Job Discussion Forums

[mrjohndub]

First off, I'm new to the board. I'm a bit familiar with things here, having sought information about working in Japan some months ago. I'm American, from Texas and North Carolina. I work in two different cities for GEOS. I am a progressive, but I don't spend all my time complaining about George W. Bush. I enjoy going to see live music, the outdoors, reading about culture and the arts, and socializing in general. Furthermore, I have mad skills. Thanks for having me!

I have some questions regarding how Japanese staff at my offices relate to me when we discuss the progress of children in my classes.

I get the strong impression that the Japanese women that I work with do not believe that success or failure with these kids has anything to do with any experience I might have with children, any intuitive abilities that I might have relating to them and to their needs, or that I have any idea what might be going on in their little heads at any given time. I'm left speculating whether this has anything to do with me being foreign or male. Or perhaps it could be situational and I am misreading what seems to me to be a pattern.

Let me try to illustrate: I have been in Japan for two months and have been quite successful with most all of my students. I am meeting business goals and have developed decent rapport with my students, both new and inherited. I teach about 20 children age 12 and under. I'd say the average age is 9. When I talk with my female managers and Japanese coworkers about how the kids are doing, they just don't seem to be willing to discuss the children at a depth...not depth as would require a lot of time, but rather at a depth where an understanding of children, their behavioral tendencies, how to tailor education goals for them, etc. comes into play... that suits my desire or attempts to talk about it. They want information, but they only seem to be interested in answers to questions that they pose to me that seem to be very 'dumbed down.' They then give me advice that is equally or more 'dumbed down' and seem to be uninterested in further questions that I might have. These are well-intended and stem from genuine concerns. I feel that opportunities for me to improve aren't fully utilized because I can't talk to anyone beyond the 'duh' category of things. The staff seem also to be uninterested in any insights that I might have about individual children and how I would suggest articulating their progress to parents (which is done by the Japanese staff, obviously), which is overwhelmingly positive.

Furthermore, although my general success with the children is quietly but genuinely acknowledged in the office, when particularly dramatic successes or out-in-the open successes occur or when a compliment occasionally makes its way back to me, the managers or staff will talk to me about it as though I accidentally found a way to succeed with the children or make the learning fun for them. Let me point out that it is no secret in my offices that I have both experience with children and teaching experience (while not necessarily in similar settings). Let me also point out that I am 26 and not just out of college, look a little older, am reasonably mature and come across as reasonably thoughtful as I go about my work. I can and do have in-depth discussions about the adult students that I teach. These discussions are yielding real progress for me behind the scenes and are benefitting the adult students!

I'm not looking for praise or a pat on the back to validate my efforts. I'd just like to be treated as a professional, and I sometimes have trouble taking mild offense to this stuff. To summarize, when I have notable successes they are acknowledged as if I just happened to stumble upon a method that I was otherwise not savvy enough to think of right off the bat and then take and fine tune as time went along. When I ask in-depth questions or offer in-depth firsthand information about the classroom experience, I am talked down to and at times condescended. These exchanges occur with Japanese staff some of whom speak nearly perfect English and some of whom speak plenty of English to be able to understand.

Could this be a case of ethnocentrism...be it accidental, unintentional or real? Could it be a case of 'Maybe you know something about children from places other than Japan, but Japanese children are fundamentally different than every other type of children in the world, so you couldn't possibly know anything about them?' or perhaps just a view that my experience and good intentions and successes don't amount to anything until quite some time has passed? I am aware that I am fairly new, but my progress has been swift.

Could this be a case of sexism...be it accidental, unintentional or real? Could it be a case of 'Despite your alleged experience with children and your good nature, we take it with a grain of salt because men just don't know as much about children as women and lack the intuitive abilities that would be prerequisite to talking about children in-depth?' I really don't think that the staff would act precisely the same way when in similar situations with some of my female gaijin counterparts, some of whom are just as new as I. Is it possible that they just don't find my interest in talking about the children credible for some reason? Are they suspicious of my intentions, as if advanced details of how to relate to children is proprietary information not to be disclosed to a man?

I am certain that no one is deliberately trying to be rude to me. Overall, I am impressed with the professionalism of my colleagues and managers.

If you have any thoughts on this, I'd really appreciate your perspective. Thanks!

[Glenski]

Sounds to me like you want to discuss some psychological or sociological or educational improvements in the kids you teach, when the staff is only concerned about whether they can master "Head, shoulders, knees, and toes".

It's GEOS, not some serious language acquisition institute. If you can accept that, it'll make your life simpler.

