of children and unicorns

About the Book

Of Children and Unicorns is a humorous narration about special needs students that made up the classes over the years of special education teacher Joe Robert. Interspersed among the student anecdotes is commentary by Joe Robert about specific educational practices, methods, and trends. Mr. Robert is writing strictly from years of experience and not from theory or educational ideas that look good on paper, but fail in the classroom. Some of the anecdotes may make you cry a little, but most will make you laugh. He writes about methods that may seem unorthodox for some, yet worked for him. Robert uses the symbol of the fabled unicorn to represent those teachers who stepped outside of the box and did what they had to do to get their job done. The new teacher will look at this work and say, “So that’s the way it was,” while the experienced teacher will say, “Yes, I’ve been there. I remember that,” and the non-teacher will just say, “Wow!”

About the Author

Joe Robert, whose real name is Joe Robert Lock, is a 61 year old retired school teacher who has taught special education in the central Florida school system for 22 years. Lock was born and raised in the Detroit, Michigan area and graduated from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan in 1974 with a degree in English and education. He worked mostly in sales and retail management until he was 38 years old and then moved to Florida to achieve his long held goal of becoming a classroom teacher. Teaching jobs were scarce in Michigan in 1989, and he knew his chances of getting hired were better in Florida. He was offered a job teaching elementary developmentally delayed students. He took the job, became certified in special education, and says he has never had any regrets. Lock has three children, Andrew, Vicki, and Mary; and two grand children, Cadence and Emma; and is engaged to another teacher, Anna Radosti.