Hello!
Reaching and teaching youth has been a passion for over 30 years. I began my career as an Elementary teacher and taught general education; students identified as having gifts and talents; youth in a residential, educational therapeutic wilderness program; and adults in Japan before turning earning a Master's degree in emotional and behavioral disorders. Over the years I have taught all grades from 1 through graduate school.
In addition to teaching in Japan, I also developed and provided training to teachers in Oman on behavior management and the nature and needs of students with disabilities.
A list of publications and workshops is included on my Vita. Of equal importance, however, is my experience as a mother and grandmother. One of my children had ADHD. Another had a Learning Disability. The third child had no disabilities. I have experienced life from both sides of the desk and am sensitive to the needs of parents.
At one Parent-Teacher Night earlier in my career a few colleagues and I were working the refreshment table as parents came to meet their middle grades students' teachers. The first hour of the night was set aside for the parents of honors students. One of the teachers who did not know of my children's challenges said, "Those are the good kids' parents." I was immediately filled with a mixture of frustration and compassion for a colleague who did not intend to be hurtful. I responded with "I am the good kid's parent and I am the bad kids' parent." We talked about the importance of not branding parents and students as good or bad based upon superficial criteria and incomplete information. While I have earned a Ph. D. and am diligent in my attention to the research, one of my best credentials is that I have kept one foot in the real world of schools and parents while the other foot remains planted in the academic world. Both worlds are valid, essential, and worthy. Solutions to the challenges youth, parents, and educators face are multifaceted and require the integration of fact, wisdom, loving-kindness, and creativity.
Thank you for joining me in the quest to facilitate growth!
With gratitude and respect,
Sylvia Rockwell
(aka Doc Roc)
Reaching and teaching youth has been a passion for over 30 years. I began my career as an Elementary teacher and taught general education; students identified as having gifts and talents; youth in a residential, educational therapeutic wilderness program; and adults in Japan before turning earning a Master's degree in emotional and behavioral disorders. Over the years I have taught all grades from 1 through graduate school.
In addition to teaching in Japan, I also developed and provided training to teachers in Oman on behavior management and the nature and needs of students with disabilities.
A list of publications and workshops is included on my Vita. Of equal importance, however, is my experience as a mother and grandmother. One of my children had ADHD. Another had a Learning Disability. The third child had no disabilities. I have experienced life from both sides of the desk and am sensitive to the needs of parents.
At one Parent-Teacher Night earlier in my career a few colleagues and I were working the refreshment table as parents came to meet their middle grades students' teachers. The first hour of the night was set aside for the parents of honors students. One of the teachers who did not know of my children's challenges said, "Those are the good kids' parents." I was immediately filled with a mixture of frustration and compassion for a colleague who did not intend to be hurtful. I responded with "I am the good kid's parent and I am the bad kids' parent." We talked about the importance of not branding parents and students as good or bad based upon superficial criteria and incomplete information. While I have earned a Ph. D. and am diligent in my attention to the research, one of my best credentials is that I have kept one foot in the real world of schools and parents while the other foot remains planted in the academic world. Both worlds are valid, essential, and worthy. Solutions to the challenges youth, parents, and educators face are multifaceted and require the integration of fact, wisdom, loving-kindness, and creativity.
Thank you for joining me in the quest to facilitate growth!
With gratitude and respect,
Sylvia Rockwell
(aka Doc Roc)
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