Vegas or Bust

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So here's the thing, and I've talked about this on work section.

I'm 26 years old and have been in school too long. A career is necessary and I've spent the last year taking all steps to become a teacher, though you have to sign up before a certain date here now, which I missed. So that being the case, I've spent the past year taking the classes necessary for social studies so I can have that as well as English 7-12 certification. Also, I signed up to substitute teach in two school districts here, since I live right on the line between two major ones.

Despite having been doing it since the fall semester without incident, right before I joined this site I was let go by one of the school districts. They maintain I did nothing wrong and violated no rules and nobody accused me of either. It was simply complaints about me that motivated it, and you only get four of them. All I get to know, ever, is that they were complaints about me and they came from certain schools. One thing these schools had in common? They all were among the very best I had done socially, where I had had the best experience with kids, and even one where my sister was a teacher and tried to look out for me.

I'd had the whole employment problem back in Missouri where I went to school and it's what got me moved back to Arkansas, which is plentiful with jobs in the Northwest Arkansas area. Wal-Mart hired me for a job it turned out I wasn't properly skilled for, phone support never has worked out for me, and after that the teaching thing came up. Growing up here, I have a lot of memories people with Asperber's raised in rural areas or small towns probably would recognize as familiar. Now I tried to make my peace with Arkansas and here I can't even stick around as a substitute teacher because people find the need to complain about obviously little more than personal aversion?

Once I realized that the problem was likely Asperger's, I knew it was hopeless here. Arkansas could be called the land of conformity. More precise, I suppose, would be the land of homogeny. Having learned its history formally now for my career, I have to say that it's always been that way. So have the whole blasted Ozarks. This place will never accept me or even let me hold down a job.

So I'm heading to Vegas where the strong demand for teachers and more open-minded ways of the American Southwest will hopefully make it so I can live and work there the rest of my life. In the meantime, I just need to get through the licensing program here and my student teaching. This last part will be a real challenge for my aspieness. I must succeed, even though moving to Vegas will mean moving away from my family and every friend I ever made, because it's been a long time coming that I should take the hint.

So what do you think? Am I misguided or rightly conclusive here?

-Frank

frankcritic, My younger brother got his teaching credential about 3 or 4 years ago and almost immediately got a job. After the first year they did not renew his contract. He was a substitute for a year and then got a job at an adjacent school district. He is doing very well now and I think he is about to get permanent status. For him it was a matter of finding the right grade level and school to work. Maybe this move can provide the right fit like my brother found. Good luck!

I wouldn't go so far as to say that the people in Vegas as a whole are open-minded, however, IME, as a melting pot of different socio-economic groups, people tend to be relatively polite compared to homogeneous locales. Depending on what your degree is in you may be especially attractive to the local districts, and may not need to get through the licensing program down south, unless of course your degree depends on it. In any event, you'll probably need some sort of nest egg to keep yourself going for a few months and/or get a job as soon as you get there, and above all don't forget to fill out an interest form. Vegas is a great cycling city IMO, so if you don't mind crazy winds/heat and a small apartment the costs of living are decent. LMK if there's anything you would like to know. My friend has family and we periodically drop by and spend a couple days to a week loafing around the city.