Job Discussion Forums

[Squire22]

Dear all,

I have more or less been offered a couple of positions at private JHSs, but am a little wary of the positions as they are solo teaching. So far, whilst I have been teaching classes I've always had a Japanese teacher at least in the room to help out with any discpline issues that may have arisen. I'm told that the class sizes at these school are about 20-25 students. I was hoping that some helpful people here might be able to tell me a little about their experiences at these schools, the good and the bad. I's be particularly interested to hear from those people who have gone from public "ALT" JHS positions to private solo teaching JHS positions.

Many thanks

[Glenski]

Used to work at a combination JHS/SHS, and although I never taught a JHS class, here are the notes from my friends there who did.

Expect tons of work and unpaid overtime. JHS teachers usually stayed later than the SHS teachers, often well past 9pm.

Kids are eager the first year, wary the second, and tired to death of choral readings the third. Find ways to keep their motivation up, even if it is only meant to get them past the SHS entrance exams. Don't break their spirit to learn for 6 more years.

JHS kids are animals. Nuff said.

Plenty of after-class tutoring, speech class guidance, and general overall babysitting.

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

Wow! Things sure have changed since the early 90's I found my JHS kids then to be earger to learn and VERY obedient!

NCTBA

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

I've taught JHS classes, both solo and with a JTE. I agree with everything Glenski wrote, but would add that 90% of the problems will be with the boys. Occasionally you'll have one girl in a class who is a terror, but you can expect MOST of the boys to be. Sorry. That's the way it is.

In classes where the kids are used to having a JTE, then they will not pay attention to anything you say. Period. Especially now that kids have had "English classes" in elementary school, there is a growing tendency for JHS students (again, especially the boys) to see a foreigner as nothing other than a clown.

The reason why JHS teachers have to stay longer than SHS school teachers really just boils down to a matter that is the same across both levels- most student do approximately zero work. At senior high school, student have acquired (or can be "expected to have acquired" based on their grade level but there are more than a few that did absolutely nothing and so despite being in 2nd year of SHS have the English level of a 1st year JHS student in their second term) enough English that you don't need to make some sort of handout for every single class (other than having lined paper because even by second year of senior high, it's not uncommon for students to come to school without a notebook, paper or even a pen). Don't expect that to happen in JHS. In schools with an English room, students OFTEN arrive without anything and so when the teacher runs out of spare pencils and paper, the rest of the students in the class have to be told to go back to their homeroom and get a pencil and their notebook. But it happens Every. Single. Class. Sometimes if they bring nothing, their teacher will just pull out a game and they play a game, so they never bring anything in the expectation that they will get to just play a game (as a sort of break in their Japanese conversations amongst themselves, which comprise about 90% of what they do in classes with foreigners but no JTE) every class.

Two words to keep in mind for when you first start off the school year: Drill. Sergeant. In some classes it's about all you CAN do.

[Glenski]

[Nabby Adams]

I think a lot depends on the level of the school. If you have a good school the kids are eager to learn, IME but if you have even a average level school then you can expect the above.

But I have heard a friend who worked at the same "average" school as me that though he had the same experience as I did, there was one foreign teacher there who really could get even the most insubordinate classes studying.

I think that if you are destined to be a great teacher you'll do well whatever the school.

If you are an average to good teacher you'll get by just like me and the posters above.

If you aren't very confident in what you can do you'll end up hating it.

But hey, to progress in any field there is time to take a chance, and this is is your time. Nobody with half a brain can stay being an ALT forever.

[Glenski]

Thank you, Nabby, for insulting most of the "average" teachers here and the schools they work for.

[chinagirl]

I think it is safe to say that each campus, situation and contract is different.

For example, in my case, I team teach at a high-level private JHS where I am the lead teacher in the class. (I realize that the OP is asking about solo teaching.) I am not an ALT. I am paid overtime if I am required to work outside my normal hours and do not have club responsibilities, so I don't work as late as the teachers in the situations that Glenski described. My kids are for the most part, great. There are some behavior issues here and there but overall we find our kids to be way more enthusiastic than their HS counterparts.

I think that the original poster needs to ask the contact terms before making a decision based on one or two people's experiences.

[Glenski]

I agree that the OP needs to ask some general advice questions and also get specifics about contracts he is interested in.

chinagirl may have gotten OT pay as a solo FT teacher, but nobody did where I worked, whether they were foreign or Japanese. The contract salary was it, with the odd exception for special events, and even then the sum you got was paltry.