Jeannette Stricklen's Archive

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Email
jstricklen@panola.com

Profile

Jeannette Stricklen is a special education teacher in a rural area of North Mississippi. She became a teacher later in life after suffering a debilitating auto accident. But tragedy is no stranger to Jeannette. As a young child she almost lost her life to a serious blood disease. The disease helped to foster her love for reading and books. At age 7 the little girl only weighed 40 pounds, and faced learning to walk again. Reading was her main pastime. As a teenager she again suffered a serious illness. She overcame, but severe headaches for many weeks made recovery difficult. After high school Jeannette married. She had a large family. One day she came home from work, and a note on the table announced that he had deserted the family. Years of struggle to raise her family followed.
When Jeannette attended college after her accident, she set herself on a path to overcome previous adversities. She graduated 3rd in the college of education. She joined the Golden Key Honor Society and became a lifetime member. She wrote articles for the Student Government. Jeannette won scholarships each year to further her studies. While she was teaching she worked on her master’s degree, again graduating with honors.
Jeannette spent the first 8 years of her teaching career in a Catholic School. She participated in many after school activities with her students. She enjoyed helping students write and perform original plays.
In 1992, Jeannette entered the public school system, became certified in special education, and has taught in that field for 14 years. One accomplishment that she is very proud of is the completion of a grant for improving reading in her classroom. She will repeat the program this year, again with emphasis on improving the reading ability of her students. The study of sea life through Jeannette’s grant funds lead to her idea for her recently published book, The Old Blue Whale.

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