JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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- 秘書及び業務サポート
- 加治金属工業株式会社, Tokyo
- Salary: ¥4.0M / Year
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- English Instructor (Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe)
- Berlitz Japan, Inc. (ベルリッツ・ジャパン株式会社), Kansai
- Salary: ¥125,000 ~ ¥250,000 / Month
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- ALT - Mie Prefecture - Yokkaichi City - June start
- NPO法人グローバル教育推進機構（GLAD), Mie
- Salary: ¥230,000 / Month For a full working month. Some months differ.
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It would seem sf2k falls into the "some people" category. Glad you moved on; I feel sorry for the souls that wasted their hard-earned time and money on you.
Moving around Asia? I've met some that were indeed professional as well as unprofessional from this lot. They often brought fresh ideas, but also brought bad habits sometimes.
The question of teaching being maligned by some cannot be answered from this angle, but you made a good point about hiring freezes. Not sure if that's really the case, but recent failures at NOVA and GEOS have released more "free agents" looking for jobs.
Posted in: Why is teaching at English conversation schools in Japan such a maligned profession by some people?
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Hopefully more people will catch on to these issues and reflect seriously on what they are doing as teachers.
I hate to say that too many native speakers have gotten away with too much.
Posted in: Why is teaching at English conversation schools in Japan such a maligned profession by some people?
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OK :-)
Posted in: Why is teaching at English conversation schools in Japan such a maligned profession by some people?
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KaptainKichigai said it nicely.
geronimo2006 got it wrong. Teaching is a profession, not necessarily defined by association or else. Perhaps you should look up that word.
Ramzel, it does take commitment and aggressiveness to have your own school, or any business in Japan, especially if you're not Japanese.
And as someone else mentioned, teachers are worth their weight in gold, that is if you measure their weight by their preparation and effectiveness. For those of you that lack real teaching vision or ability, it is easy enough to overlook this and throw the baby out with the bathwater. Ironically, as more of these big business eikawa companies fail, the value of quality instruction will become stronger.
Going back to the posted question, it is a matter of being maligned by some, not all.
Posted in: Why is teaching at English conversation schools in Japan such a maligned profession by some people?
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...but I believe the eventual failure of most big eikawa type schools will open the door for the "real" English teachers out there.
Without haphazard visa sponsorship of poor native-speaking wannabe teachers, they'll have to leave the industry: they're either too lazy, too untrustworthy, or too unskilled to survive.
This will leave the door open for smaller, honest privatized schools where both the teacher and the student reap the most.
In the end, the only losers will be the ones that were never part of the better side of teaching English conversation: bad teachers and out-of-touch corporate types.
Posted in: Why is teaching at English conversation schools in Japan such a maligned profession by some people?
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"...by some people?" is a key part of the question. Teaching at English conversation schools in Japan isn't such a maligned profession by all people. So let's think about the "some" and the possible reasons:
1.) zero-experience coming into the job 2.) poor cultural tolerance 3.) a less-than professional take on the job, i.e. "I'm on a working holiday." 4.) large eikawa companies that do little or nothing to improve their customer's satisfaction 5.) an industry that wagers on high teacher rotation and low student turnover 6.) almost zero professionalization sponsorship for existing teachers by their companies (because they expect people to run off within a year, or break contract) 7.) a saturation of big business oriented eikawas (that fortunately is shrinking little by little) 8.) an assumption (by both teachers and companies) that speaking native English + a four-year degree qualifies most 9.) a failed recruitment issue where filling open teaching slots and emergency replacements has led to hasty hiring 10.) a testing culture, which works for most subjects but falls on its face with respect for language (a quirky skill that challenges both parts of the brain in uniquely different ways).
That's my top ten for why teaching at English conversation schools in Japan is such a maligned profession by some people. But not all.
Posted in: Why is teaching at English conversation schools in Japan such a maligned profession by some people?
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I'm not sure about how the actual numbers are arrived at, or how any country (much less Japan) determines fishing law or limit, but questions of health (mercury levels) and sustainability are valid.
Beef is cultivated. It is more than sustainable (too much, in fact). Quality and safety, on the other hand, are indeed subject to major scrutiny, especially US beef.
So while mercury levels have been deemed dangerous, I'm wondering how dolphins have been cultivated? (The answer is probably, "They aren't cultivated in a controlled manner, specifically set aside for world consumption.") And reflecting on fishing limits, how is it sustainable, or humanely carried out?
Posted in: 'Heroes' actress Hayden Panettiere gets chilly reception in Taiji
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ThonTaddeo, "Are you for real? Language can be learned abroad, form textbooks and classwork; cultural literacy is only obtained from living in that culture for a long time, preferably in one's formative years."
Yes, I agree with you. So the author claims to be fluent in Japanese (having also lived in Japan for a long), yet in this situation she was bereft of cultural sense. Or, if I'm incorrect, she is culturally tuned-in, but chose to flex her individuality despite what's expected here in Japan. Either way it's too bad.
Posted in: Train shame
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I'd like to know one thing: how can one be fluent in Japanese and yet lack cultural literacy? I'm not one to claim fluency (yet), but in a foreign land certain conformity is expected. Generally, people in Japan don't listen to music or chit-chat on their phones while on the train. Yes, you do see it everyday, but it is commonly frowned upon. Some train lines occasionally do "manner up" campaigns or outright make it a rule not to do so. My point is, the author's plight is lost on me. We're in Japan, not Nashville.
Posted in: Train shame
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The guy makes bank, so of course he's going to stay (despite his obvious ineptitude).
toddyz1 is spot on: a non-japanese coach would've been better all around.
