Freshman Teacher Teaches Lessons Outside of the Classroom

Sutton+shares+a+laugh+with+freshman+Katy+Atkins+on+December+13%2C+2017.+%28Hayden+Calendine+%7C+The+Talon+News%29

©The Talon News | Hayden Calendine

Sutton shares a laugh with freshman Katy Atkins on December 13, 2017. (Hayden Calendine | The Talon News)

Sarah Crowder, Junior Reporter

With a passion for teaching and making students smile, Mrs. Sutton continues to make an impact on Argyle.

“I love what I do,” Challenge Day Club sponsor and Student Leadership and English I teacher Jeanna Sutton said. “I am one of those teachers who looks forward to coming to school every day. It’s exciting to me.”

Her goal is to make Argyle as welcoming as possible.

“I want Argyle High School to be one of those places where everyone feels loved and included and safe,” Sutton said. “And for it to be a positive experience.”

She achieves this by being a part of and running many different organizations, like Challenge Day Club.

“We try to encourage kids to make a positive difference in our school,” Sutton said. “Underneath that, we have TACO Tuesday, which stands for Teenagers Affirming Classmates Outreach. It’s a safe place for kids to come and have friends.”

Through Challenge Day Club, FCA, and her English class, Sutton teaches students life lessons daily.

“Being in Challenge Day, she’s taught me to love and care for others, and to always be thinking of others,” Challenge Day Club President Landry Austin said. 

She constantly preaches love and acceptance to her students.

“She’s taught me that you don’t know what everyone else is going through,” freshman Challenge Day Club member Joe Walsh said. “So be nice to them no matter what.”

Sutton is considered a parental figure around the school and always has her door open.

“[These students mean] everything,” Sutton said. “I always say I have 800 kids because to me, the students at Argyle High School are my life and I truly look at them that way.”

Her students feel the same way about her.

“She is a second mother to me,” Walsh said. “If I had someone to go to with problems at school, she would be that person.”

Sutton takes it upon herself to make sure that every student knows they’re special.

“I have learned that every kid has some sort of leadership ability,” Sutton said. “And every kid has some sort of gift. And for me as a teacher, it is important that I try to help kids figure out what it is they’re good at doing and how to do that in the future.”

©The Talon News | Hayden Calendine
Sutton explains the symbolism in “Lord of the Flies” to her freshman on December 13, 2017. (Hayden Calendine | The Talon News)

Sutton takes an immense amount of joy from teaching and being around high school students.

“I learn more from you guys than you could ever think of learning from me,” Sutton said.