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Kionon
Joined: 12 Apr 2008
Posts: 226
Location: Kyoto, Japan and Dallas, Texas
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 Posted: Sun Apr 17, 2011 8:45 pm Post subject: |
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| BlackPapermoon wrote: |
| Yeah, my major was psychology, and when I took an immigration course they said studies show that men adapt better when they immigrate oppose to women ::shrugs:: ofcourse, there are exeptions to the rule. |
I would argue that this is because of enforced gender roles that are internalised. Men adapt better because they are taught to adapt better and because they are convinced that they are resilient enough to do so. Until attitudes present the same learning environment to women, this will be generally true, but it doesn't represent any inherent, biological "truth" about male adaptability vs. female adaptability.
tl;dr it's nurture, not nature |
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kenishi86
Joined: 07 Feb 2011
Posts: 27
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| Posted: Sun Apr 17, 2011 9:16 pm Post subject: |
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| Kionon wrote: |
| It's garbage.... |
Thanks for the info that is fairly interesting, especially the part about JETs, which sort of confirms an idea I had. In practice it may be the majority of JETs are rural. Heres why. If JETs are actually paid by the govt and not by BOEs, where as payment for dispatch is done by BOE->Dispatch Company->You, then I can see dispatch/Interac pushing harder for suburb/urban. The reason being is they have to pay more on the whole for the car/gas/etc. in the rural regions, while they don't have to for the other.
On the whole though, it sounds like Kansai has had a rough time with ALTs it seems. I guess that explains all the constant changing I keep hearing about for that area in terms of JET->Dispatch->Direct.
| BlackPapermoon wrote: |
Yeah, my major was psychology, and when I took an immigration course they said studies show that men adapt better when they immigrate oppose to women ::shrugs:: ofcourse, there are exeptions to the rule. |
My short personal experience studying abroad has shown this to be true. If I had to speculate i would say the reason for this has a lot to do with the fact that females tend to value social connections far greater than men do. When in a new country females will likely be starting with 0 to only a few connections and this can bother them. I've also met more women then guys that are self-conscious on their image and Japan in particular places a stronger emphasis on 'how you look.' |
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BBQchips
Joined: 10 Nov 2010
Posts: 19
Location: Okayama, Japan
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| Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2011 5:02 am Post subject: |
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hey i work for interac currently and everyone actually came to my training/orientation which was a week after the big earthquake/tsunami. i:m thinking majority of people didn't bail on the company.
also i'm a girl so it's nice to see more joining the ranks! |
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BlackPapermoon
Joined: 12 Feb 2011
Posts: 39
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| Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2011 5:32 am Post subject: |
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@Kionon: I agree...now I gotta worry bout crazy right wingers trying to control my body!!>(
@Kenishi86:well yeah, Japan doesn't have my shoe size!! Thats a serious problem!!
But one of the guys at my seminar did mention to me his concern about finding clothes in Japan since he's tall 
BBQ:Yeah, female ALTS for Interac!! It just seems so odd how JET seems to be more women than menwell thats how I felt..anyways...but I seriously think that t I blew this chance with Interac:(
::shrugs:: so I can't add to the female population of ALTS with this ^^;;
(i already have another job offer so its not that much of a loss..but still...sports day...and school festivals..) |
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Ikki
Joined: 31 Jan 2011
Posts: 58
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| Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2011 7:47 am Post subject: |
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http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=88537
I hate to burst the bubble of the eager beavers all revved up to be an Interac ALT...but...I think you all had better take a look at the link before you decide to come to Japan on your own dime. |
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kenishi86
Joined: 07 Feb 2011
Posts: 27
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| Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2011 6:02 pm Post subject: |
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| Ikki wrote: |
http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=88537
I hate to burst the bubble of the eager beavers all revved up to be an Interac ALT...but...I think you all had better take a look at the link before you decide to come to Japan on your own dime. |
Saw it. Unfortunately people outside Japan don't have the luxury of direct hire positions usually since most of those places want to be able to interview the person and want someone with a visa. And anyway, I'm sure someone could write a counter post explaining direct hire's problems as well. At this point I've come to realize that most routes to Japan via TEFL are crappy at best and horrendous at worst. |
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Kionon
Joined: 12 Apr 2008
Posts: 226
Location: Kyoto, Japan and Dallas, Texas
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| Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2011 9:28 pm Post subject: |
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| kenishi86 wrote: |
| Ikki wrote: |
http://forums.eslcafe.com/job/viewtopic.php?t=88537
I hate to burst the bubble of the eager beavers all revved up to be an Interac ALT...but...I think you all had better take a look at the link before you decide to come to Japan on your own dime. |
Saw it. Unfortunately people outside Japan don't have the luxury of direct hire positions usually since most of those places want to be able to interview the person and want someone with a visa. And anyway, I'm sure someone could write a counter post explaining direct hire's problems as well. At this point I've come to realize that most routes to Japan via TEFL are crappy at best and horrendous at worst. |
Japan is significantly better than many other places, but of course mileage may vary.
