Colette in Las Vegas writes:
I’ve been living in Las Vegas for a little over a year. I am currently a 1st grade teacher. I was working in the inner city, but was transferred to a school in an upper-middle class neighborhood. I do not like where I teach. I am not even sure if teaching is for me. Most of all, I want to go back to my home state on the east coast. I am trying to look for another teaching job on there for the 08-09 school year. Will I get the job? Is teaching for me?
Dear Collette,
While you may not be overjoyed with the career you have chosen, you are very good with kids. If you could expand your credentials to specialize in working with troubled kids in a more individualized capacity, you would have a much happier career in the educational system. If you choose to remain in front of a class, teaching older kids is an option. The 10th grade seems to be a much better fit for you, particularly if you could find a job teaching social studies or economics.
I do see an opportunity for you to teach in New Jersey for this coming school year, but I’m not sure that you will be thrilled with this avenue. In truth, if you want to get out of Las Vegas with a teaching job, your best options seem to lie in the South.
If you truly want to move back home, you can make this happen. I’m not sure that the opportunities are for 1st grade, but if you are willing to accept a position for either the 3rd or 5th grades, you can get back to your home state, but not to your hometown.
Any way I look at it, the 2008-2009 school year comes with a trade-off for you. You can either like your job, or like where you live, but I don’t see you being thrilled with both areas at the same time. Because of that, staying where you are and giving this particular school another shot is a very viable option. The coming year won’t be quite as trying as the current year, but you will still feel and be treated as an “outsider.”
Ultimately, I don’t see you teaching for more than five years. Your career path will change, and I do see you furthering your education to make this transition. I see you working in a hospital-like setting, possibly as an occupational therapist or something along those lines.
Good luck!
Red
Ext. 9226
