Job Discussion Forums

[Glenski]

I've had a few conversations online recently about the differences between public and private high schools (and/or junior high schools) in Japan. I've never worked for a public school, but I currently work for a private one.

I could be wrong, but I think most of the public school opportunities for full-time teachers are taken up by JET ALTs, with a smattering of other ALT positions from recruiters and such. I have never run into a foreign teacher who works at a public school, so I think it would be interesting to compare notes on what work is like, not just for my benefit, but for the benefit of others here.

Any takers?

In my private school, since they are dependent on money from parents, they try to tout many things about the school. Zillions of club activities, tons of computers, an overseas trip or two, speech contests (internal and external), etc. Of course, what this means to teachers is longer working hours (and most private schools didn't opt to cancel their Saturday classes like public schools were forced to recently). It is also not unusual to have meetings late into the night and on Saturday. (I just had two of them today, Saturday, and nothing was accomplished except to air a major complaint in excrutiating detail for 2 hours!) Also, with private schools, they are not so much forced to use government approved textbooks, so we find ourselves (at my school, anyway) looking into new ones every year. We have a huge room already full of sample copies of books that were tried and failed. Moreover, with the multitude of extracurricular events, school festivals, sports events that take place in the daytime, etc., classes are often compromised to the point of leaving a huge gap between one and the next. (I met one class 3 weeks into the term, then didn't see them again for 4 weeks. They had the same total number of classes per term as others, but such a gap as that makes it impossible to teach lessons with any consistency or retention.) One more thing...remuneration for assisting with extracurricular activities is paltry, despite the fact that taking part is mandatory.

This message is not meant to be a complaint about my school. I've made these remarks before. It is just to get the ball rolling on a comparison with other private schools and (mostly) with public schools. What say you, folks?

[guest of Japan]

I also work in a private high school. I'm new to the position, so I don't think that I am an expert in any way. I was hired through a dispatch company. This means that my salary is lower and that I don't have to be on site as long as the other teachers. However the school has a long history of using foreign teachers who are direct hires, so my workload is more than I can do in my paid hours.

I think many of the things Glenski mentioned are also common in my school, ie. many clubs, special events, infrequency of classes, we don't use the official texts, Lots and lots of computers and gyms. We have a brand new quarter million dollar language laboratory that no one knows how to use.

To make everything a little more interesting. My school is one of the lowest level schools in Japan. We accept anyone with money, which makes for a student population which is largely unteachable. I mean unteachable in the sense that they refuse to acknowledge they are even in school much less try to learn something. Sorry if this is a rant.

And, I'm the only foreigner.

On a positive note. I live in a rent free house and I get a very long vacation in August, paid.

[Mike L.]

I'll concur with you guys about private high schools.

I work for a dispatching company too. Fortunately, I don't have to be in school when I have no classes, the students are low-level but genki, I get lots of paid vacation and my guidelines for instruction are "conversation English." Many of my co-workers at other schools do not have it nearly as good as I do.

The problems that both of you mention are pretty much the same at my school. I think they have me and another foreign teacher simply to say to parents "look we have foreign teachers."

I don't think the quality of instruction is any better than the public system, but I doubt they would ever let me teach what I want every class at a public school.

That's my experience from 3 years on JET anyway.

We also have incredible gaps between instruction for festivals and such, so I doubt the students are recieving more instruction time than public school students. Of course I can appreicate the paid time off but it doesn't help the student's "communicative fluency" when I don't see them for weeks at a time

Guest of Japan is on to something about taking anyone's money regardless of the student's academic ability. My school has just expanded the 1st year cohort from 10 to 15 classes. The level os some classes is very low compared to lat year's students. Many private schools are facing declining enrollemnt and will do anything to stay viable, including sacrifice acedemic standards.

As I mentioned before, I worked as an ALT for 3 years, mostly in Junior high schools. Conditions were simillar to those that Glenski and Guest of Japan mention in private schools.

I had to sit through long pointless meetings. For the Japanese teachers it was much worse. We had numerous textbooks and other materials sitting around the teachers room that had been purchased but never used. We also had one of those SONY built language labs put in one school that nobody could use.

I would like to hear from someone who is teaching or has taught in any capacity in a public high school.

[Brooks]

I work at a private high school in Tokyo.
Previously I taught at a private junior high.
There I had to join a club, clean, and I had to attend meetings.
After nine months we didn`t have to go to meetings any more. 90% of what was said didn`t concern us. I know they wanted to include us but I couldn`t contribute to discussions. At the junior high they wanted Americans to assimilate.

At the high school
We have to be at school on Saturday even though there are no classes.
The only way out of it is to take a sick day. I get twenty a year, but I tend not to use them because I may need them if I really get sick.

I think my school uses clubs as a selling point. I think some parents want their kids involved so they stay out of trouble or so the parents don`t have to deal with them. But it means that some students are at school every day, which means that they are always tired and therefore harder to teach.

Japanese teachers really have to do a lot. Much more than American teachers. We don`t have to be in a club. If I helped out with one I think I would get paid extra but I don`t know how much.

We have had a new principal since April of last year. People have complained about him. The school year has gotten longer and we have events now on Saturday instead of on Fridays.
So my vacation has been cut.

A few problems: a couple of my classes have at least thirty students. I don`t know how to teach conversation to so many at one time.
Considering the amount of money parents pay I think my school could hire an American to help, in order to reduce class size.
Another thing is that we have a few students who are either retarded or have a learning disability. But there is no special education for them.
We also don`t have any psychologists or guidance counselors. We really could use them. It isn`t fair to burden the homeroom teachers.
10th grade homeroom teachers have 40-43 students. At public schools this is not possible, because 40 is the maximum for class size as set by Mombusho.
A public school would then have eleven homeroom teachers in order to reduce class size.

Like other schools, it seems that if parents have the money, their children can study here. There are fewer teenagers, so schools are competing with each other.
One thing that one teacher said was that over the past seven years, the academic abilities of the students has fallen. Our school seems to attract students who couldn`t get into better schools or are returnees or want to go to our university. My school has divisions from K to university so when a
student starts at one school he/she can automatically go to the next level. What this means is some kids don`t need to study much.
But to get into the university they need a C- average.

Generally, girls do better than the boys. Girls also make up 61% of the student body.

One of my students estimates that 60% of the students go to juku, either to earn admission to a better university or to pass our university`s entrance exam.

A good thing about my school is that it has a respected music program and has many subjects the students can learn. We have something called free study(or jiyukenkyu). The students have over eighty choices
(including sports). So if they want they can learn the tea ceremony, judo, kendo, shodo, baseball,etc.

But I get a good salary and two bonuses a year. So that is the trade off.

Brooks

[buffy]

I am also at a private high school. I agree with what has been said above. My situation might be a little different, though. My school has had foreign teachers throughout it's 116 year history, including during the war. Foreign teachers have always been an integral part of the school and thus have never been treated differently. I have the same responsibilities as my Japanese colleagues and receive the same salary, research budget and other perks. The meetings can be tedious but I wouldn't have it any other way. Guess that is why I have held this job longer than any other I have had and have no plans on leaving it.

[Glenski]

[buffy]