Job Discussion Forums

[spidey]

Hello everyone,

The following article was found in a prefectural magazine written by a teacher. I found it interesting and I thought that I would post it here.

The Art of Choosing

Hello again. I hope everyone is having a good day. Hmmm�what is a good day anyway? Is it waking up to a beautiful sunny morning, or getting to work without any traffic hassles. Or is a good day the product of the choices we make. CHOICE� We all have the power to make choices as to how our lives will be. When we are children, our parents make many of the choices for us. It�s easy. But as we get older it becomes a lot more complicated. Why? Because we have to make all the choices ourselves. Or do we? Our lives are dictated by the choices we make, but those choices are definitely influenced by the people around us.
Let me give you an example. As foreign people living in Japan, ｗe have chosen to live in a culture where the simple things in life can be very difficult. Chatting with co-workers about the weather, going out for a drink after work. These normally simple acts become complicated and mind consuming. And it can make socializing difficult. Of course it is by our own choice, but it is definitely a challenge nonetheless.
Japan has also made a choice. It has chosen to teach English in its public schools. Therefore, many foreign teachers have come to Japan. However, many teachers choose to leave after only 1 or 2 years. Maybe because they�re homesick or maybe it�s just too difficult. But for those of us that decide to stay, the daily challenges can be overwhelming.
So, choose to learn about the foreign person that you have chosen to work with. Understand that they have special challenges that are very different than yours. Help them by accepting them into your school family. Don�t let them face the challenges alone. Do everything that you can to help bridge the gap between language and culture. Remember it is by your choice that they are there and by their choice to remain.

Have a good day�?

Luke

[sethness]

...and that's why we get the big bucks.

I've heard a few Japanese people lash out at foreign English teachers, claiming we're "spoiled" because we get big salaries and little work-related stress compared to our Japanese counterparts.

Fooey ! We're getting the big bucks to compensate us for the stress of being half a planet away from home, a newspaper we can read, and food we recognize without a microscope, a dictionary, and a health official.
(OK, so maybe the food thing is overkill...but the rest of that last sentence is straight from the heart.)

It's even worse in Taiwan and China, where the alphabet is completely incomprehensible. At least we folk in Japan can pick up on Romaji and Katakana pretty quickly. In Taiwan and China, there's also a far greater percentage of people who simply have zero clue how to speak in English. In Japan, it seems like eeeverybody speaks at least a little English.

When I lived in Taiwan, I remember being near tears several times, when a bus ride would become so confusing that a trip to a job interview turned into a four-hour tour of the city. I felt like a lost child, or an advanced alzheimer's patient....except even those people can ask for directions from strangers.

Yup...ANOMY. That's why we get the big bucks.