AUTHOR

Israelin Shockness

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I have worked as an educator for over 25 years, with students of all ages, from early reading to university. As a former columnist for a weekly publication for over 15 years, I have had the privilege to speak to many parents and young people, as well as individuals in the community. Volunteering with a few non-profit organizations dealing with children, youth, parents, and the marginalized, I have had the opportunity to meet with mothers, some of whom had been living in shelters, and I learned a great deal about what life is like for many. I have also spoken to many intact families and also got insight into a variety of family experiences. Volunteering occasionally over several years in a penitentiary for young male inmates, I have had the opportunity to learn even more about the importance of young people being able to express themselves and consider different options, even before they confront these problems in their lives. Brought up in a very close family setting, I appreciated what it meant to have supportive parents. I also had the opportunity to live apart from my family for a while and to experience what this life could be like. As an undergraduate, away from my family, I studied on a scholarship, and while excelling academically because all I did was study, I ran into challenges with my scholarship committee. It was through the insightfulness and concern of one of my professors that I did not carry through with my ill-conceived plan to drop out of university. Consequently, I have a soft spot for young people, many of whom are failing, not because of ability, but because this is where they have control. Through graduate studies and research, I was able to put theoretical underpinnings to many of my practical experiences and to use theory to undergird my professional practice. I was able to see that young people need to have control over their lives and my concern became even more intense. As someone who has always enjoyed biographies, and now as someone who writes them for my clients, I realize just how important it is to share experiences (World War II pilot, Holocaust survivor, aging soccer referee who spent 55 years in this role, a single mother who with great integrity single-handedly raised 5 children into successful adults, and a minister who followed his calling through great adversity) and provide motivation for young people. It is this concern for motivating young people that has dictated much of my life's work as an educator and has fuelled the new series of 5 books, 30 Ways for Older Teens and Young Adults ..., dealing with many of the issues that have come up in my dealing with young people in different circumstances and with parents over the years. Let's make these books available to our young people and enable them to share and discuss ideas with their peers and come up with their own solutions to problems, before they have to face the problems without having options. Visit my author page at https://www.amazon.com/author/israelinshockness
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