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mateacher
Joined: 07 Sep 2013
Posts: 180
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 Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2014 6:27 am Post subject: |
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I find it strange that people find that achieving fluency in 5 languages is difficult. Spanish and French are not to dissimilar and are romance languages, so for English speakers they are not too difficult to master.
Japanese is difficult, but if you live in Japan for a long time, it is imperative to study, same with Korean.
It is also strange people do not believe I have rental income, what do you think I do with my summer house in Izu in Atami that has its own rotenburo? Instead of selling it is rented it out also very easy to do and provides a good 150.000 yen a month after deducting realtor fees. Now I am not based in Asia, I am just waiting for another period of high yen to the dollar and then i will sell and probably net a cool 450.000 dollars if the exchange rate is favorable.
I never had a tenured position at at uni in Japan, If you re-read my posts I think I mentioned what I was earning in Japan as a uni teacher. Of course there were raises every so often. But tenure was never anything I was interested in. If you stay too long anywhere it is not healthy. I know most gaijin are desperate for tenure track in Japan, probably due to their lack of ambition, but for me Japan was never a long term place. I was just there to build up my CV save enough money to do a Phd, (a real Phd not those fake diploma mills from UK universities that don't even have residentials) stateside and date lots of cute girls. |
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Maitoshi
Joined: 04 May 2014
Posts: 718
Location: 何処でも
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| Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2014 7:13 am Post subject: |
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| I guess it depends on what you count as fluent, doesn't it? Sure, reading in French and Spanish aren't such a challenge, particularly when compared to Japanese, but writing and speaking in 5 languages is a whole different story, isn't it? |
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rxk22
Joined: 19 May 2010
Posts: 1629
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| Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2014 9:47 am Post subject: |
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| Maitoshi wrote: |
| I guess it depends on what you count as fluent, doesn't it? Sure, reading in French and Spanish aren't such a challenge, particularly when compared to Japanese, but writing and speaking in 5 languages is a whole different story, isn't it? |
Its not too hard. I can understand a lot of Spanish and Italian. I just think it's hard for fakes to be anything but monolingual |
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spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash
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| Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2014 12:52 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| .... save enough money to do a Phd, (a real Phd not those fake diploma mills from UK universities that don't even have residentials) stateside |
Hmm. 'Stateside' is no guarantee a degree is real.
http://www.myfoxdc.com/story/19115636/fox-5-investigates-udc-professors-earn-degrees-from-diploma-mill
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WASHINGTON -
They are colleges in name only, diploma mills, where a degree can be bought and paid for with very little work. These bogus universities lack recognition from any legitimate agency. A FOX 5 investigation discovered some professors at the University of the District of Columbia who claim to have Ph.D.s, got them from a school that fits the government definition of a diploma mill.Unlike accredited institutions where it takes years to earn a college education, even more for a Ph.D., Commonwealth Open University doesn't have the same requirements. A doctorate costs $3,450.The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), which oversees accrediting in the United States, considers a Ph.D. from there nothing short of a phony degree. Judith Eaton, CHEA's president said it's "highly unlikely" Commonwealth's degrees aren't worth the paper they're written on. "An employer should want conformation of the legitimacy of the degree. I think they would have trouble getting it," Eaton said.It may be worthless, but the degree didn't raise red flags for three UDC professors in the criminal justice department. That Ph.D. also earned the professors a bump in salary. Angelyn Flowers, who teaches in homeland security and is Director of the master's degree program, earned her Ph.D. from Commonwealth Open University. So did Sinclair Jeter, an assistant professor in criminal justice, and professor Margaret Moore, who once ran the Department of Corrections under former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry. "Honestly, that's a little bit insulting to the rest of us trying to obtain our degrees or bachelor's," said Tyrone Gibson, who is taking classes at UDC for the summer.Students at the school were disturbed that the university was unaware of the questionable degrees obtained by faculty. The lack of legitimate credentials also angered them. "That's serious. I worked hard for my first degree and I'm just shocked," said Alex Garrett, another UDC student.Commonwealth Open University is registered in the British Virgin Islands. It has no address on its website, just a post office box. The university claims to be accredited by the Wiener School for Advanced Studies on Global Education and Distance Learning. In an e-mail, it explained its disputed accreditation and said, "No course is ever going to be accredited or recognized everywhere."It's not recognized by the Department of Education for financial aid eligibility or a legitimate accrediting agency in the United States or the equivalent body in Britain. Under federal law, it meets the definition of a diploma mill. "I would call them that (fake)," said CHEA's Eaton.In response to our findings, Dr. Ken Bain, UDC Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, issued a statement saying in part, "The overwhelming majority of UDC's professors and leaders are extremely talented, credentialed professionals with doctorates, or other appropriate terminal degrees ... Rest assured, we will address anyone who does not meet our stringent internal review standards as we continue crafting the model university."To show how easy it would be to get a degree from Commonwealth Open University, I submitted an application claiming to be a history teacher with 15 years experience seeking a