Job Discussion Forums

J. · Joined: 03 May 2003 Posts: 327

This is most interesting and covers quite a few points beyond the dispatch company issue. Why indeed are schools content to hire teachers from these unqualified dispatch companies? I doubt that most of the companies would know a real teacher from their elbows (or care). They only want to make money, and though it's valid for a company to make money, the person who said they wouldn't hire other teachers in this way was right. Because the government sponsors the JET people, I guess the idea of a "fun, young, edutainer" has taken hold in the public's mind as THE image of an English teacher. (Apologies to any JETS here, I'm not blaming you.) The government could easily take over hiring ALTS for the school boards if they wanted or they could lay down some guidelines, including requiring credentials, like they seem to do for everything else. And they could mandate paying them teacher's scale wages. And why shouldn't they have to pay health care benefits and the like if they are paying them to the Japanese teachers? As other posters said, if you offer a fair wage you will attract qualified people.

And it seems to me if the BOE's felt themselves truly incapable of finding and hiring people they could pay the dispatch companies a lump sum "finder's fee" and not the teacher's salary.

About the Daily Yomiuri. I dont know if people have noticed but they seem to have a really negative attitude to all things Western. They are always ready to print any articles that hint at the incompetence of English teachers, the advisibility of even teaching English in Elementay school ( after the fact), and are FOR banning "foreigners" from having voting rights, working in management positions in the government. taking over Japanese media companies, and are always publishing the statistics showing the rising percentages of crime by "foreigners". In short , I think they have a very nationalist, I would even say rightist, agenda. I would really like to see some rebuttal of their articles in the press. They always seem to be trying to stir up a backlash against anything remotely progressive or international. And as Jim said, they also have ill-founded articles on learning English.

About the games as part of learning issue. I do agree that the basics are important and I teach phonics and reading to my students. But I also play games, games that I have designed to support the language I am teaching. I do believe in games to practice using the language in a more relaxed way. After all, we have to repeat the things we're teaching many times and games allow us to do this with some variety and enjoyment. They also allow a teacher to assess students assimilation of the language. Some students learn well with hands on activities as well as other modalities and I try to include all in my lessons, which are balanced to control the amount of time spent for each of a number of skills. I spend a lot of time thinking about what will help students learn and games are one of a number of ways I teach. I think the difference in having a program which is effective and one that is haphazard is in knowing what goals and objectives will be served by whatever types of teaching methods are chosen, assessing the effectiveness of them, and then adapting to the class environment and learning styles of the students. I don't rule anything out; everything depends on the teacher's use of it.

I do think that one good benefit of having early English lessons is the opportunity for children to learn at an age when their brains are great at learning languages and when they don't have the inhibitions against speaking that they seem to develop later on. I do see some social benefits in society here too. The younger people that I meet generally seem much less shy and more positive when I meet them. It's pretty easy to see that they have met English speakers and developed some positive attitudes toward them. I detect far less "prejudice" in the younger generation. And as Martha used to say, "that's a good thing".

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

Jim, nice points. I wish you'd posted on my (less than sexy) True Purpose thread, which is now dead. But, I tend to agree with a lot of your points. Currently my first years (JHS) have been mindlessly singing "No More Cry" which is a pop song. Singing and dancing and living it up. Then I had one kid ask me, "What does 'no more cry' mean?" Boy, if that doesn't hit home how senseless the teaching of the English language is in Japan, I don't know what does.

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

homersimpson: Sorry. Sad

G Cthulhu · Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2005 10:21 pm Post subject:

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Cthulhu,
For the sake of people out there who want to use dispatch companies to get jobs, which would you say are "decent", and why?

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Here is an interesting related snippet from an article in yesterday's Yomiuri Shimbun. Note the statements that I have highlighted in red.

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/newse/20050226wo61.htm

Mike L. · Joined: 28 Feb 2003 Posts: 519

Nagoyaguy · Joined: 15 May 2003 Posts: 425 Location: Aichi, Japan

IMHO, JETs and ALTs tend to be different.

