Job Discussion Forums

wintersweet · Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2005 5:57 am Post subject: No A/C in public schools?

Okay, I just read this in a long-dead thread: "if you teach in the public school system there will be no heat or air conditioning." Shocked

Is this true? I'm pretty sure I couldn't handle teaching with no A/C in a Japanese summer. (Migraine issues.)

I can live without central heating, but A/C is non-negotiable.

azarashi sushi · Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Posts: 562 Location: Shinjuku

A true story, I'm afraid.

I heard though that schools in Bunkyo ku in Tokyo have recently installed air-con into the classrooms.

But for the most part, teaching in a J-public school classroom in June/July is absolutely HIDEOUS! There is no other way to describe it. You wil be dripping sweat from head to toe.

Fortunately the teacher's room always has air-con though, so if you don't have to teach too many classes then it's OK.

wintersweet · Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2005 7:01 am Post subject:

Wow, that's bad news--definitely limits my job prospects because public schools are totally out for me now. I feel sorry for the teachers and kids who have to put up with it.

I wonder if a private girls' high school would have A/C.

I'm assuming eikaiwa do.

Sigh.

bearcat · Joined: 08 May 2004 Posts: 367

Even private ones don't use it.

And with Eikaiwas.... it depends as well. They may use it but not crank it up until very late in the summer(I've worked at a place that didn't start it up until August then shut it off again in September.... they went by "hottest months" and not actually being hot".)

I think you're gonna have a tough time of it if cooling is extremely important to you. Not saying that you can't find what you need, but as you said, it will seriously limit your prospects for sure.

wintersweet · Posted: Sat Jan 29, 2005 7:41 am Post subject:

Yeah, I'm pretty surprised. Every cram school I walked by in Taipei was air-conditioned, and I didn't expect Japan to be more backwards than Taiwan.

It's a health issue for me. Crying or Very sad

I really can't teach with a constant heat-induced migraine...

Man, I'm really crushed now. I can't believe I hadn't found this out before.

(EDIT: Hmm, I hear Hokkaido's interesting. Wink

)

easyasabc · Joined: 13 Jul 2003 Posts: 179 Location: Japan

Re: private conversation schools - I've worked in small conversation schools in three different locations and they all had A/C and heating which could be turned on at any time. I can't generalise for the whole of Japan but I can say that everyone I knew who worked in a conversation school (big or small) had A/C in Summer.

Re: public schools - don't forget that they will be on Summer vacation during one of the hottest periods (August) and you possibly won't need to be there then.

JimDunlop2 · Joined: 31 Jan 2003 Posts: 2286 Location: Japan

It's true... But it ain't so bad.... I taught while it was almost 40C outside.... Kids and teachers alike have fans... and electrical fans overhead are going full-blast...

If you have medical issues that would prevent you from working in a non-A/C environment, then you will have problems here. Some school districts are rich enough to afford it, but it's rare.... For most of us public-school types, it's just part of the job.

In the winter, the classrooms are warm because they have kerosene heaters... The hallways and photocopy room, etc... are freezing...

homersimpson · Joined: 14 Feb 2003 Posts: 569 Location: Kagoshima

bearcat · Joined: 08 May 2004 Posts: 367

wintersweet · Posted: Sun Jan 30, 2005 5:04 am Post subject:

chixdiggit · Joined: 21 May 2003 Posts: 60 Location: ROK

Some of these responses are entirely too generalized. Yes, MOST public high schools in Japan do not have air conditioning. I've never heard of a public high school in the Kanto area without heaters, albeit kerosene is the norm. However, as with any rule, there are exceptions. The issues are budgetary in the case of Kanagawa, the money simply isn't there. With private high schools, again money is the determining factor. At my girlfriend's private high school(also Kanagawa) they have air-con in every room and yes they use it. They can afford to, but every private high school is different. Where public schools within a city or prefecture are subject to the same rules and monetary constraints, private schools are a case-by-case situation.

Furthermore, unless it really is a health concern, suck it up people. Today is January 30th, and the first time I needed to use my heater in my public high school classroom, was last week. When I worked in Northern Japan it was definitely colder and the heater was needed earlier, but on the other hand, air conditioning wasn't needed until August. The funniest line from the previous posts was, "The teachers' room always has air conditioning."
Give me a break, I've worked at 2 public schools and neither of those did. Stop making such sweeping generalizations.

Cheers,
Chix

azarashi sushi · Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Posts: 562 Location: Shinjuku

lajzar · Joined: 09 Feb 2003 Posts: 647 Location: Saitama-ken, Japan

I have worked at one private school. Every room had air conditioning, under the students' control (they were encouraged to exercise discretion) during months of extreme hot or cold.

With the amount of dust those things blew out (factory upwind), I got migranes semi-constantly. Air conditioners are NOT heaven-sent.

wintersweet · Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2005 12:53 am Post subject: