Job Discussion Forums

[malsmom]

Hello all,
Here is the scoop: I am a single mom to 3 girls and have a job offer for Nagasaki. It kind of fell in my lap. I know NO Japanese. I am an experienced teacher and have worked with ESL students before. I have one bio daughter (11), a 10 yr old from Vietnam and a 4 yr old from China. (can't go to Vietnam/china to teach because it would open huge cans of worms regarding known birth parents/unknown etc.)

How crazy would it be for me to pack up and go? Any thoughts on reactions regarding being a single parent? Would my girls be accepted?

I have a ton of questions and have learned a lot from reading the posts--thanks.

Malsmom

[shmooj]

It might be helpful if we knew what kind of job offer you had.

[Sherri]

Hi Malsmom
I used to live in Japan with my 2 kids (and husband). I am not sure about how to answer your question without some more info. What kind of school are you going to work for? Is it an international school? If so, your kids may be able to attend for a reduced rate or for free. Have you talked to your employer about your kids and their education/ daycare needs in relation to your working hours?

Another site you should try is tokyowithkids.com (it covers all of Japan) and deals mainly with family-related issues. There is a lot about education and daycare too.

All the best
Sherri

[JimDunlop2]

First off, I's have similar advice to you as to anyone else considering Japan. Do your homework: research everything -- read the STICKIES (FAQs about teaching in Japan)... etc...etc... But now, let's be realistic about this whole thing....

Being confident you could live with the kinds of conditions you've been learning about on the forums here on Dave's (and maybe elsewhere), factor in your children. Just so there's no mistake, raising children in Japan is VERY expensive -- I'd say even more so than back home. Also, being a single mom, you have to consider -- what are you going to do with your children when you are at work? Daycare? How much will that cost? The language barrier will be pretty tough to get over... Neither you nor your children speak Japanese, I can virtually guarantee that childcare workers here will speak no English. If something happens, even a minor medical emergency, how will you deal with it? They will phone you in Japanese to inform you your child was taken to some hospital -- you won't be able to understand.... Will you even be able to get to the hospital your child was taken TO? I would venture to guess, many people/places wouldn't even accept your children given those conditions.

I'd say in your situation it would be extremely difficult unless there were a complete support structure already in place for you and your kids when you arrived. I.E. Company daycare, family medical, an affordable international school, etc... Otherwise setting everything up will be nightmarish at best. I know of some FAMILIES of foreigners -- but there are two parents and one of them homeschools her children (illegal in to Japanese nationals in Japan but acceptable for them because they are not Japanese citizens, but American). I can't imagine how it would work for them if there were just the one parent.

[canuck]

I would say it's impossible, especially if you want to raise your children right and/or have some sort of social life.

[johanne]

If your job is with an international school and your children can attend for free I would say it is definately not impossible. If they go to an international school they will make friends with other English speakers and would be able to come to your classroom when their classes end. As well, you will likely find yourself part of a network of English-speaking families (either co-workers or families who's children attend the school), including probably several who have been there for many years and probably have friends/spouses who speak Japanese and could help out in an emergency. If you're working at an ESL school I would say the situation would be much more difficult as most of your co-workers would be singles who have different priorities than families. This is not to say that they wouldn't help you out if they could, but they are unlikely to have the same issues and problems as you and therefore couldn't offer much help and it's unlikely the office staff would be able to help out much as they are often overworked by the head office of the language school. Also, money wise you probably need at least 350,000 yen per month, perhaps more depending on your lifestyle and how large of an apartment/house you would like. If you give more information on your situation I think you'll probably get better advice from the people on this forum. Good luck.

[malsmom]

thanks for the honest feedback. As to social life, well I have none now so that wouldn't change
The position I was considering would have me teach preschool and kindergarten and then afterschool classes to elementary students. My two younger ones would be able to attend but my older daughter would need to be at a different place. All my girls would be school age so I wouldn't need daycare.

I have read a lot of this site as well as others (I'll take suggestions for more!) and of course do not plan on moving across the world until I know as much as I can. That means also learning some Japanese.

I'm at a criticial time if I want to teach abroad as I have a 2 year window before my oldest will go to high school and I want her home for that. If I don't go now, I'll be waiting to my girls are grown and gone! And I'd love for them to have the experience of living in another culture. (Well two kind of already have!)

I will check with my contact about an international school the girls could attend.

Thanks again for the advice!

Malsmom

[PAULH]

[bearcat]

I'd have to say that I question your personal desires for such a move over the educational and stability needs of your children.

Unless you are making 4k or better a month, having three kids here plus yourself would be a serious financial hurdle. Guaranteed you will save much of nothing.

Did you as well know you have to even pay money when you send em to public junior high and highschools here too?

