Job Discussion Forums

[Maitoshi]

I wish I could just stop clicking on these threads. At this point it's a bit like an accident scene. I don't want to see any blood, but I can't seem to keep myself from looking. Morbid curiosity, perhaps.

[Pitarou]

[Maitoshi]

[Rooster.]

I don't have a problem with it. It's not hurting anyone and there are plenty of threads I chose not to look at because they don't interest me.

[rslrunner]

As I said before, I finished posting material that I had put together more than a year ago. I have no new content related to the initial training to add.

I never wrote for the benefit of the frequent contributors for this site, who continue to misunderstand what I have been doing. They should have their say. But their perspectives are often less helpful to the new people coming in, or to people who wonder if Japan is for them. For some people, it is not, and they would be better off in another country. The expression "the nail that sticks out gets hammered" is a common one in Japan. This applies especially to new hires, and they need to know this.

There is also reflexive condescension from some of the frequent posters. I do not refer to comments directed to me. I notice this in other threads, where people talk down to others as the first instinct instead of a last resort.

I wrote for outsiders who are looking in. I also sought to address a situation where all of the power lies on one side. I hammered one company, over and over and over again, because I learned too late that they have been doing too many things that have nothing to do with English instruction, and everything to do with establishing psychological control and fostering group-think. So I sought to put them on the defensive, and tried to provide outsiders as much information as possible about how they operate.

In my very limited experience, eikaiwas treat Westerners like clay to be manipulated. (Moreover, eikaiwas believes Westerners should be happy and genki while being molded like clay.) Once a sufficient number of Westerners refuse to go along with the games that are played, the games will stop.

I became a part of this forum because I made the conscious choice to do so. The right to choose and write and participate belongs to everyone else as well, unless we decide to forgo it.

[rxk22]

LOL, if you didn't know that going in, then you did ZERO research.

Eikiawas want cogs, not teachers. That is pretty well known, and available on the net. That's like getting a job in construction, and not realizing that you are outside a lot. RSL, that was a dumb mistake.

[rslrunner]

[rslrunner]

Just on a whim, I went to Youtube to see if Aeon had posted some new videos that promoted the company.

I thought that my posting days on the Japan forum were over. However, I can't let the following video about the initial training week go unchallenged.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHgbVVh23aE

There is a lot in the video that warrants comment, but one statement by the person narrating the video stands out, and it can be found from the 8th second until the 15th:

"New teachers will learn the Aeon method and will have ample opportunities to plan, practice and teach lessons."

The first part of this sentence is fine. The second part? What a ridiculous statement. What absolute nonsense. What horses*^#.

Trainees are introduced to the Round-Up lesson on day one. They are teaching the lesson on day two. There are forty-two distinct steps to the lesson, with very specific arm and body gestures to go along with the lesson. A similar structure is provided for Group lessons on the third and fourth day. All of this while the company piles on tons of other work during initial training.

The company could say that new teachers will pick up the methodology in time. The company also could say that the speedy nature of the initial training is to prepare teachers for life at their new school

But to say that trainees are given ample opportunities to practice and teach the lesson is beyond the realm of possibility. It's just cuckoo bananas.

The company likes its new hires to be receptive to the power of suggestion. Nevertheless, any statements it makes to the general public must be scrutinized and, when necessary as in this case, repudiated.

[fluffyhamster]

[kpjf]

[nicenicegaijin]

[rslrunner]

[rslrunner]

[Maitoshi]

We insist.

[dove]

Good Lord. Every corporate job is like AEON. You smile in front of the trainers then roll your eyes in the bar in the evening. Granted, it's a lot to take in during the training week. But as long as you make an effort, show up, smile, NOT roll your eyes in front of the trainers, you will be OK. It's a bloody job and it really doesn't need a lot of dissection.