doctorate.Without requiring transcripts or proof of work, Commonwealth accepted me into its Ph.D. program. I was told all I needed to complete was a 50-page report, and of course, pay. I didn't enroll, but they made it seem like a piece of cake. Compare that to a doctorate from a recognized accredited university, which usually takes more than eight years and cost an average of $39,700 in 2008, according to the Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics. "At the very least, you're going to have to take doctoral study, you're going to have to do research and you're going to have to write a doctoral dissertation which could take years," said Eaton, describing the typical doctoral process.Getting a Ph.D. in a matter of months or less should raise concerns about its legitimacy. "If you get a diploma mill doctorate, you can get one by the time you go home for dinner," Eaton said.It's not just UDC. An investigation by the Chronicle of Higher Education found professors with diploma mill degrees across the country at all levels. A 2004 report by the Government Accountability Office found hundreds of government workers with fake degrees too. Some were bought and paid for at taxpayer expense.D.C. Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie called for a thorough investigation. He chairs the Jobs and Workforce Development Committee that oversees UDC. In a statement to FOX 5, McDuffie wrote, "I am deeply concerned to learn of the questions raised about the credentials of three UDC professors who hold Ph.D.'s from Commonwealth Open University, a non-accredited institution ... I will continue to monitor the developments and will review the hiring policies of UDC at a future oversight hearing when the council reconvenes."The diploma mill business is a billion dollar industry and hands out an estimated 200,000 phony degrees a year. A New York congressman introduced legislation two years ago to crack down on diploma mills, but it failed.The illegitimate Ph.D.s could be potentially damaging to UDC's accreditation as it tries to raise standards. Attempts to track down the professors on campus failed. Professor Jeter did tell FOX 5 he did his doctorate work at the University of Paris but ran out of time. He couldn't find another university to accept his work except for Commonwealth Open University and claims he thought it was a legitimate degree. The other two professors did not return our calls requesting a formal interview."They should lose their jobs. That's like discrediting the university," said UDC student Romel Greene.Professor Flowers has a law degree from Georgetown University. All three were hired at UDC before getting a Commonwealth Open University Ph.D. The unaccredited degree doesn't necessarily make them unqualified said Eaton. "No, it makes their judgment highly questionable," she said.Given all three professors have undergraduate and graduate degrees from recognized U.S. institutions, some would say they're too smart not to know a Ph.D. this easy is from a diploma mill. |
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fluffyhamster
Joined: 13 Mar 2005
Posts: 3292
Location: UK > China > Japan > UK again
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| Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2014 4:18 pm Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| Judith Eaton, CHEA's president said it's "highly unlikely" Commonwealth's degrees aren't worth the paper they're written on. |
Negative quote + usually negative phrase = 
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spiral78
Joined: 05 Apr 2004
Posts: 11534
Location: On a Short Leash
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| Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2014 4:25 pm Post subject: |
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| I wonder exactly what is the cost of a single piece of paper these days? The degree might in fact be worth more, as it includes ink and perhaps even a fancy stamp |
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fluffyhamster
Joined: 13 Mar 2005
Posts: 3292
Location: UK > China > Japan > UK again
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| Posted: Sat Sep 13, 2014 4:51 pm Post subject: |
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| Cheap printer paper from Tesco must be something like a half pence per sheet :p |
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Maitoshi
Joined: 04 May 2014
Posts: 718
Location: 何処でも
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| Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2014 8:31 am Post subject: |
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| I can print them out by the hour if someone is wiling to pay even half this per "diploma"!!! |
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Maitoshi
Joined: 04 May 2014
Posts: 718
Location: 何処でも
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| Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2014 8:36 am Post subject: |
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It's not about the paper, but what you learn in the process. Granted, what you learn is mostly about yourself, but it is ever so invaluable. What I don't know can fill a number of gigabytes and then some! Just hoping to catch up before I expire  |
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mateacher
Joined: 07 Sep 2013
Posts: 180
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| Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2014 4:37 pm Post subject: |
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| Maitoshi wrote: |
| It's not about the paper, but what you learn in the process. Granted, what you learn is mostly about yourself, but it is ever so invaluable. What I don't know can fill a number of gigabytes and then some! Just hoping to catch up before I expire |
What a pompous person you are. With that attitude I suggest not continuing any further in academia especially dont do a phd unless its in philosophy. |
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Maitoshi
Joined: 04 May 2014
Posts: 718
Location: 何処でも
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| Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2014 9:23 pm Post subject: |
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Yes, pompous would both describe me and the above post very accurately, mateacher.  |
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Maitoshi
Joined: 04 May 2014
Posts: 718
Location: 何処でも
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| Posted: Sun Sep 14, 2014 10:19 pm Post subject: |
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| "round he throws his baleful eyes / That witness'd huge affliction and dismay / Mixt with obdurate pride and steadfast hate" |
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