[denise]

I agree with Glenski. You`re a professional educator working for a business. Maybe for you education is a priority, but for them it`s enrollment, money, etc. And with your training and background, you might actually know more than they do about teaching.

Sounds like a rough situation, definitely something that would upset me! Hang in there.

d

[PAULH]

[mrjohndub]

Umm...not sure if you just said that I made a sexist remark in my post, PAULH. The areas that I wrote between apostrophes were speculative of what they might be thinking, not something someone actually said, and certainly not my own words. I think that a man who is sufficiently interested in the progress of a child is just as capable as an equally interested woman to teach a child. Maybe that was misunderstood...not sure why it might have been, but...

The 'Head Shoulders Knees and Toes' comment made me smile. 90% of these kids are in courses that do not include singing songs as they are all school age. But for those that are toddlers, that is certainly the case! And they sing it quite well, so mission accomplished I guess.

What I really want is to take full advantage of talking to my coworkers and manager about how to improve the classroom experience for all students, not just the adults. They seem open to talking about the adult's progress, but not the kids, aside from the 'dumbed down' questions. That, to me, is disappointing.

But you are all certainly correct about the business-driven mentality. I understand that this education for the children is also intended to be supplementary to their regular English instruction in school. That said, I don't feel that their learning hinges on what I can or can't do smoothly for them behind the scenes.

[guest of Japan]

Also keep in mind that at only two months you are quite new to the school. Regardless of your skills you will be treated as the new guy. The good new is that in eikaiwas it doesn't take long before you become the experienced teacher.

Still, it's a business. You weren't hired to improve the teaching. You were hired as a worker bee. Stay invisible, make the kids and parents happy, and always be able to assist and you'll coast right through your experience. Try to make the system better and you'll be considered a nuisance.

[Revenant]

Few things:

1. In the minds of the staff you're just a rookie for the company and will be treated thusly no matter what your prior skills or abilities were.

2. To staff, your responsibility is to teach the material required, keep the kids/parent/staff happy per whatever needs. No more and certainly no less.

3. If you continue to approach your job looking to address things that are not within the parameters of number 2, you won't last long. Worst case scenario, you may not get a contract the following year or are fired otherwise.

4. You work for a business, not a school... even though it is refered to as a school. This means customer satisfaction comes first and education as you perceive it in the western sense falls somewhere between number 10 and 201.

5. Your ability to work within the harmony parameters of your school branches far out weighs most other contributions you may feel you can bring to your job.

6. You're letting your concepts of education get in the way of your job's performance. Be mindful of the distinctions and lack of flexibility in that relation.

7. You're thinking too hard too much and too narrow about what you were hired to do. Let sleeping dogs lie.

[bshabu]

I have been working with children in Japan for over 3 years. Like you, I rarely got praise from the staff when working with children at the eikaiwa that I used to work(now I work at a couple of kindergartens). The best place to look for praise is with the children. They will give you the best feedback. Remember, kids will tell their parents everything.

[nomadder]

In Japan praise is not hearing you did anything wrong.

I just tried to look for improvements and praised myself. I remember once by chance I found out that a student said he was so happy because when he first started with me he couldn't understand things very well and by the end of the year he felt could understand almost everything. In fact I felt he'd really become fluent in that time though I give him lots of credit too-one of the few who actually took some initiative outside the class though I hope I made it interesting enough to help motivate him. Ironically he'd almost quit at first because he didn't want a new teacher. So I'm sure there are many other positive things students or parents said that I never found out about. At least I hope so.

[parrothead]

I think it's natural to want to improve the system, or at least the students' abilities. Whether you've been there 2 months or 2 years, if you enjoy your work and treat it as more than "just a job" then good for you. I wish everyone at the eikaiwa I worked for felt that way. And there's nothing wrong with craving praise or encouragement. Teachers need it just as much as the students sometimes. But I do understand the reluctance of the staff in giving it. Especially at large language schools, teachers come and go, and perhaps the staff are assuming you will too. Teaching English is a business, but really so is every job. Praise is important, and a good employer (or head teacher) will give it.

[mrjohndub]

I appreciate the comments. However, praise is not important to me in this case. I think that I outlined that in the original post. If I desire praise, I'll look to friends and loved ones.

What is important is being able to discuss the approach to individual children in the same way as the adults, so that we as a team of professionals with varying responsibilities are wholeheartedly doing our job. Changing the system is not a goal of mine.

I'm just curious why they don't seem to think I'm on their level when it comes to this one specific thing. That's it. I'm not channeling any other broader gripes by posting.

[stillnosheep]

[Glenski]