Job Discussion Forums

[dreamtolive]

Hello,

I am currently looking for teaching work in Japan; and I am a single mom of an 8 year-old son.

Does anyone know of any single moms currently teaching in Japan or know of any schools in particular that have hired single moms?

I realize I do have my challenges ahead of me; but this is a very huge dream of mine that I have held for a long time. I will find a way.

A little about myself. I have over five years ESL/EFL teaching including Japan teaching experience; so I have a good idea of what to expect in Japan. I also have experience managing a language school in Toronto, as well as 3 years experience in corporate software sales. I speak basic spoken Japanese and am taking courses to improve upon that.

I am planning to homeschool my son to continue the education he as acquired to date, and will most likely place him in the Japanese system ( I have read many of the posts in this forum on placing foreign children in the Japanese school system). The plan is to stay in Japan one to two years, so I am not overly concerned about the pressures of the Japanese system in regards to entrance exams.

My main challenge "off the bat" is finding a school that will sponsor us. How easy is it to find a job from Canada that is with a smaller more flexible "eikaiwa?" Have the major companies ever hired teachers with kids? Is there much chance of finding a teaching schedule that is days, to avoid the difficult situation of trying to find childcare until 9 pm at night?

Can anyone give me some feedback in this area of finding a job?

Thanks very much!

Dream To Live

[Hoser]

I would say that it would be extremely difficult.

[azarashi sushi]

[wabisabi365]

I have met two single moms here in Nagoya. One appears to be doing fine. Her daughter is about 4 years old and is enrolled in the local kindergarten. Her mother speaks very little Japanese, but that hasn't stopped her from taking care of all the small things that need to be done (school uniform, meetings, proper lunch preparation, etc...)

She teaches at an eikaiwa and has hired help for the hours she can't be with her child.

It is NOT easy. It's hard enough setting-up here when you're on your own. The obstacles she faces as a foreign mom would have had me high-tailing it out of here very quickly. The first year here, for most, is very difficult on so many levels (culturally, linguistically, socially). Another thing to keep in mind is how your child will feel being "the nail that sticks up". Not an enviable position for anyone, but particularly traumatic for children.

As with anything, lots of research and fact-finding, just like you're doing now, will hopefully help you make the best decision.

Good luck - I hope it works out for you.

ws365

[dreamtolive]

Thanks for the feedback azarashi sushi. Yes I understand what you mean. By "more flexible" I mean perhaps a smaller eikaiwai might allow wing me to have my son at the school when I am teaching at night, whereas at a larger school I am thinking that they could not make exceptions to rules.

[dreamtolive]

Thanks for your very helpful words and wishes wabisabi365. Yes I may see if it is possible to put my son in an international school. I have put so much thought into this; and it all seems so overwhelming sometimes. Of the two single moms that you know, did they get their jobs once they were already in Japan, or like me now, did they find something from their respective home countries?

Thanks kindly,

Dream to live

[drifter13]

I'm not sure how long ago it was since you taught in Japan, but I might recommend looking elsewhere in Asia at the moment, if this is the region you want to teach in. As you must know, the language school system has become quite a mess here with the fall of Nova, and the economy has been slumping for awhile now (just check the conversion of the yen to CDN). The market is flooded with teachers, and will continue to be like this at least for a few more months if not longer. Those schools still hiring can pick and choose with so many teachers out there, so you can imagine that they would prefer a teacher with no requirements regarding schedule than those needing flexibility. Your best bet might be bigger companies, but even they don't offer much nowadays except a paycheck (and not even a good one), so you can forget any real medical coverage for yourself, much less your son.

I'm here now, and I can tell you that while I am planning to stay, I don't know if it's for the year I previously planned. I've been able to stay out here through a combination of determination and luck, but I can't imagine what that would have been like if I even had one dependant to look after. I'd implore you that for your son's and your own well being you look elsewhere, or at least wait until early next year to see how the market looks.

[wabisabi365]

Some schools that may offer some flexibility:

Peppy Kids Club
Trident
Berlitz

As the previous poster said, with Nova having recently collapsed, there are now MANY English instructors looking for a place to roost before their visa runs out. If your heart is set on Japan, you may have to wait a bit for the dust to settle. That being said, the first company listed above has a recruitment office in Vancouver. If you are in Canada, you could give them a call and have a chat about your situation. They were very helpful when I had dealings with them many moons ago.

