Job Discussion Forums

[marley'sghost]

[mitsui]

Arm's length does not work here as there is gossip and backstabbing.
It feels like 1946.

We do the teaching but some JETs do nothing: sit, stand, or speak Japanese.
When students speak Japanese they do not try to speak English to me.

The plan is fixed and we have almost no flexibility.
It is teaching for dummies.

No academic probation. It depends on the JET - most teachers are not strict.

Micromanaging is an issue, as is passive-aggressive behavior.

I have been called a gaijin in class and my wife was called a nanpa by a teacher.

[JRJohn]

I get your point. It is pretty extreme. But is it not the case that what Aeon is doing can also be described as micromanagement? Micromanagement is when the company or school you work for tries to organise and control every minute of your working time. I remember working in a school in Spain that was micromanaged. For example, not only did I have to prepare lesson detailed plans, saved and checked by the boss but I had to record everything I did in 3 or 4 detailed, specific ways, including attendance, tests and so on. There were meetings, meetings, meetings. Even the Halloween party was micromanaged. Yet I still did not get a sense of clear direction from the top about the most important thing which was the Trinity Exams. It was all little stuff.
Is that how Aeon works? If they micromanage everything, then it could be counterproductive, leading to lower success and higher stress among staff than one might expect.

[TokyoLiz]

The way Aeon operates is much like any Japanese company - you come in early, have a meeting/ pep talk/ taiso session before the work day starts, and you stay after your working hours to clean up.

My guy works in a manufacturing business. He meets his coworkers about an hour before their actual working day begins, and stays a few hours after the office closes to clean up and plan the next day, or train rookies.

Aeon's method is nonsense, but I told you that before.

[Lamarr]

I've not known any eikaiwa to micromanage in the way you describe. It would cost them too much time and money. Like I've explained in my posts, their main (or only) concern is making as much profit as possible. They wouldn't go to the trouble of having all lesson plans, lesson reports etc. documented and vetted to the nth degree. That would waste too much time that would be better spent maximizing the number of lessons they can shovel into your schedule, so that customers get through their lesson points as quickly as possible, then they can apply their sales tactics to fleece more money off them.

Micromanagement would mess all that up. And besides, it isn't necessary, when you consider (as again I've explained) that eikaiwa simply require you to turn up on time, dress smart, smile and be genki, and not commit any faux-pas. Teaching doesn't come into it.

[mitsui]

Not sure about that.
What about Interac?

[marley'sghost]

Better clarify, we've left the cult of Aeon back there a few pages ago. We've been talking ALT/Private schools for a bit. This thread has been well and properly commandeered. Don't worry, there are still two other threads devote to the topic......

The micromanagement we are talking about as it exists in the public/private schools is where the ALTs are kept on a tight leash as far as input, responsibility, teaching duties, general freedom to create, adapt and teach in useful ways.

@Mitsui- not quite following "How about Interac?" what? Maybe just missing it due to undercaffeination. (that should be a word!)

[mitsui]

It can even happen as a direct hire as well.

No, I thought at Interac that lessons there were put into blocks, say 5 parts
that are 5-15 minutes long.
That is a way of micromanaging as there is no freedom to teach as you like in class. And that way any young person can do the job, in theory.

If it isn't Interac it was another eikaiwa.

[marley'sghost]

[mitsui]

No, I have a contract with my school only.
But the wording is sneaky. There is a mention of extra duties,
but of course were not mentioned in the interview.
More and more work is expected every year.
I think in that way it is not surprising teachers come and go
and younger teachers get hired.

Dispatch is different and something I would not recommend.
The interview I had last year was nasty.
"Why should we hire you?" - the assumption that foreigners
are just lazy and are all the same.
How people put up with it...well there is nothing else better they can find.
Things are getting worse.

I will go back to the USA since pay and conditions will be better.
It will be nice to not be a foreigner anymore.

[TokyoLiz]

Gyomu itaku contracts are the tool of dispatch companies, and interfere with (read T-bone) language education. What a waste of tax payer money. I pay taxes, too.

[kpjf]

[rslrunner]

[kpjf]

[rslrunner]