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seklarwia
Joined: 20 Jan 2009
Posts: 1546
Location: Monkey onsen, Nagano
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 Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2011 8:37 am Post subject: |
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| mudl wrote: |
| Yeah, I think we do get some paid leve eventually, but somehow I think it was like worked into out schedule already. |
You should get 10 days in your first year of which they can allocate upto half but the others are yours and can be used as sick days after the first 3 months. Any days you don't use can be carried over to the following year. For example, I had 12 days this year of which they allocated 6 days so that I still got full pay for July. But because I still had my 6 days of unallocated leave from last year, I actually have 12 days of paid leave days on top of the 6 they allocated.
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| I know some people also were concerned tha the branch didn't take them to the post office to set up their bank account or to their apartment. But, I feel like sense it was the summer it's pretty understandable. |
Nope, I agree with them; that was pretty mean. There are supposed to be ICs or somebody to accompany you for things like going to your apartment, setting up an account, getting a phone, doing the ARC reg and to accompany you to the doctors, because for somebody with no Japanese these things can prove a daunting and stressful challenge which is even worse if, like in my branch, summer newbies have to start after little/no down time in which to settle in.
In both my current placement city and my last, we have had ICs. Everbody is supposed to have access to a local IC. |
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move
Joined: 30 May 2009
Posts: 132
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| Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2011 12:59 pm Post subject: |
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I worked for the Hiroshima branch of Interac two years ago. Here's my list of pros and cons
PROS
+ More or less leave you alone to do your own thing.
+ Nobody came to observe my lessons, so no sweating that.
+ Pretty slack schedule, lots of down time. During the down time we were dispatched to local elementary schools which was a lot of fun.
+ Had an IC available to help with mundane tasks like getting a bank account set up, buying furniture, going to the hospital, etc.
CONS
- Often received confusing and contradictory emails from different people in the office. Probably my biggest gripe is that they aren't organized.
- One every so often training sessions were pretty useless. I really wish there was somebody who I could have contacted about any questions or problems that came up.
- The initial one week training session in Hiroshima was unpaid, although they did put us up in a hotel.
- Paid about 200,000 in security deposits/gift money to move into a Leo Palace. However, Interac did loan me the money at a negligible interest rate.
- Felt like hired help and not part of the staff. Well, yeah, I guess I was hired help.
I guess the most relevant thing I can say is that it's an entry-level ALT job. I think people soon move on to better school/companies as soon as they can. |
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mudl
Joined: 15 Apr 2011
Posts: 8
Location: Sakai, Osaka, Japan
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| Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2011 1:07 pm Post subject: |
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Re: move's post
Well. Gotta say it's looking like my situation is one of the worse ones. Agree with all the pros and cons EXCEPT we do had training and it's useless. In fact one day at training we had people observing us so they could make lesson plans to give to future ALTs. They also didn't give us the ICs. We did get paid for training sort of, though. |
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Inflames
Joined: 02 Apr 2006
Posts: 486
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| Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2011 3:39 pm Post subject: Re: Interac Osaka |
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| seklarwia wrote: |
| mudl wrote: |
| 9. The 6 month contract is weird, though. It starts in August and goes until March. SO, come March you'll already have to either re-contract or find a new job. |
Not wierd. All dispatch ALT contracts (regardless of the company) run for the duration of the academic year because BOEs issue them that way. That means people with contracts starting in the spring always get one year, whilst people arriving in the summer get roughly half a year. It's the same in every branch, including mine (one of the Tokyo branches). Come spring, all those that chose to resign will get a one year contract going from April 2012-March 2013. |
Sakai is a huge contract (something like 60 teachers or so) but they only contract for September-March (legally, every 3 years you have to either hire someone directly or have a 3 month break - Sakai just does it this way).
I totally agree that the Interac Osaka training is worthless (actually, most of the training sessions I've had in Japan have been pretty worthless). They had one person (a blonde female, not the MC or the fat trainer) tell us something like "Sometimes the kids say stuff like 「死ね」 to me and I just say 'thank you' to them." Although, when I worked there, the base for ES and JHS were both 260,000 and they prorated in January only (December you got paid 75%). The designated period for your holidays was in January and March so you could get a full month's salary in January. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Sat Nov 19, 2011 11:28 pm Post subject: |
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| mudl wrote: |
| We did get paid for training sort of, though. |
What exactly does that mean? |
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rxk22
Joined: 19 May 2010
Posts: 1629
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| Posted: Sun Nov 20, 2011 7:34 am Post subject: |
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| mudl wrote: |
Re: move's post
Well. Gotta say it's looking like my situation is one of the worse ones. Agree with all the pros and cons EXCEPT we do had training and it's useless. In fact one day at training we had people observing us so they could make lesson plans to give to future ALTs. They also didn't give us the ICs. We did get paid for training sort of, though. |
I think it'd be better to not have an IC. Mine was worse than useless.
