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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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 Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 5:41 am Post subject: |
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| Ernstern14 wrote: |
Glenski, I have a question for you about your last post. You gave an example of how one could conduct a conversation with their employer when their employer gives criticism, and you put a line on there that said "Wait. You first said all, now you said some. How many complained?"
I do not see where Employer X mentioned "all" when referring to who complained in the class, are you suggesting we put words in our employers mouths in order to "shake their shoulders" and take the blame off ourselves? |
seklarwia has answered this perfectly for me. Thanks.
| Imseriouslylost wrote: |
| I know that I want to change employer's next year but how can I move up instead of moving side to side? Most dispatch companies seem to offer pretty much the same thing |
Get out of dispatch ALT, then, unless you are lucky enough to be in a region where they are appreciated (pretty rare, though). Become a solo teacher, start your own business, get credentials and teach university, become a teacher trainer, etc. What do you consider "up"?
| Imseriouslylost wrote: |
| Quote: |
Quote (Glenski):
I came here in 1998 with nothing more than a TESL certification in hand to go with my BS and MS in science. I went from eikaiwa to private HS to university. It can be done. |
With those same qualifications or did you have to get more? I don't have an MA. |
Yes, with those same qualifications (and including the experience gained while I was here, which also means publishing and doing proofreading. Don't have the MA? Get one if you want to move "up".
| Imseriouslylost wrote: |
| The examples I gave of being told to sing a song without knowing what song it would be/knowing the words and the other example of a nit picky teacher who will boss me around for shits and giggles. This isn't the kind of added responsibility one could ever thrive under, it's just being jerked around. If they gave me a bunch of work to do I would do it. The thing is, they don't. The stuff they jerk me around with isn't something that I (anyone) could anticipate or prepare for. |
Sorry to tell you this, but unless your JTE has a grudge against you and really wants to jerk you off (as you say), whatever they throw at you is what they would throw at the next ALT, too. It's responsibility, like it or not. I don't know the details of your "song fest" complaint, but if you can't find the words on the Internet, something is seriously wrong.
I see the above as culture shock complaining.
| Imseriouslylost wrote: |
| No, I don't really complain offline. I just said "sorry" a bunch of times, said I'd try to do better etc. |
You need to be a bit more proactive here (call it aggressive if you like). Find time to talk to the JTE and plan together, even for 10 minutes. You can slip in comments / complaints in the right tone then, instead of making a separate "I'm sorry" moment that does nothing to help either of you out.
| Imseriouslylost wrote: |
| I know I have a lot of room for improvement and I don't think of myself as a perfect teacher. A few years teaching experience pales in comparison to what my JTEs have which is a major reason I don't talk back or get sassy with them. I know that in this culture, talking back or being defiant will get you absolutely nowhere. |
Glad you realize that, but nobody here is telling you to be sassy or defiant. Change your approach. Suggest instead of insist. Mention previous experiences instead of demanding lesson plan objectives. That sort of thing. (I see seklarwia is saying similar things...)
| Imseriouslylost wrote: |
| Their story is... I can't imagine it would be very much. |
Look, you are really not giving us anything to work on here. Ok, you come on time. Ok, you do your best. All you can say about your JTEs is that they nitpick and complain about you. That alone suggests that being on time and "doing your best" is not cutting it. Unless you tell us a lot more, we are just shooting in the dark here in trying to help you. You sound like this is not your second job at all, but your first time in a classroom ever.
| Imseriouslylost wrote: |
| The first week I went to work, I wore a suit and tie, sat patiently in my chair and tried to get involved somehow. I didn't do anything out of the ordinary. |
Again with the lack of details! What does "try to get involved somehow" mean? What does the second sentence mean? This is becoming extremely difficult to understand.
| Imseriouslylost wrote: |
| JTEs just take a test after their BA to become teachers, right? Not much different than me. |
Way off! They are experts in the Japanese language and culture. (They used to be the very students you are teaching, remember?) They have not studied as much TEFL courses (if any) as they need, but they have studied a fair amount of classroom management courses. They also did at least a 2-week internship (often in that very school), which I usually say is not much, but at least it's more than you ever did. It includes advice from fellow JTEs, for one thing.
[quote="Imseriouslylost]other people have told me things like "my co-workers are so friendly and nice", "even the ones who don't speak English are nice to me" and "I've already been out to three Enkai in the last month!"
Me: the only people I talk to at work are the other teachers who smoke in the smoking room. [/quote]Then get out of that smoking room and talk to other teachers! |
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ssjup81
Joined: 15 Jun 2009
Posts: 664
Location: Adachi-ku, Tokyo, Japan
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| Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 5:59 am Post subject: |
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I try talking to the other teachers and actually went around my first day, making a chart, and asking everyone's names. At least they saw I was trying to make an effort to get to know them, so I feel that might have given off a good impression to them.
I attempted to talk with the music teacher, and I'm going to start taking Shamisen lessons with her soon.
I also attempted to talk with the art teacher too, as she runs the art club and I mentioned how in high school, I was in the art club and sat in one of the meetings for a short while during my first week.
I also try speaking to the principal on occasion, and he actually helped me with some of the kanji I was writing and showing me the correct writing directions.
So maybe you should do like glenski was saying and try to get away from just those teachers in the smoking room. What about clubs and sports? Are there any there of interest to you? Maybe you can get involved with that. Everyone knows how I'm a fan of volleyball, and the teacher was asking if I wanted to play together sometime and I laughed and was saying, "No way." lol No way I can play v-ball now. lol Oh yeah, last week, I was playing Table Tennis with the Girls' Table Tennis Club. That was fun...even though I sucked big time at it. lol |
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