My Day Job

I have been trying to "make it" as a writer for quite a while now. Much of my writing has nothing to do with this blog or with teaching, so I don't really talk about it here--this is a blog strictly about my experiences in the charmed, gentle, sheltered world that is the NYCDOE. But today, the twain shall meet.

I have been working on a novel and recently started seeking representation for it. I've had a few agents show some interest, and right now I have partial manuscripts with two agents and a full manuscript with a third. I have been reading writer blogs as well as teacher blogs lately, too, and one blog asked me this question today: What is my ultimate goal as a writer? Honestly, crazy as this sounds, it's to have a book signing at the Barnes and Noble in Union Square. That seems to me to be the definition of "making it." But I digress.

I digress because one of the possible goals was "quitting your day job." And I thought about that, quitting my day job--that is, teaching. Is that my goal? I surprised even myself by saying, "No." I really don't think I want to quit teaching. I like the kids. I really do. Most of my problems with the NYCDOE are with the grownups. Ideally I'll be able to take some time off to do some promotion of my work, should it get sold and published, but I don't know that I'd ever want to leave the kids entirely. Of course, I say this now, but check with me on June 26.

But teaching isn't just my "day job." It's the work I'm shaping into a career, an outlook, a plan, a life.