Oh, and one more thing: if immigration and naturalization weren't so difficult, a little outside talent that's not afraid to shine (a little carry and shoot, please) would be the cherry on top of this lack-luster crew.
Posted in: Okada under pressure to improve soccer team's form
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User Limboinjapan made a good point about the diversity of all nations. I'd encourage readers to research the signatories of the Hague Convention. The list is long and diverse. Each nation with their own laws. But at one common point exists: the innocence of children. The Hague is a bridge for legal diversity while providing the widest door for child welfare.
I fail to see where Japan loses Her uniqueness by embracing a convention that serves children better.
Posted in: U.S. warns Japan child custody laws could harm bilateral ties
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I'm not Japanese, but my my wife is. Our child bears my family name and is a recognized Japanese citizen (住民) with a proper juminho (citizen registry). I can attest that it was not difficult at all. User Japanisch is wrong: "It is extremely hard for the child to be given the father's surname (if the father is gaijin) and be recognized."
...back on topic, Japan should heed the warning. The Hague Convention is major part of addressing the needs of children internationally. Succinctly, it aims to protect children more as unavoidable globalization blurs international lines (literally and judicially).
For Japan to hem and haw about it (under repeated international pressure from Her peers within the G8 and UN) is tantamount to putting Japan's laws ahead of the needs of children. The Hague is not an attempt to usurp any nation's judicial sovereignty, but Japan obviously (and historically) resists such outside pressures.
Further, Japan's right has tended to emphasize (and exaggerate) spousal abuse (physical and verbal) by non-Japanese husbands as leverage to argue against the Hague Convention. Some claims of abuse are legit, no doubt, but due process to measure truth and fiction, where the best interests of the child should be top priority, are wholly absent. Hence the 70 (known) cases from the US alone.
Finally, since Japan recognizes duel-citizenry for minors, it stands for greater reason to get on board with the Hague. It shows further cooperation with member-nations that can also lay protective service for children carrying two passports...such the Savoie's, or my child.
I would add that my wife is equally disgusted at the lack of justice afforded to the outstanding cases of child-abduction. Before Japan can ever hope to put further leverage on N.Korea for Her own claims, joining the international community at large would be smart.
Posted in: U.S. warns Japan child custody laws could harm bilateral ties
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Ride around in Nagoya, then go back to Tokyo. You'll find that chivalry is comparatively robust in Tokyo. As far as Tokyo's sheer commuter mass, "no ginger", but I've been pushed aside in Nagoya even with a baby.
Posted in: Is chivalry dead on Tokyo trains?
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My thoughts with you, MichaelQTodd. Can't imagine it. Don't want to. But if only lawmakers and courts in Japan could connect with that more... Perhaps this article's case can tip the scales (if it's not buried by some other issue.
Posted in: Divorced, separated Japanese fathers also fight to see children
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To not see my child would be a living form of death. But western fathers are comparatively more involved than Japanese fathers (I stress comparatively so please don't get worked up over that). Many other Japanese fathers I know of course adore their children in their own way, albeit much less communicative and a bit distant. I'm only guessing this rather complacent behavior lessens the national attention to this issue. Coupled with older family registry laws and there you have it: a matter-of-fact acceptance that divorced fathers will not see their kids until adulthood, if at all.
Posted in: Divorced, separated Japanese fathers also fight to see children
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(sorry)...his admittance to hitting his wife...(I meant to say)
Spousal abuse is deplorable, but not untreatable. Besides that, if his past abuse is seen by courts as a reason for HIM not to ever see his children, then that's that. But there may plenty of other cases that do not involve abuse, yet fall under the same sentencing (not ever seeing the kids again).
Two separate issues = two separate measures.
Posted in: Divorced, separated Japanese fathers also fight to see children
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Bottom line, “This is a country that allows kidnapping.”
His admittance should not be a case that allows Japan to ignore childrens' rights. Rights and protection are different cases. The different points should be weighed in two different courts, not lopped together to give Japan a wholesale dissmissal of a system that would reward (court-accepted) good fathers and benefit children who are subjected to divorce's tug-of-war.
Posted in: Divorced, separated Japanese fathers also fight to see children
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I still think hurricanes are worse.
Posted in: Powerful typhoon lashes southwest Japan; expected to make landfall Thursday
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Making no mistake, what Christopher did was a valiant thing, albeit illegal in Japan. The Hague Convention would have diffused this before it happened. Japan needs to draw consistent lines in its immigration policies, among which is the Hague.
Posted in: Why do you think successive Japanese governments have refused to sign the 1980 Hague Convention on International Child Abduction, which seeks to ensure that the rights of access of both parents are protected?
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-->hokkaidoguy and timor, great points!
Our personal angsts about Japanese "racism" and xenophobia aside (while there may be cause), plenty of recently elected officials recognize the growing importance of foreign integration. That said, lawmakers are faced with a tough choice to sign the Hague Convention, and therefore set into motion a domino effect of reform that would upend the socio-cultural paradigm of family life in Japan. Or, not sign and therefore bolster Japan's international independance where it doesn't hurt their standing with key partners (like the US).
Reforming the Koseki is a scary proposition. It's rooted so far into their fabric, it's not really a conceivable option.
The next hurdle is finding common ground between Japanese courts and the courts of the Hague Convention signatories. But before finding common ground, what's culturally acceptable and unacceptable among the member signatories would need addressing.
The Hague Convention is for the benefit of children, indeed protection. Not parental rights (as much as I would like, as a parent myself). The notion of what's best for children is debatable in different hemispheres.
Posted in: Why do you think successive Japanese governments have refused to sign the 1980 Hague Convention on International Child Abduction, which seeks to ensure that the rights of access of both parents are protected?