For Marietta fifth grade teacher Shaylin Nutter, education is a family affair – but she
spent years believing that she would not walk that path.
“Originally, education was not a part of my plan,” she insisted.
Nutter grew up listening to her grandfather, Phil Daniel, on the sidelines. Daniel coached
basketball at Crowder, Atoka, and Coleman even spent a few years at Marietta back
before the turn of the century. His teams went to the state tournament multiple times,
winning it once, and he was inducted into the Oklahoma Coaches Hall of Fame.
“I thought, and still think, that Poppa hung the moon,” she admitted, “and when I was in
high school, I watched my mom follow her calling that led her into the field of education.
Although I admired them both so much, I thought it would never be me.”
And so, when Nutter graduated from Marietta High School in 2016, she headed off to
college at Southeastern planning to become a nurse.
“But teaching truly is a calling, and when I heard mine, I knew better than to ignore it,”
she laughed. “Luckily for me, I had great role models in my Poppa, Mom, and several
other family members who showed me what an incredible educator looks like.”
Nutter graduated in December 2020 with her bachelor’s degree in elementary
education. The previous month, she got a telephone call from Brenda Foster, who was
then the superintendent at Turner, asking how soon she could start teaching.
“I started at Turner teaching fourth grade in January of ’21 and was there 2 ½ years
when an opportunity came along for me to come home,” she remembered. “I loved my
time as a Falcon, but the chance to be here at Marietta with my mom and siblings, and
to be able to teach alongside some of the ladies that I’ve looked up to my whole life was
too good to pas up.”
Nutter began teaching fifth grade at Marietta in 2023, and she’s loved every minute of it.
“My building staff, and especially the fifth grade team, has been absolutely amazing
since day one!” she said. “They encourage me and keep me going on the hard days. I
couldn’t do it without them.”
A self-proclaimed people pleaser, Nutter admits that teaching is a hard job.
“You have to have some extra thick skin to teach, and sometimes that’s just not me. It’s
something my Poppa, Mom and the other teachers in my family would roll their eyes at
because they’ve all mastered the art of thick skin,” she explained. “Sometimes that
makes teaching difficult, but I come to work every day because I know there’s a kiddo
who’s excited to see me.”
Nutter has 70 kids that she believes are depending on her to set the tone for their day, a
responsibility that she doesn’t take lightly.
Dana McMillin, Nutter’s principal, recognizes her talent and willingness to go the extra
mile for her kids.
“Miss Nutter has a unique gift for bringing history to life in the classroom. Her passion
for making the past relevant to her students is an incredible talent,” McMillin said. “But
beyond the classroom, she puts her heart into organizing events like Literacy Night and
Grandparents’ Day, creating memorable experiences that bring our school community
together.”
Using Nutter as an example could be a case study in whether a teacher is born or
made. Does having a parent, grandparent, and great-grandparent, along with an aunts,
a host of great-aunts and uncles, and more than a handful of cousins as educators
make one more or less likely to choose the profession and do it well? Or does it just
create a support system the likes of which few can boast? No one really knows, but one
thing’s for certain: Nutter loves what she does.
“My biggest hope is that eight years from now, when my kids are getting ready to
graduate, they remember how much fun they had in Miss Nutter’s class,” she smiled.
“They may not remember the exact lessons I taught, but if they know I cared about them
and I cheered for their success, that’s a win to me!”