Job Discussion Forums

JRJohn · Joined: 21 Jun 2006 Posts: 175

I am not in Japan right now. I miss the country, and I miss some things like the food, and the way it was so easy to keep fit and play sports even if you were not so skilled. I became very fit. I liked the nightlife of Tokyo. I had some good classes. I learned loads of　kanji;
But wait a minute. I came to Japan, through Interac. I knew I was coming to a very rural high school, and I dreaded this. Yet I accepted the post. For a long while I was in one room mostly, from 8-5. There were 2 other ALT's and they seemed to undermine me.Communication was an issue, with Interac because of this it was hard to figure out what my role was. This was a problem, because Interac's training had been more for elementary schools. It turned out I was to go to middle schools and teach in such a way that middle school kids would go to that H.S. I would be teaching with the middle school's ALT and a couple of JTE's in one room. There were conflicts of interest, and comparisons made. I had problems. But I did hit upon useful activities that worked. Interac saw me turn things around, and acknowledged this.
The High school was happy but the BoE wanted a new teacher. I had to go. Yet the JTE's had a party with me on the last day, as did the other ALT's. I got presents. Interac paid for me to relocate to Tokyo, and I got significant severance pay. I know ALT's who were also dismissed and didn't get this. I found another job. But recently I've read that Japan is reviewing it's policy of language education. The dispatch companies, they say are not adequate to the job. But I do care about teaching, and I would want them to improve. Interac has a high staff turnover, especially where I was teaching. I heard stories-not specific to Interac, about ALT's who weren't used much, if at all, in class. I partly blame the JET scheme, because it is more an exchange than teaching program. The emphasis is on being YOUNG, GENKI, MUSICAL and entertaining, and dispensible. I feel the job description needs changing. I have 2 questions. When I left Interac, was it my fault? If you could change the job description, how would you make it more relevant to real language learning? Sensible answers please.

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

Was what your "fault"? Sounds to me like a typical BOE decision to rotate an ALT.

Apsara · Joined: 20 Sep 2005 Posts: 2142 Location: Tokyo, Japan

You haven't really given us enough to go on. What were the "conflicts of interest", and what kind of problems were there?

Cool Teacher · Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2010 12:17 am Post subject:

You sound like a very conscientous teacher John! Very Happy

I think if the high school and students liked you and thought you were doing a good job then don't worry. Be proud! Cool

I think it sounds like the burocrats made the decision Confused

Good luck in your future job! Very Happy

Never Ceased To Be Amazed · Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2010 12:40 am Post subject:

Never Ceased To Be Amazed · Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2010 6:50 am Post subject:

Th' duelin' Homers... Laughing

NCTBA

move · Joined: 30 May 2009 Posts: 132

Cool Teacher · Posted: Sun Oct 24, 2010 10:15 am Post subject:

Vince · Joined: 05 May 2003 Posts: 559 Location: U.S.

OneJoelFifty · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 463

I'm in my first year as ALT, and came to Japan with no teaching experience. More difficult than grasping the teaching itself has been trying to work out what the school wants from me. I'd say that's actually the hardest part of the job in my limited experience. You mention a job description, but aside from an official document in the filing cabinet somewhere in the BoE office, that's probably filled with flowery words and lofty expectations, I don't really think there is one. Your day to day employers, the school, will just know that you're there to teach, and the experience can vary wildly from person to person. You'll be compared to all the other AETs that have passed through, and may be expected to perform the same duties as the ones that recently left. And you may or may not be told what these were!

I'm not with Interac but if they are anything like my dispatch company then they have given the school some general guidelines about what they don't want you to do, but even then you might find it difficult to say no to things if you feel it will impact negatively on the school's perception of you.

I've been lucky in that I only have three teachers to teach with, and as a rule they are communicative. I had some trouble with one, who has a very strong personality, but I worked out that I just needed to be more forward with her (things like asking multiple times for the lesson plan a day in advance, for example, or politely disagreeing if I felt she was being wrongly critical). Even then, when I started it was a challenge to work out everyone's different personalities - while learning how to teach 'on the job' I'd come across something that I thought was good practice, only to find out that it was only good practice in the class of one teacher, and not the others. For those that have many teachers, who aren't good at making their intentions clear, it could be quite stressful.

Never Ceased To Be Amazed · Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2010 7:13 am Post subject:

Weezer · Joined: 21 Sep 2010 Posts: 11

I don't know. Can you answer this though,

Did Interac pay your travel expenses?
How much severance did they pay you?

I suppose getting relocated to Tokyo at Interac's expense could have been worth it alone if you were tired of living in inaka anyway.