carter High when she was a teen, and claims that the reason she is a teacher today was her Biology teacher, Mr. Wilber Acuff. She said, “He made learning so exciting and I want to do this for my students also.” Chollman said that she hopes that she gives her students confidence and self-worth, but also hopes that when they leave her class, that they learn to love nature and adventures. Chollman stated, “I also want to show them how to go and enjoy nature and have adventures. I want them to know they have no limits, only those they impose on themselves. I also hope I push or pull them to their highest potential.”
A little known fact about Mrs. Chollman is that she is dyslexic. Mrs. Chollman found this out not too long ago when she was in charge of getting phone numbers for her high school reunion. She realized that she had transferred several of the numbers mixed up. She also found that in college, she would take notes written backwards and she would change hands while writing. She does not think that dyslexia is a bad thing, though. She claims that it made her a better learner and she can also help students become aware of the same issues. Last year, Mrs. Chollman caught a student, who prefers to go anonymous, who showed signs of dyslexia. The student took a test and transferred her answers on a scantron. When Mrs. Chollman was grading the test, she realized that the student had gotten a significantly better grade on the test and did poorly on the scantron. She found that the student had confused her Bs and Ds on her test and mixed them up. So, for Mrs. Chollman, her dyslexia may have been a blessing in disguise– to help her be a better learner, and to help students become aware of the signs.
As a resident of the Carter community since she was in the 4th grade, she believes “The Carter community is a very special one. The staff at Carter care very deeply about their students and colleagues. It is a great place to work.” Her favorite thing about teaching is her students and seeing their accomplishments.
Carter Corps News 