JETs are often more or less imposed on schools by the local or prefectural BofE. Schools may not want them, or towns may not know what to do with them, but they arrive anyway. Plus, the purpose of JET, as we all know, has little to do with teaching. It is a cosmetic kind of promotion programme that is designed to generate good PR for Japan.

The point of JET is to take young, educated people, expose them to Japan for a year or three, and get them to go back to their homelands full of praise about Japan. This will influence them later in life when they are older and in more powerful positions. It is commonly known that one 'kiss of death' in the JET interview process is to mention that you plan to stay in Japan after JET.

ALTs are purposefully hired by towns that are actively seeking staff. It really puzzles me, though, why towns would leave what I think are important decisions up to dispatch companies. I guess the power of 'meiwaku' is stronger than the desire to hire good teachers.

ETA;

I also remember reading that it is illegal for BofEs to use dispatch companies for more than one year to fill a position. After a year, the BofE has to make the position permanent, or eliminate the position. Anyone know if this is true, or just rumour?

Mike L. · Joined: 28 Feb 2003 Posts: 519

Oh this one is my favorite:

Some idot wrote:

TokyoLiz · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1548 Location: Tokyo, Japan

Mik L. wrote

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

Whether an ALT/JET is wanted or needed, I think comes down to the level of each individual, to be honest... Of all the Japanese teachers I work with, most of them are very cooperative and we try to come up with team-taught joint lessons. I have one JTE who is the real "ALT is a tape recorder" type -- who prefers to teach most of the classes himself.... Ironic thing is, his entire English class is 99% in Japanese, and when he DOES speak it -- his grammar is atrocious! I mean... we're talking "retsu turaingu awa besto" here....

I put the kibosh on that pretty much from week 1. I told him that it's a waste of my time to be sitting in his classes scratching my butt when he could be using a tape recorder or CD player and I could be planning lessons for other classes where I'm actually wanted or needed. As a result, instead of seeing his classes once a week, I see them once a month if I'm lucky. Sure, this lightens my schedule...

Now, having said all that, I've seen good JETs and bad.... Because it's closely related to what I do, I've scoured the AJET websites to help me get teaching ideas, lesson plans and activities that have been successfully used in other Japanese jr. high school classrooms. What I've found is amazing! Some AJET organizations (organized by prefecture) take their charge very seriously... Many have even published books... There are tons of useful ideas, links, etc... Others have debates on who their next social coordinator should be, and the latest digi-pix of the last JET party at the local gaijin bar already up on the net... Along with signup details for the next ski trip, road trip, and recipes using tequila, etc.. etc.... Shows me where THEIR priorities are.... I'd say it's darn near impossible to standardize or generalize. The lady in Oita may have well had that experience, but I know of many who have had the opposite.

G Cthulhu · Posted: Wed Mar 02, 2005 9:13 am Post subject:

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

As reasonable as any dispatch company may be, you can't deny that, comparatively speaking, the teachers, at some level, get screwed. Whenever the BoE hires a middleman, they take a LOT of money out of the ALT's salary.

The characteristics you described should be a bare minimum for companies to have, not an ideal for others to achieve... That is, if these companies are to exist at all (which, as you all know, I think they shouldn't).

I might also point out, that helping teachers learn the local language and improving their skills costs the company next to nothing. That's why they are happy to pride themselves on these things. How about the substantial, more imporant issues. Do you get healthcare coverage? Housing allowance? Days off if you are sick? (In a way that conforms with Labor Standards)?

If a company gave a teacher 250,000 or 260,000 NET -- that including shakai hoken, at least a 50% housing subsidy/allowance and a minimum of 10 paid days off to be taken at the employee's choice, THEN I might say, "let's talk." But I don't think such a company exists. Until then, I'm still going to say that an ALT working for a dispatch company gets shortchanged approximately 100,000 yen / month... And it's all done with a smile! Very Happy