Penney tells stories, inspires students
By Austin Cohea |
Jason Penney was raised in a small town in England – in fact, the fifth smallest town in England. He was born in Colorado; then two years later, moved to England. Then to California for first grade, and back to England again to start second grade.
It’s been a life full of movement so far.
“When I went to college I went for teaching, dropped out, worked in radio, went to UTSA, then became a teacher,” Penney said.
For the English II teacher, teaching has multiple rewards, his personal favorite being “inspiring kids to be the best versions of themselves.”
Penney leads a discussion on Twelve Angry Men.
Penney has been teaching for 12 years and his students have scored highest in the English II department on standardized tests for the past nine going on 10 years.
He has three daughters, and is the favorite teacher for a copious amount of students, partly because he is a notoriously amazing story teller.
“I love his stories, they’re so funny,” sophomore, Lizette Huizar said.
The reason Penney teaches is the “aha” moment, the moment when a student finally realizes something they didn’t understand before.
“The main reason I teach [is] getting students to realize something,” Penney said, “hopefully profound, something they would not have learned otherwise.”