I’m about to embark on the journey of a lifetime – becoming a New York City public school teacher.

What do you need to know about me? I was a journalist before this. I worked for 10 years at various newspapers and magazines. I was a junior in high school when I published my first articles and photographs in my city’s largest newspaper.

Did I enjoy being a journalist? Yes – at first. I was committed to truth, accuracy, and the idea that an informed public was essential to the survival of our democracy. But somehow I ended up doing fluff journalism (writing about movies and movie stars). What editors thought people wanted to read became more important than what people needed to know. Those changes in the way newsrooms were running irked me. I didn’t enjoy the writing and reporting anymore. But I was a mentor to incoming interns and loved being their advocate. I wanted to work with young people more and more.

So…I was volunteering. Various places. Enjoying it. And I was doing some mentoring of aspiring journalists, high school kids and college kids. I thought – this is much more fulfilling than any press junket. So I applied and was accepted to NYC Teaching Fellows. I’m in!

This blog will mostly be about my emotional journey as a new teacher. It will include discussions about educational policy, the politics of schools, and other fun social stuff that relate to the many, many other much better education blogs out there. I hope to provide one radical newbie’s perspective on entering the teaching profession, and like any good journalist, I hope to provide the truth.