My training was unpaid, as was hanging out in Japan for a month till I started getting paid. That kinda made me mad. Why bring people over a full month before they even start work? All I can think of, is the worthless training that we got. |
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nightsintodreams
Joined: 18 May 2010
Posts: 558
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| Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 5:15 am Post subject: |
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| I never had any problems while working for the Hamamatsu branch, but Ive also heard that Yokohama is the best. |
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jar
Joined: 31 Jan 2005
Posts: 39
Location: UK
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| Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 3:23 pm Post subject: |
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Apologies in advance for the naivety of my post. Just checking, in a nutshell, the difference between JET & Interac. I spent a year on JET before and if I'm not accepted with them again will probably go through Interac.
Surely the actual job is exactly the same as JET? ie. an ALT at 4 or 5 schools. It's only the benefits then that differ, ie. less pay, less support etc. So if I've done JET before I know exactly what to expect, just less money etc?
How can each branch differ so much if essentially the job is the same? |
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seklarwia
Joined: 20 Jan 2009
Posts: 1546
Location: Monkey onsen, Nagano
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| Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 9:32 pm Post subject: |
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| jar wrote: |
Surely the actual job is exactly the same as JET? ie. an ALT at 4 or 5 schools. It's only the benefits then that differ, ie. less pay, less support etc. So if I've done JET before I know exactly what to expect, just less money etc?
How can each branch differ so much if essentially the job is the same? |
How can each JET position differ so much if essentially the job is the same?
Imagine that each branch is like a different BOE; although they are essentially all part of the same larger institution and trying to achieve the same goal, they all have their own way of running things.
And I hope that you don't think I'm picking on you but, don't you think it's a bit presumptious to claim you know exactly what to expect? Especially after being a JET?
ESID applies to pretty much every ALT position regardless of whether they are JET or not. For example, some ALTs have significantly more or less schools than what you stated. Depending on what level of schools you have (and occasionally whether you are a JET or not - some schools don't think too highly of JETs so don't expect much of them) you may have lots of "free time" or you might have upto 7 seven classes on the trot and still be expected to have lunch with the kids. And because of the nature of many/most dispatch contracts and the fact that the labour board likes to focus on upholding the most unbeneficial/ridiculous of laws, you shouldn't read too much into 'assistant' in ALT; a few might find themselves team-teaching, while many of us are expected to teach entire classes by ourself with little to no input or preperation assistance from JTE/HRT. Then, of course, we have the schools themself; some schools are a pleasure to work for, whilst others are filled with staff that are really difficul to to work with/for. And don't expect to get any of the mentoring/info from your predecessor like some JETs do... so as you can see, it's impossible to know what to expect from any ALT position in advance, and to assume otherwise is a little naive and likely to get you into problems. |
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jar
Joined: 31 Jan 2005
Posts: 39
Location: UK
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| Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 10:02 pm Post subject: |
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When I said "I knew what to expect" I meant "I knew what to expect".
ie. Some teachers won't want me there, some will. Some will embrace team teaching, some will let me stand in the corner. Some schools will suck. Some won't.
It varies from school to school. But I can't see how working for Fukuoka BoE and Fukuoka Interac (as an example) can be much different - apart from salary and perks? They both feature the same schools, after all. I guess that was my question.  Genuinely didn't mean to come across as a know-it-all.
EDIT: Upon reflection, yes, my use of the word "exactly" was probably a bit much... |
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seklarwia
Joined: 20 Jan 2009
Posts: 1546
Location: Monkey onsen, Nagano
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| Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 10:20 pm Post subject: |
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| jar wrote: |
| It varies from school to school. But I can't see how working for Fukuoka BoE and Fukuoka Interac can be much different - apart from salary and perks? I guess that was my question. |
Because Interac will be your employer; not Fukuoka BOE.
If you are working under a standard GT contract like the majority of Interac ALTs then you will have nothing to do with the BOE. Also under GT, team-teaching is illegal according to the labour board's interpretation of the law. Some branch staff will turn a blind eye to team-teaching especially if the schools are happy, but others will enforce the fact that you are not supposed to receive any instructions via your schools or its staff in any way, shape or form because they are not your employer, which effectively makes team-teaching imposssible. |
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jar
Joined: 31 Jan 2005
Posts: 39
Location: UK
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| Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 10:25 pm Post subject: |
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What? So as an Interac ALT you teach classes alone, without a JTE? Surely the term ALT is redundant then? I'm confused. Again, sorry for my naivety if I'm reading you wrong.
Quick edit:
Hypothetically speaking...
Say I was an ALT in School A in 2004 on JET
Then was placed in the same School A in 2012 on Interac.
What's likely to be different in terms of teaching and the way classes are conducted?
Thanks again. Just genuinely interested. |
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seklarwia
Joined: 20 Jan 2009
Posts: 1546
Location: Monkey onsen, Nagano
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| Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 11:03 pm Post subject: |
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| jar wrote: |
| What? So as an Interac ALT you teach classes alone, without a JTE? Surely the term ALT is redundant then? I'm confused. Again, sorry for my naivety if I'm reading you wrong. |
Well I did say not to read too much into "assistant" in the post before last.
