The Best Things about Teaching in Nevada

1. Teachers are done at 2 p.m. Las Vegas, Nevada’s largest city, is a 24-hour town, which means there are many jobs available in the afternoon and evening to help supplement your income.
2. It’s way too hot in the summer. Luckily, school’s out at the beginning of June and we can go places where it’s not so hot without that whole having to work thing getting in the way. During the school year, the weather’s nice, which makes grading papers outside so much more pleasant.
3. Nevada’s ranked low in education. This seems like a negative, but it’s not. Although Nevada students consistently rank between 48th and 50th nationally, most of them think there’s like 112 states, which makes being ranked 48th above average.
4. California is close. Not only are the beaches of Southern California just four hours away, California schools are even more messed up than ours*, providing Silver State educators with false confidence that gets us through the tough times.
5. Nevada Day is a state holiday. We get a random day off at the end of October every year.

So on this Nevada Day–whether you teach in the shadow of the Harvard of the West (UNLV) or work near that hippie-infested, fly-riddled town up North (Reno) or somewhere in between–you’ve got a lot to be thankful for.

*All kidding aside, I teach at a great school with great kids and a great staff.