I'm not sure I posted about it here, but I've also had experience in other Asian countries, and my experiences in Korea were truly "horrendous" and the visa and labor union situation there is night and day compared to Japan.
My boss was abusive, racist, misogynistic, paranoid, and eventually proved to be corrupt (turnes out he was skimming my taxes off, and I got a lovely investigatory visit from the Korean Revenue Service, that told me to skeedaddle, because the hammer was coming down). Even in my most bitter labor dispute with my dispatch company in Japan, never once did I feel like I was being put in any physical or legal danger. And of course, I had a longer term visa owned by me (not the case in Korea), union representation if I wanted it (not the case in Korea; that's illegal for non-citizens), although I did have plenty of "opportunities" in both countries.
While there are risks with direct hire, I'd say it's largely a matter of finding what you want. With direct hire, you may actually take a pay cut, and you may have far more responsibility as you work directly for the school or the Board of Education. If this is not a career, you may find dispatch companies fit your modus operandi better. If this is your career (like me), you may find direct hire a better approach in the long run because it is a foot in the door to greater opportunities.
I'd gladly work for my dispatch company again temporarily, and I'd most definitely take a direct hire position, but what I really want is sennin, so I've decided to pursue a 教員免許 (kyouin menkyo, Japanese teaching license) and try for a direct hire position and teach with a 臨時免許 (rinji menkyo, temporary license), but that definitely requires experience, visa, and a whole lot of education (in addition, I'll have my MA and my teaching certification from my home country).
Standard disclaimer, all of this is my experience or my opinion, mileage may, and probably will vary. Offer not available in all areas or prefectures. This is Japan, however, so CODs are fine...  |
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paula1
Joined: 05 Apr 2011
Posts: 1
Location: USA
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| Posted: Tue Apr 19, 2011 11:12 pm Post subject: |
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First post on this forum! Since we're on the topic of the seminars, did your recruiters also make you feel confident about getting a position? I went over on the 6 minutes for the video, but my recruiter said it was okay and that I did a good job.
Was anyone else given such confidence? |
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BlackPapermoon
Joined: 12 Feb 2011
Posts: 39
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| Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 12:19 am Post subject: |
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@Paula1: I've read this bloghttp://xenocrisis0153.livejournal.com/21917.html,where he said the recruiters did tell their interviewers that they wanted to recommend everyone to the tokyo office so they could get hired.
My recruiter did comment when I did my demo lesson over that it was much better than the first one  , and thats all she said about that
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oneokbunny
Joined: 21 Feb 2011
Posts: 11
Location: California
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| Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 12:26 am Post subject: |
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＠paula1: I would say the over all mood of my seminar was as if you already had the job and they were doing all the paper to make it official. Like during the personal interview it felt like I already had a job but they needed info to place me.
