Meet Rocka Malik | Master Teacher & Slacker Mom

We had the good fortune of connecting with Rocka Malik and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rocka, do you have some perspective or insight you can share with us on the question of when someone should give up versus when they should keep going?
Giving up is never an option. Either pivot or push through.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
When i was younger I wanted to be a vet, a pilot and a builder of houses. Math and languages come naturally to me – I think it’s the pattern in the languages, so I ended up majoring in International Finance and Marketing at 15 at the University of Miami – honestly, because it was the only International major with numbers, but taking a crapload of language and anthropology electives. A friend’s mom died while we were in college. I went down a rabbit hole to learn that most people lose their parents while in college, so I hurried up to graduate in 3 years and be bored out of my mind in a marketing job. So i applied to do my masters in Math and Education in New York at Teachers College and went on to absolutely love it. While at UM, I tutored in the athletic department so I really got to know how to work with reluctant learners and grew to love American football. I figured out our to talk math in a normal way.

Fast forward a couple of decades and I opened my own charter school, then private school, became the pre-k director, eventually closed the school two years before covid and have pivoted to tutoring online, (check us out at TimbukTutors.com). I taught at Miami Dade College (still do) and refereed for a couple of years until my mom died unexpectedly. My son took me to India the following year and I purchased a lovely side table while there. It was shipped to me with my mom’s birthday coincidentally scribbled on the side, so I took that as a sign to work at FedEx. Five years later, I am a Ramp Agent and having a great time dispatching planes and training the new employees, rescuing and caring for a ton of pets in the interim, and building and creating things all the while.

I’m now working on my dissertation for the doctorate in Reading, because why not? I didn’t want to go overboard on the math thing, and reading has some interesting patterns in it as well. 🙂

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Wow, a week is a long time! Like 4 days max. But, ok. I’d go to Robert is Here in Florida City. They have the freshest selection of organic fruits and vegetables AND a petting and feeding zoo behind there.

Then I’d go to Home Depot, because I’m sure I’d be in the midst of a project anyway.

Honestly, we would vibe at my house and visit more family and friends. I’m not the going out to eat and drink type, but more like incubating ideas and working on executing them. And my bestie would already know this about me.

We would pull all nighters listening to new music and working on stuff.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Shoutout to my mom and my brother. These two have supported me since I was selling candy in elementary school, and tie dye outfits in middle school, and even learning to make soap before the internet in high school. Through all my crazy ideas and inventions, they have always been right there beside me. Cheering me on, laughing with me, and never once saying, “Rock, maybe you should just get a real job.”

Website: https://www.timbuktutors.com

Instagram: @Rockasway

Linkedin: don’t even know my linked in profile details, but I do have one: RockaMalik?

Image Credits
Musa Malik