Job Discussion Forums

[Glenski]

Posted this elsewhere.

I would like to start a thread that allows us to compare private schools and public schools. So many of the public school positions are taken up by JET ALTs, that it is not easy for people who have full-time teaching positions in either type of school to compare notes.

So, let's get the ball rolling...

1. Are you in a private or public school?
2. What are your jobs like (ALT? FT? PT?)?
3. What are your hours?
4. Care to comment on your pay range or bonus plan?
5. Anything remarkable to say about your contract?
6. What about a typical week's schedule?
7. How late do you stay on average each day?
8. Do you have to take part in extracurricular activities?
9. How are your weekends?
10. What do you think of the teaching methods/books/classes you teach?

As for me...
1. private JHS/HS in Sapporo
2. FT teacher
3. 15-16 classes per week, plus meetings and extracurriculars
4. I'll keep the salary to myself, but my contract gives me no bonus the first year, a small one (plus pay raise 20,000 yen/month) the second year, and a larger bonus and pay raise the third year.
5. Just that it is only for 3 years, and we have had only one foreigner who has become a tenured FT teacher. Otherwise, foreign teachers leave after 3 years unless they are PT.
6. Grueling. Planning for the classes takes a lot of time, especially since the school has changed the English curriculum every year since I started. Some classes have no textbooks, too. I could have 2 to 5 classes a day, 3-5 staff meetings a week, 3 planning meetings a week.
7. Mon to Fri -- 8:00 to 6:00, sometimes later. Saturdays (twice a month) have everyone here at least half a day.
8. Most FT teachers do. This could be assisting a sports coach 6-7 days a week or just once a week.
9. Spotty. That "average" of twice a month work on Saturdays sometimes turns into 4 straight Saturdays. No classes, but we have sandwich parties for the PTA, mock exams, all-school ski contests, and so on.
10. Pretty bad textbooks for foreign teachers. Example: I am supposed to teach a Projects class for 3rd year students this year, but the book someone selected for me as a textbook is 50-50 vol.2. Geez. That's not only below their English level, but it isn't a book for projects! So, I have to design everything on my own, and we really can't use the book for anything, even though students had to buy it. Major complaint by foreign teachers is the lack of planning time, especially at the beginning of the year. We all got 6 days notice on what classes we had to prepare for!

Also, nobody seems to store previous lesson plans in a central area. So, since teachers get shuffled to different classes each year, one hardly has anything to fall back on, and everyone re-invents the wheel.

Anyone else?

[guest of Japan]

I suppose I'll contribute.

1. I"m in a private high school through an educational consulting company.

2. My official title is ALT because legally (I'm told) you can only be given regular teacher status if you graduate from a Japanese university. My teaching duties are considerably more involved than JET duties or the duties of teachers from typical dispatch companies.

3. I work five days a week from 8:30 to 4:35 roughly. At my previous high school through the same company I worked from 8:45 to 4:45.

4. I'm neither making oodles of cash nor living in poverty. I get a contract completion bonus every year for 100.000 yen. At my previous school my salary was lower at first year eikaiwa range, but with a free house.

5. I'm techincally contracted for less than one year intervals which gives my company a loophole at the three year mark when they are supposed to make a committment to me as a permanent employee. My employer is very well versed in Japanese labor law and knows exactly where the boundaries are and aren't.

6. At my current school I teach 15 50 minute classes every week. 7 of these are 1st year oral English classes in which I am the lead teacher. 7 are 2nd year writing classes in which I am supposed to be the assistant, but due to a very strange design of the textbook I usually lead the classes, but am not responsible for testing. 1 class is a 3rd year writing class in which I am the assistant in the full sense.

At my previous school I taught 9 90 minute lessons a week. 6 of those were 1st year oral classes which I had complete control over. 2 were third year reading classes in which I taught an oral approach for half the lesson and assisted the other half. 1 was an ill-defined 3rd year course entitled English understanding which I had complete control over.

7. I'm no hero. I go home near the time that my schedule defines.

8. At my current school I do an English club two times a week and have one period where I'm the on call English on demand guy.

At my previous school I did an English club 1 time a week. I was also expected to take part in the school clubs everyday as a guest. I usually played basketball, table tennis, and volleyball once a week. The other day I bounced between various clubs.

9. I very occasionally have to work on Saturdays. For my previous school I had to be there for the odd ceremony or PR day. My present school doesn't seem to want my services on Saturdays.

10. Current school. The first year textbook is very appropriate and easy to use. It is titled "Expressways." The second year writing textbook is very strange for a Japanese text. It approaches writing through the development of skills in listening, speaking a reading. The Japanese teachers don't have the foggiest idea of how to use it, so the other foreign teacher and I are in an awkward position of making lessons without any understanding of the goals of the course or how students will be evaluated. This course is causing us considerable strain. The book is titled "Mainstream Writing." The third year writing course uses a traditional grammar translation text. I just model pronunciation and give explanations of vocabulary and expressions. Points of note. My current students are above average (slightly) in English ability for Japanese high school students. Oral classes average 43 students per class while the writing classes fluctuate between 20 and 30.