I did hear a couple time that I would be a great asset and that I would be great with elementary kids. So it did feel positive. |
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kenishi86
Joined: 07 Feb 2011
Posts: 27
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| Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 10:14 am Post subject: |
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My interviewer didn't make it sound like we all had jobs. Rather he painted a realistic view I think. He stated that job situation in Japan with ALTs is kind of wonky right now and there could or could not be a large number of people leaving, and because of that it is hard to say what number of positions they have. However, I did hear they usually hire about 300-400 new people (new this session? I think.)
As far as demo lesson goes? He said everyone's was good, but I doubt he has any real bearing as to whether one demo vs another is better and results in Tokyo liking the ALT.
We actually never got to do the personality test though. Reading that blog though, it might be a good thing I didn't since it sounds like its the Jung Personality type and I know for a fact that I score a INTJ or INTP on those things if I take them honestly. Which is incidentally NOT the good personality type for a teacher, more meant for a programmer. I can fake being Extroverted though. Either way. I think the blogger is right though; thinking back on it, this seems/felt way more like what the PKC interview was suppose to be for. If you can make it to the seminar, and you aren't some weirdo, you shouldn't have any problem landing a spot unless they are low on positions. I just STILL can't get over the low numbers at the seminars. I mean, you have to figure that thousands of people applied and they cut the numbers down this far?
oneobunny and BlackPapermoon. Have either of you ever been to Japan or do you have a fair amount of Japanese experience? I have theory I'm trying to get some support for. |
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BlackPapermoon
Joined: 12 Feb 2011
Posts: 39
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| Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 5:32 pm Post subject: |
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@Kenishi86: I traveled to Japan 2x back in 08 for a month, and took Japanese in college for a semester and another time at a language school before I graduated for 2 months. Sadly all of my Japanese has went out the window,along with my childhood dreams XD.
But like you, I'm also surprised of the low numbers they had for my seminar! I remember talking to someone who interviewed before, and there were 78 people!! 78!! Maybe she interviewed for the spring intake where they have higher numbers, but I didn't ask her....
It also seems that some places have more than one interview seminar..
a month apart(like Nyc has 3!! and most other places like Chicago have two,except for Houston..interesting.)
So maybe, the first batch that interviews in April, is the ones they definitely want, or have a higher chance of getting in? And the rest after that are backups, or late comers?
but that doesn't solve the people who defered for this intake, or perhaps they're now leaving in June? |
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oneokbunny
Joined: 21 Feb 2011
Posts: 11
Location: California
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| Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 6:21 pm Post subject: |
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I'm not sure how to read the current situation with how many openings there are for the fall intake. Though I think that most of the people who deferred to the fall intake will either take the bonus and go in June or end up not going...who really knows though.
As for my Japanese experience: I studied abroad for a year in Tokyo. I am at about advance level with the language as my degree is in Japanese.
I agree with the idea about the seminars by the may dates they will know what openings they still had. I applied online february before they even open applications officially for fall so that's why I assume I was in the first batch but I like the best group first idea lol
Half a week passed already. 2 1/2 to go lol |
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deadzenpoet
Joined: 06 Aug 2010
Posts: 71
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| Posted: Wed Apr 20, 2011 8:02 pm Post subject: |
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| kenishi86 wrote: |
| I know for a fact that I score a INTJ or INTP on those things if I take them honestly. Which is incidentally NOT the good personality type for a teacher, more meant for a programmer. |
I studied the Myers-Briggs immensely. INTJ & INTP actually are very suited for teaching but maybe more for the science/math types. |
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kenishi86
Joined: 07 Feb 2011
Posts: 27
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| Posted: Thu Apr 21, 2011 5:17 am Post subject: |
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So ya, that's 7 people now that I know that went to the seminar that have studied in Japan. I guess it shouldn't be surprising that they selected primarily people that have been to Japan already. I just thought found it interesting that it seems there's a strong majority in the interview pool that have been to Japan in some capacity.
And ya Myers-Briggs, not sure why I kept thinking Jung. It was merely based on his ideas. Either way, INTP/INTJ probably make good science/math types in college settings though. I wonder if they would turn you down if you didn't have the right temperament they were looking for. |
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