Cheers,
ws365

[Quibby84]

I would worry the most about your son especially if you plan to homeschool him. He will spend most of his days alone or driving all over Japan to go to schools and then watch you teach (if your school would allow that...I think mine probably would). After a complete day of eikawa there is no way I could teach anyone else, and there is definitely no way that I could learn anything.
I think that if you plan to come to Japan then he needs to go to some sort of school, for his sanity and yours. There is an international school in Ota that told me that if I had two years of teaching English then I could work there as a teacher. This would be good because then your son could go to school, and these sorts of jobs make more money. I think that you may be able to survive BUT ONLY if your son doesnt have to spend all of his time alone or in your English classes...I cant imagine doing this..even my cats get a little nutty sometimes and want us to stay home....hehe.

[dreamtolive]

drifter13 thank you very much for your comments. I take them very seriously and appreciate your taking the time to write them.

[Apsara]

[drifter13]

If you live in or around Toronto ECC, Aeon and Berlitz all recruit from that area during various times of the year, and their websites usually outline what you can expect lifestyle wise. I'll agree with everyone else that a lot of research should go in before hand. Checking the job board here and places like O-Hayo Sensei will also give you diffrent options, but always check to see a schools background. I wish you the best of luck and hope you can find an option to suit your needs.

[dreamtolive]

thank you Quibby84, aspara and again drifter 13 for taking the time to give me advice--my head is spinning but I thank you so much

i have been asked to a group interview with Aeon later this week--this is my first interview that I have been asked to, I will explain I am a single mom in the interview when I meet them in-person and after I present my demo--I will have to see what they say...I've got to just starting jumping into this search I figure and see what happens

I think I will reach out to ECC, (I'm not so sure about GEOS) and also the JET program and also see what international schools may offer, although I am not a certified teacher

kind regards to you all

[Glenski]

Schools are not that flexible. They hire teachers, not people whose children are the school's concern. That's why so many Japanese women who get married or have children tend to stay at home instead of continue to work.

These are some questions you need to seriously consider.
Who are you going to trust to watch your son?
How are you going to find the time to prepare homeschooling lessons when you are teaching 40 hours a week yourself?
What happens if you have to leave work for an emergency (or a function/event at your son's school)? (You might get penalized pay, and the school will not be happy if you cancel a class. Some places have enough teachers to cover for you, but that pretty much rules out the smaller eikaiwa you were considering.)
Are you going to turn down overtime and upset the staff?

I really don't see at it is very feasible to do what you intend, although I'm sure there are some cases. At the very least, it is going to be very difficult, and I would hope you would see that and reconsider your options.

[johanne]

Just a quick note about international schools. They are expensive. The one I work at charges 2 million yen a year. The cheapest I have seen is 1 million a year. Where I work every teacher is certified, but at some of the smaller schools I have heard of un-certified teachers working there. Those schools are not accreditated and often pay lower than an established, accreditated international schools, but still pay more than an eikawa. Also, the curriculum is delivered in English and even if most of the students are ESL Japanese kids, your son would still be able to attend the school and continue his education. If it's a bit easy for him because of the emphasis on ESL, you can easily top it up with some extra work at home. This is much easier than trying to home school yourself.

From experience I can tell you it's tough to home school, especially if you are teaching all day. My daughter is in a Japanese kindergarten and will be going to Japanese school for Grades 1 and 2. She's 6 years old now so I've been teaching her English reading and writing for the last year. I teach Grade 1 in an international school, so this is fairly easy for me to do. I can use the school's materials and I have a very good idea of what's involved. Even so, I find it exhausting and it takes away from the time we could be doing more "fun" things. She is enjoying the reading and writing, so so far so good, but I have to admit it's not my favorite part of the day. I only do about 30 minutes a day, as this is enough because she is learning a lot at Japanese school in other areas like Math, Science, etc. If you were to home school every subject, it would take a lot more of your time. I would estimate 2 hours a day. That's a lot on top of a full time teaching load.

Anyway, I don't mean to be negative. As you are experienced in ESL, it is worth a shot contacting international schools, especially the newer ones catering more to Japanese who want their children educated in English than to expats who are here on relatively short term work contracts. It's a long shot, but working there would certainly solve many of the problems associated with coming to Japan as a single mom. PM me if you would like more details on how to do that.

Good luck. If it is a big dream of yours keep at it.