How I Became a Teacher in Las Vegas

A Teacher in Las VegasiStockPhoto\Lisa F. Young
A job where I get to deal with
teenagers all day

Like most writers, I have a day job. Every morning I get up and commute to a job where I get to deal with teenagers all day.

Yep, teenagers. I like them, which is something not many people will admit. Why would I like those unruly, smelly, noisy, distracted and squirrelly not-quite-adults? Because, for one thing, I can control them without them knowing I’m doing it, and that’s satisfying in a devious kind of way. For another thing, I can influence them to question all the flimflam, both commercial and political, that passes for communication in the public marketplace.

I teach high school science; this year it’s “Principles of Science and Biology I.” By the end of the year, at least some of my students will stop and think a bit before they swallow whatever is being said on TV or the Internet about topics like global warming and environmental impact statements. Not all of them will do that, but some will. That makes me feel that I’m contributing to the good of society. And that feeling gives me a good counterbalance to the jerks and bumps of the modern world.

Alas, it was not always so for me.

In college I majored in biology, not education. I never even thought about being a teacher in those days; I was too busy thinking about girls and worrying about getting drafted and sent to Vietnam. I thought I might become a biologist, but when I discovered the shortage of jobs for undergraduate majors, I went back to school to study electronics instead. I became an education major when I decided that teaching college electronics would be fun. The next thing I knew, I had a Ph.D. with a major in vocational education. I learned a lot of high-sounding theory and practice, and was a training manager in the corporate world for a while. Then, after about 10 happy years as a systems analyst (a computer guy) I got laid off. Eventually I came to Las Vegas looking for work, as have so many of us.

I found work in computers, but only on the graveyard shift. I am, as a movie line has it, too old for that [stuff]. When I finally decided that I needed to change careers, I discovered that the State of Nevada has a program called Alternative Routes to Licensure that allows certain Clark County college graduates to become licensed public school teachers without having to undertake student teaching. Presto, change-o: instant career!

Everyone who enters the Alternate Routes to Licensure program must pass a six-month professional development course, which cost me nothing at all but time. Having the advanced degrees in education helped, of course; I only had to demonstrate that I could still pass a graduate-level course in education to get my license (I got an A). Candidates with no education background are put into the steeply discounted Master of Arts in Education program at Sierra Nevada College, a Nevada college with a Las Vegas presence.

Teachers Wanted!Photo by Mark Sedenquist
Plenty of room for new teachers

There is a desperate need for teachers in science and mathematics in Clark County. In fact, when a general hiring freeze was put into effect this summer due to state budget troubles, math and science hiring was exempted. The number of current openings varies from school to school, but my school, and most other high schools in the district, is relying on long-term substitute teachers and would love to hire fully licensed people for these positions. At the same time, I can report that my department has all the resources it needs, from textbooks to laboratory resources, and I’m pretty sure this is true in other departments, as well.

For a quick introduction to teaching in public school, you could do what I did – spend a year as a substitute. I ended up as a long-term replacement for a forensic science teacher, and it was the most fun subject I’ve ever taught. Educational theory has it that the best way to learn something is to teach it to someone else — and it’s true. I picked up a lot of information about a popular subject. (Some of the things that happen on those TV forensics shows are grossly inaccurate, let me tell you. But that’s a subject for a completely different article.)

To sum up this one, if you are looking for a new career with some real and personal rewards, you should check out teaching for Clark County Schools. It may not pay as much as you can make elsewhere, but it has some great perks, not least of which is 13 weeks of paid summer vacation. I can honestly tell you that I’m really glad that I did.

You know how they say, “If you do what you love doing you’ll never work another day in your life?” I guess that’s true.

Comments

2 responses on “How I Became a Teacher in Las Vegas

  1. Thanks, Steve. That was a great article and something I’ve been thinking about. Especially after two years of talking to the kids in my neighborhood who have befriended me because of my dog!

    Do you think an ex-accountant could be a math teacher? I’d rather teach English and/or creative writing but I’ve actually tutored Math before and I hate to admit it but my SAT math score was higher than my verbal score.

    Great links!

    Hope to see you in the teacher’s lounge someday!

Comments are closed.