Previous school. The ability of the students was incredibly low. There is no textbook on the market targeting students of their level and cognitive abilities. I used a Side By Side textbook for all classes and heavily adjusted its contents to make it mildly suitable for my students.

In both schools I am/was responsible for syllabus design. This task is easier at my current school because the textkook is appropriate.

11. Note on meetings and assemblies. At my current school I do none of these except for the beginning of the years assembly. My role is clearly defined as being outside specialist. At my previous school I attended the occasional meeting (most meetings I was exempted from) and any and all ceremonies, assemblies, and special events. My role was based on the whim of the administration.

I'm quite sure my previous school was one of the most difficult high schools in Japan to teach in. My frustration level was beyond max for nearly the whole year. My current school is physically exausting, at time frustrating and enigmatic, but I'm an truly enjoying the experience. Even just among the private high school choices the experience can be wonderful or terrible. Eikaiwas seem to lie in between these possibilities.

Geeze Glenski, you ask hard questions.

[G Cthulhu]

[theoldman]

Whilst the initial poster seems to be asking about HS, I would also like to hear about elementary schools. My Situation is:
1. Private
2. Permanent part-time (2nd year)
3. 10 hours (15x40 minute periods)
4. yen 4,500 per hour plus travel
5. 12 month contract which includes all paid public and school holidays
6. Mon 4 lessons 10.35-3.50
Tues 4 lessons 8.50-3.50
Wed 2 lessons 11.15-2.10
Thurs 3 lessons 11.15-2.50
Fri 2 lessons 8.50-10.15
7. No outside school duties
8. Weekends free
9. School curriculum, New Parade plus own materials.

Cheers

[chixdiggit]

1. Are you in a private or public school?
2. What are your jobs like (ALT? FT? PT?)?
3. What are your hours?
4. Care to comment on your pay range or bonus plan?
5. Anything remarkable to say about your contract?
6. What about a typical week's schedule?
7. How late do you stay on average each day?
8. Do you have to take part in extracurricular activities?
9. How are your weekends?
10. What do you think of the teaching methods/books/classes you teach?

1. Public Prefectural High School
2. Semi-full time(some would call it part-time)Team teach one class only, rest are on my own.
3. 13 hours a week, about 3 months off a year(paid). However I am "supposed" to hanko in the office on some holidays. This is often overlooked.
4. Kanagawa prefectural teachers have taken a pay cut the past 2 years. Still decent but I expected it to go up each year, not down.No bonus for foreign teachers, and this year Japanese teachers lost one of theirs.
5.The only remarkable thing about my contract is that it doesn't look like one. It's one sheet of paper that doesn't outline anything and I don't even sign anything. It just says my name and working hours a week and is hankoed by school board.
6.Monday 9-2(5 classes) Wednesday/ Friday 9-1245 (4 classes)
7. Gone right after classes unless a student or teacher asks for my help with something.
8.No
9. No weekend work unless I'm asked to do an open school lesson which I'm paid extra for.(not required)
10. Each year the level of students greatly varies. This year is looking good so far. Each class is divided into 3 groups (A,B,C by level) so I only have anywhere from 6-15 students in a class. I chose Headway for my classes this year, too early to tell how that's going. I do heavily supplement my lessons no matter what the text, however.

[Tonester]

I understand that this is probably not the thread to post this so I apologise but I'm a JHS ALT on the JET Program and through a connection that I have, I have a chance at getting a full-time tenured private high school position after my time on JET (I'm still 1st year- a way off yet before it becomes reality and it is still in conception so no formal offer has been made). I know that people like Glenski and others are knowledgeable on this so I would like to ask anyone who knows the field what do I need to watch out for?

I know Glenski likes specific info so I'll give as much detail as possible. I have a BA in Japanese planning to do a diploma via distance in ESL; my connection who is a full-time tenured teacher there tells me of doing the diploma and getting the "Rinji" licence then renewing it every 3 years. He says that it would be contracted for the first two years and after completion of that period I would be evaluated and then perhaps offered tenure.

Are there any pitfalls and what should I expect in general? (I know that every school is different)

[buffy]

1. Private Jr. Sr. High
2. FT
3. Technically 8:10-4:30, realistically 7:15-5:30/6
4. On scale. Same as my Japanese colleagues. 3 bonuses/yr., regular raises due to age, years worked, etc.
5. No breaks for being a gaijin...expected to do the same as everyone else.
6. 17 teaching hours, 2-3 club hours, serve on committees, some student counseling.
7. 1-2 hours a day.
8. Club, committees, overnight camps, field trips, etc.
9. One Sat off a month. Other ones I work half days. All staff also have one half day off a week when they don't have to be here. (self-study days)
10. I have complete control of what I teach, texts I use, etc. Also all classes are divided in half, so my class sizes are about 22.