The JTE is supposed to be in the classroom at all times, but even if they are (which they may not be) it is not unusual for them to sit at their desk and busy themself with other things, not even attempting to follow class or even helping with classroom discipline if the class get unruly.
For example, I have one teacher who will study French and occasionally call me over to help them during the class. They often have no input in the lesson and because they are a PT JTE, they only turn up to school for their classes so I couldn't ask them for advice even if I wanted to and they have no idea what I am going to do before I do it. Actually, this JTE does annoy me sometimes; they are a nice enough person but I do think it's taking the piss that they only have 4 classes per week and I might be in upto 3 of them...
| Quote: |
Say I was an ALT in School A in 2004 on JET
Then was placed in the same School A in 2012 on Interac.
What's likely to be different? |
Without knowing what the school was like back then or the branch that that school now belongs to, it's impossible to say. If it's in a branch that takes a very hands-off approach, maybe little. But if the branch staff have been freaking out at the legal action against Heart and been actually going in and explaining what dispatch is, how it should work and showing those awful, staged classroom vids of how an Interac class should look, possibly everything.
Plus, chances are none of the same JTEs or heads that worked back then will still be there when you went back. So even if Interac was very hands-off in your area, the fact that you are working with different staff in a school with a different principal and VP will likely mean a whole lot of change. |
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jar
Joined: 31 Jan 2005
Posts: 39
Location: UK
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| Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2011 11:12 pm Post subject: |
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Wow, that's a real eye opener, thanks. I have to say that on the whole I had JTEs that loved me being there, and encouraged my desire to use art and music in the classrooms. I gelled with 90% of them and this led to classes that were fun and relaxed. I also went out with them most weeks socially - drinking and for yakiniku and stuff. Yes, I had some teachers who weren't as good as others but this was primarily due to their lack of classroom control and even due to their English not being that good.
I can't imagine the complete disinterest you describe by some JTEs, it must be horrible and disheartening at times. I genuinely did think that the differences between Interac and JET were primarily financial and logistical, but I didn't realise it stretched so far into the classroom. |
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seklarwia
Joined: 20 Jan 2009
Posts: 1546
Location: Monkey onsen, Nagano
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| Posted: Wed Nov 23, 2011 12:47 am Post subject: |
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| jar wrote: |
| I can't imagine the complete disinterest you describe by some JTEs, it must be horrible and disheartening at times. I genuinely did think that the differences between Interac and JET were primarily financial and logistical, but I didn't realise it stretched so far into the classroom. |
Umm... you realise that this isn't necessarily about JET vs Interac placements?
In my area, there are a number of JETs who would kill to have the placement that you describe.
And at the same time, whilst I have one JTE who is a little bit lazy at times, the rest (I work with 12 in one school and 4 in the other) are amazing teachers who care about their students, are very easy to work with and are more than willing to chip in with prep. One in particular is so enthusiatic about participating during the class, that I normally have to make him take a step back because he nearly always inadvertently ends up making things way too easy for them - because this JTE often gets sent away on school business, I have taken a lot of his classes solo in his absence and I like to challenge them knowing what they are capable of.
So like I said, regardless or whether you become an ALT through JET or Interac, there is no way to know what to expect until you walk into the school. And if anything, it will likely be those 8 years of absence rather than the presence of a dispatch company that will likely be responsible for more change (if any) in how things go down in your old school; if you went back to your old school, and all the staff were the same and remember how well you worked together in the past, chances are they would stick with what works well, completely ignoring any "guidance" from a dispatch company.
Unfortunately, the education system in Japan encourages staff to be transferred quite often. In ES/JH, the staff can expect to be moved every 3-5 years, whilst in HS they might get a couple more years in any particular school. So even if you went back to your old school, it would be like stepping into that school for the first time a decade or so back. And because the staff don't know you, they are more likely to take and follow Interac's advice about how you were "trained" and the best way to use you... assuming that the Interac branch that you belonged to was very involved. If not, then those staff would likely just deal with you in the same way as they did with previous ALTs, who may or may not have been JETs (and more importantly, who may or may not have treated their ALT position like a paid holiday), which means you might have a fantastic experience with one JTE/HRT and have a nightmare dealing with another.
| Quote: |
| I also went out with them most weeks socially - drinking and for yakiniku and stuff. |
And in both my current HSs and my previous JH, I have had an amazing time out of school hours with the staff (normally non-JTEs). At one of my current schools, I am part of a group of 6 who are the only under 30s there. We hang out a lot and now two of them are part of my non-school circle of Japanese friends (many of whom went to uni with me at some point) who turn up pretty much crash at my place every other weekend to enjoy a few beers, watch some movies, play some video games and laugh at me throwing a hissy fit about them smoking in my apartment... good times  But again, this has nothing to do with whether I am a JET or not. |
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