About Suzanne Sutton
In mathematics, passion should come first. But in mathematics, it seldom does. Most of us are more likely to remember a
teacher who swooned over Shakespeare, or a science teacher who got excited looking
skyward, or a history teacher who revered the foresight of our country’s founders,
than a math teacher who felt herself to be passing on a treasured legacy. Suzanne
Sutton does. She is a writer and educator passionately in love with mathematics.
Her students have faced ordinary challenges, and extraordinary challenges. Working with students in public and private schools, in drug treatment centers and psychiatric hospitals, she has helped them change the way they approach math, the way they feel about it, and the way they see themselves in it. "I used to try to get kicked out of math class," one of her students confided to another. "But now it’s the best part of the day."
"It isn’t easy," she tells her students. "And that’s the good news." She helps them discover that when they can do math, they can do anything. Her success list is long. Many of her students have not only changed their approach to math, but to school in general.
"It became clear to me that it wasn’t the math I was doing with my students as much as everything else we did to change the dialogue, the attitude, and the approach. I realized that parents can do much of what I was doing, regardless of their own abilities in math." She began writing and speaking to tell parents the good news: they could make a difference. And to tell them how.
Her mission is simple: "They say if you get one or two truly terrific teachers in a lifetime, you’re lucky. I had many. When I was 17, sitting in math class and looking up at one of them, I knew that whatever else I did in life, I would one day teach mathematics, to pay it back. Too many students, and too many parents believe that when it comes to math, they can't. I show them that they can."
Her writing, speaking and consulting are designed to help students receive this legacy, and to help parents, even non-mathematical ones, guide them successfully toward it.
For more information on arranging a lecture, assembly, or consultation with Suzanne, contact us today.