[TokyoLiz]

1. Are you in a private or public school?
It's a combined jr sr private high school - the "elevator" system.

2. What are your jobs like (ALT? FT? PT?)?
I'm a full-time English teacher and appear to be the head international teacher of our Oral Communication program.

3. What are your hours?
Officially 8:10 to 4:10 - but I show up before 8:00 and some days I stay past 5:30.

4. Care to comment on your pay range or bonus plan?
Let's just say it's more than JETs get, but without the housing subsidy and rather small bonuses for successful events throughout the year - exam proctoring, setsumeikai, etc.

And my boss buys me chocolate a lot

5. Anything remarkable to say about your contract?
I get lots of time off - all of spring vacation, all of the Golden Week holidays, of course, generous summer holiday (gone from the end of exams until August 31st), and two weeks or more in December.

6. What about a typical week's schedule?
I teach 15 classes a week - four classes of Senior Two returnee English (literature and composition), two team-taught clases of Senior One Writing (lots of marking of weekly journals), and nine classes of Junior OC to first, second and third-year kids. I'm responsible for the English side of our office admin., evaluation and grading of students' work, report cards and sundry other bits.

7. How late do you stay on average each day?
Usually I'm done at 5pm, but some days I can get away earlier.

8. Do you have to take part in extracurricular activities?
Tutoring within my contract time.

9. How are your weekends?
All mine Except twice a term when we have setsumeikai - meetings to explain our program to prospective families.

10. What do you think of the teaching methods/books/classes you teach?
Junior OC One we teach from ELT activities books (mostly Longman), with a phonics book thrown in; Junior Two uses Fifty-Fifty Intro; and Junior Three uses Passport. Our department - the international teachers - chose the books. We also heavily supplement these books with pair work and dictation activities. Many of our kids say they really like OC class and get real speaking practice from them.

[Brooks]

1. I work at a private high school.

2. I work full-time.

3. Generally we have to be at school from 8:20 - 4:30 M-F and from 8:30 to 12:00 on Saturday.

4. The pay is good. We get two bonuses a year. Salaries depend on a few factors. Teachers who are married, or have a spouse and have children are paid more. Teachers with more experience and with degrees (MA or Phd) get paid more. The older the teacher is, the higher the pay.

5. We get contracts on a yearly basis, although this year we haven`t seen them. Apparently there will be changes made.

6. Schedules change. I tend to be busiest from early May to late November. now I have 13 hours a week. After Golden Week I will have 17 hours a week.
I have sannensei 7 hours a week. I have a ninensei class 2 hours a week and I have a couple classes for ichinensei on Mondays. My club has all grades, as do the after school classes. Classes for the second and third year students are OC, and they use books selected by me.

This year I have to help students with Bible reading. It used to be that other teachers would help. Once a week one student per grade is selected to read part of the Bible aloud. The students need help with pronunciation, so that is where I help. All students are required to take a religion class.
The students learn Christianity, Buddhism, and Shintoism.

From time to time I give speaking tests to students that want or plan on studying overseas. Some students go abroad for a year or for a few weeks.

7. I used to stay later at work, generally I used to stay until 5:30 or 6:00 but now I tend to leave earlier, sometimes before 5:00. But I think that as the year goes on I will stay later at least one day a week.
The more time I spend at work, the less I can see my girlfriend, and the relationship will suffer as a result.

8. We don`t have to help with clubs, but obviously we are invited to do so. Now I help with our English Drama Club. I got tired of just focusing on oral skills in class. With the club I can teach pronunciation, and keep up my skills. The club will have a few plays this year, so there will be a lot to do. The students will go to Taipei in December to sing English songs and perform a play at our sister school.

Also, I will teach a couple classes after school. Unlike a couple other teachers, who would leave at 4:30, I tell my students that if they want to keep learning, I will teach them after 4:30. The classes have been good, and the students tend to be more motivated. It is much easier to teach students who have goals or a specific reason for learning English. One class is for returnees and one is for students who want to study overseas, mainly in the US, Germany, or Austria.

9. There are a few times a year that weekends are busy. One is for Sports Day, which is on a Sunday. Another is for the Bunkasei, which lasts one full weekend. Another is one Saturday afternoon next month where the mothers of the students in the club come to the school to have a meeting.

10. I can choose the books. I chose English Unlimited for ninensei and English Firsthand for sannensei. I am considering Passport for one after school class. I tend to have new books each year since I don`t find most books satisfactory.
Generally the students are worse at English than when I started so I had to choose easier books for them to use.
Most students are girls (61%). Boys can be harder to teach.
Some of our classes are multilevel. Where they aren`t I try to divide them by level (for returnees, for low-level students, etc.)

[lajzar]