Will your children be accepted at schools here? Essentially your two oldest kids would have a rough time of it.... even if you put them into extremely expensive international private schools. Heck regular private schools here are expensive.

As far as your teaching job, are you just teaching English at Japanese kinders or are you actually going to be a full fledged Japanese style kinder teacher? If the latter I wouldn't wish it on anyone save my worst enemy.

I am curious for you to explain your teaching position a bit more because question if you know what it involves.

[malsmom]

One of the reasons I am here is to learn more as I am not aware of all the differences between teaching jobs and the possible ramifications. The position I had been offered involved teaching classes of preschool and kindergartners English in 45 minute sessions along with teaching afterschool sessions with elementary age children. I have also told my contact that I would need a lot more information before accepting a position. She is going to continue to stay in touch and will let me know when she has an opening that might work better for me as she needs someone for March for this position and I'm not ready to go around the world without having done all my homework!

And no I don't know how much it would be to send the older girls to private school. That's one reason I'm here

My motivation to teach abroad is not to save money but for the experience. I also have a short window before my oldest starts high school (and I want her to have the option of being home with friends and not moving around) so if I'm going to do it, it is now. Japan has always interested me but it may not be the right place for me to go given my situation.

I appreciate all the info and suggestions from everyone as it will really inform my thinking and my decision making as whether to continue considering Japan or to move on to another country.

I have also applied to teach with the Department of Defense schools as that would allow me to live overseas but provide an English school for my girls.

Malsmom

[bearcat]

It sounds like the position was a dispatch deal. I am extremely familiar with a few of those types.

In Japan, there are two types of kinders:

Hoikuens(preschools that accept children ages 0-5)

And Yochiens(preschools that accept kids age 3-5).

Elementary schools start from essentially the first grade here.

So for the sake of understanding, a kindergarten and preschool are the same name for the same thing. Classifying em by their Japanese names helps sort it out. Though you could call a hoikuen a preschool and a yochien a kindergarten but it is misleading due to the age ranges.

Most kinders are private with some being a private public hybrid and then the left overs being public. Most dispatch deals do not have gigs with the public ones as there is not as much money to be had in the afternoon classes(in which the parents pay the dispatch company directly).

90% of the private and hybrid pub privs are family run businesses. This means that some teachers, office staff and absolutely the principal and vice are related. I'd say about half of these are Buddhist temple schools to boot.

School student numbers run from 100-250 kids on average. Classes have between 10-25 kids per.

If this is indeed a dispatch deal, You would be traveling to a different school each day(or two different ones in the same day if the morning classes(seika paid for by the kinder) and the afternoon classes(kagai paid for by the parents) are at dif locations.

Average commute time in many cases is 40 minutes to an hour and a half via trains, subways, buses, and walking any any multiple or singular combination.

Classes are often back to back with no breaks but it depends on the company AND the kinder's perrogative for the organizing of lessons.

Don't expect a healthy curriculum either. Afternoon programs are designed with money as the priority. Ages and levels can be combined in the same class and can be a class management nightmare. I've taught classes of 10 kids or more that had ages 3-6 all in the same class as an example. One of them required using a curriculum designed for the youngest and another had the opposite.

Many staff and teachers of kinders know little to no English whatsoever. With morning classes you might have the classroom teacher helping you, you might not. Afternoon classes would most likely be your own show with no assistance.

Dispatchers usually have to clean the classroom area before and or after use.... especially in the afternoon gigs. In rare instances, some teachers have been required to clean toilets, do bus duty(teachers ride on these mini bus/van things and take the kids home) etc.

Activities that fall outside of the normal work hours such as art exhibitions by the kids, school run mini festivals, grad and first day ceremonies, and the list goes on... are in many cases required to be attended. If you go to many schools in one week and they all have similar activities in the same week or month, you may see little in the way of time off on the weekends. Many dispatchers to not compensate you for these extra activites either. It is considered part of your normal pay.

Child behavior and manners are a bit more... liberal than their western counterparts. Discipline is lax by western comparisons. I know one dispatch comapny that put an english teacher on a verbal warning because they gave a child a time out of 5 minutes for hitting another child then scratching said teacher's face when they physically pulled the kid off the other one. The school felt it was too harsh for being 5 minutes. The kid was 5 going on 6. If you come here and do this job as well I'll let you figure out what a kancho is. Kids love to do it to teachers here.

Lunches can be provided by the school for free, at charge to you or you must fend for yourself. You don't get a choice in most cases. You can't bring your lunch if the school provides it is what I mean... unless you have some health reason for it. I'll let you find out the joys of kinder lunches as well.

