Discuss the state of the teaching industry in Japan with your fellow teachers! Use this thread to discuss salary trends, companies, minor questions that don't warrant a whole post, and build a rapport with other members of the community.
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Am I the only person who finds it unprofessional when hiring notices mention “aligning with the institution’s values” or “dedicating oneself” to work? First, quality education is a singular value that shouldn’t differ between institutions. It’s like saying “We’re hiring scientists, but only if ‘your science’ agrees with ‘our science.'” Second, it’s a job, not a fiefdom where we’re groveling to a daimyo. Are they just using that language to cover up unfavorable conditions or pay? That’s what my gut says….I’d love to ask what their turnover rate is.
JHS English Speech Contest season is upon us. How are you feeling about your chances this year?
3 Recitation 1 Speech here. My speech student is a 1st year JHS with Pre-2 Eiken. She is fantastic. I live out in the sticks, but students like this are rare…at least here they are.
It is mid finals week and the whole university system and LMS is down for all of Sunday, planned by the way…. I swear IT departments at Japanese universities have to be the absolute no-brain dumbdumbs in the world.
While my gig was a great way to break into university teaching really feel it’s time to search for something new. Keep hearing about everyone else getting vacations off and only coming in for classes. The fact that almost anyone with experience jumps ship after a semester is also a sign grass is greener elsewhere.
I wonder if English teachers in other countries have to deal with this, or if it’s a uniquely Japanese thing, but my experience has been that Japanese interpretations of English are always prioritized over genuine English. The English taught in schools here, the English used by Japanese, and the English used by foreigners are all different. For example, an English utterance may be understandable between two Japanese but when said to a native speaker it doesn’t achieve the same communicative effect. When an organization needs to create English documents or whatever directed at foreigners, a native speaker should have the final say in the phrasing to ensure that it’s appropriate from the perspective of other native speakers (and non-native foreigners) who will be reading it. Instead they’re always overridden by a Japanese grammarian who wants things worded a specific way even if it causes a breakdown in communication.
Basically Dunning-Kruger I guess…It’s incredibly frustrating and I’m losing my patience over getting “corrected” when I know for a fact what I have is already correct, and being forced to do what I know is objectively wrong. Is this a thing in other countries as well?
Manuscript (coauthored, a last author paper) is on its 3rd journal and 5th round of reviews since the first submission to the first journal.
Let’s hope this is the final round of revisions.
Need to prep my own first author paper too for its second submission.
Need to find time away from family to get this done.
Edit: Finished! Took about 1 or 2 hours of my sleep time away but finished.
I feel like we need a version of International School Review for Japanese schools
Summer break is almost over. It happened too soon! My school stocks really shitty chalk that I hate using. Has anyone used Hagoromo before? Is it really that different? I don’t mind buying my own if it means I’ll stop getting chalk dust everywhere. And yes, I’ve tried using a chalk holder.
WTF is it with people who whisper gossip in the office? It is really annoying. Cause there is always the slight whisper not to bother people, then it drops a level quieter once they start gossiping. Even if I agree with the complaint, I do not want to be seen in some cabal huddle of busy-body gossipers. It creates such a toxic environment for everyone in the office.
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