So…Where has Mr. D been all this time?

I hope this was the question on all of your lips lately.  If not…well…just entertain my delusions of grandeur for a few minutes.

As many in the Neighborhood can tell, it has been a long time since I posted on here.  An explanation is in order.

To be honest, this year has not been the best for me.  I’ve been exhausted to the point where my health was affected.  Changes at my school hadn’t been what I expected…nor what I wanted.  Finally, opportunities had arisen that got in the way of me adding to the Neighborhood in a while.

On a good note, I will be changing schools this year.  Instead of elementary school, I’ll be teaching 6th grade social studies and science in a great Bronx K-8 school.  Meeting some of the staff and administrators gave me great vibes. I’m so excited at starting this new phase in my career.

Why the change?  Let’s just say I saw the handwriting on the wall.  I had reached my limit at my old school.  As a professional, I just couldn’t go any farther.  Every day was like treading water.  The old joy, the vigor I used to have every day was largely gone.

Now, this lack of motivation was due to many factors: my time there, complacency, routine.  But the biggest reason was the old Joe DiMaggio reason–it just wasn’t fun anymore.  Teaching there became a job, and the ridiculous mandates coming from on high made it even more of a job.  

So I needed a change.  That was that.

On a brighter note, just before break I got a great opportunity from LearnZillion, a new online education venture funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.  Out of thousands of applicants, I was one of 124 selected to be on their “Dream Team.” After an intense 3-day conference in Atlanta, I am busy creating 20 video lessons basically from scratch.  Its an amazing experience, though it is exhausting: I won’t have much of a vacation until mid-August.

On top of all this, I’m starting something that may get further as time goes on. I’ve begun writing a novel using my experiences in school as a guide.  I’m still in the preliminary stages (only written about 50 pages so far) but I’ll try to find more time for writing as my LearnZillion responsibilities peter out.

As such, the next time I will be contributing regular posts will probably be after the vacation.  

This is just to let everyone know I haven’t forgotten…I’m not dead yet.  Just needed a break for awhile.

Till September, everyone.