Many dispatch positions require you to take all your materials for the day to the school(s) you are visiting. Some schools will not let you house or store these things there. Some will.

Some schools will be totally cold to you. There are a host of reasons why but alot has to do with the yearly changes and transitions of teachers in this business. Many kinders dont respond well to changes in teachers.. especially if it falls in the middle of the year.

If you got big feet, bring plenty of white plain sneakers. Schools here have the shoes you come to the school in, and the shoes you wear indoor at the schools.

Some assinine dispatch companies require you to wear business attire to teach the classes in yet expect you to be active and showmanshipy like a PE teacher. Others require you to dress up when you come, change to a casual or a school issued set of sweats, and teach. Then change back when you're done and leave.

MANY kinders do not have airconditioning. They just dont believe in it for the health of the kids. Fans yes and airconditioning in the main office but thats it. If you get a school with a room for you to teach in with air, count yourself as extremely fortunate. With some school in the winter, the school may have heat but the area you teach your class in may not. OR worse it is in the hall/gym of the school and they refuse to let you use the heat/air because the room is too spacious and it will cost too much.

There's plenty more things related to dispatch. But for now I think this should help you ask the questions about the position that perhaps you didnt think to ask the woman otherwise. You were smart to not jump in by march. The only problem is that unless a teacher quits or is fired, you wont see similar available until next march as april to march is the school year here. If they do offer you one in the middle of the year, be sure to ask why as you could be waltzing into a bad situation.

_________________

To give you an idea on private schools costs. A typical kinder charges between 300-700 US a month to attend. Lunches run 2-3 dollars a day. Add to this the cost of uniforms and other standardized materials and books. For junior highs and senior high... its quite a bit more.... and these are just for standard schools not you international schools or ritz privs.

And without going into details, I wouldnt ever consider by choice putting kids from the US into regular Japanese schools for a few years then having them return to the US. In essence, you'd have to accept that their studies would be stunted for two years and they would be having to catch up when they got back.

And thats not covering the social stigmatisms either.

Just so you know as well, apartments here are pretty expensive. Apartment sizes are extremely small as well. a 3LDK (3 is for rooms that could be bed rooms or used otherwise, L for living, d for dining, and k for kitchen) in most major cities near a train or subway line will run you at least 1000 US a month but more likely closer to 1300.

So even if its 1000 a month, plus you have to pay to put your kids in school, plus you have to pay for food(for 4 people I'd say 500 a month) plus other expenses.... and if you were making the typical pay here of 2500 a month... you are in debt already and not having paid elec, gas, or water.


Trust me, a base teaching job would be 3 times better all around and you would still be able to enjoy the benefits of living abroad yet not jeopardize you kids' education or financial situation.

[Doglover]

Bearcat, just so you know,

a hoikuen is one for children whose mother is usually working. When my kids were born my wife still had her job and the kids went to hoikuen while she went to work. It is more like a nursery school or daycare and are open as late as 7pm at night.

A yochien is a kindergarten they take kids from the age of 3 and usually the mother does not have a job i.e. a full time housewife. My son goes to yochien now and it is considered a school, where pre-school children actually learn and are taught by a teacher. Not sure what I pay but last year for a private yochien I was paying 30,000 yen a month in fees and that doesnt include uniform, satchel, meals, school trips etc. Yochien is usually open till 3 or 4 and they finish as early as 12 or 1 pm on some days, so the mother needs to be home on those days.

Not to flog a dead horse here, but sending three kids to school, paying rent on a good sized apartment for four people in Nagasaki (a minimum of 80,000 yen a month) you are going to need a minimum of 350,000 yen a month to support them all on one income, which means holding virtually two full time jobs and I dont imagine a dispatch company pays all that much. You either need considerable savings before you arrive, or a higher paying job. Working at a dispatch company on a single income of 250,000 (before tax and expenses) Im sorry to say, will not cover your basic living costs. If you are single you could save $500-600 a month but you have to pay school fees and expenses out of that as well.

[Sherri]

Just to put a positive spin here. I think you could do it as long as certain things were in place for you. If your kids can attend school for free at your place of employment like the DOD schools or an international school (and some Japanese schools), AND if your employer provided you and your family with accommodation AND if your working hours were the same as your kids' schooling hours. Of course do your homework and read up. There have been cases of non-Japanese parents sending their kids to Japanese schools and it working out. The experience depends a lot on the character of your kids and yourself.

If you are a qualified teacher in your home state, then you should be able to find a job here which could meet your needs. Be picky and look around.
Best
Sherri

Here are a couple of links to interesting reads on the topic.

http://www.tokyowithkids.com/features/elementaryschool.html

http://www.tokyowithkids.com/fyi/hoikuen.html

[bearcat]

[bearcat]