I’m tired. I don’t know what else to do to make being an ALT tolerable or fun anymore. I’ve completely checked out at this point, but I’ve drawn the line: one more year while I prepare my exit. Because honestly? After a long time in this system, I’m done.
I am so exhausted by the Japanese English education system. I worked for eight years at a BOE I was certain we’d continue with, and then one day POOF all gone. That was the moment I finally understood: no matter how hard you work, none of it matters as an ALT. You’re disposable. Replaceable. Invisible.
Now I'm working under a BOE that most definitely sees us as disposable. I don't even think they see us as human because they sure as hell don't see their JTEs are human either. One of the teachers at my school quit just before summer vacation. It was only later I heard that this teacher was struggling with parents and stress and the BOE would not provide any support for her. So, she quit.
And dispatch companies… don’t even get me started. They keep luring foreigners into Japan with marketed dreams and then wring them dry. I genuinely wouldn’t lose a minute of sleep if every dispatch company vanished tomorrow. They’re a parasite on the system and on us.
What’s even more demoralizing is that nothing I do actually helps the students because the teaching culture itself won’t let them learn. They’re not encouraged to think, to guess, or to use the English they already know. They have a dictionary in their own textbook but won’t use it. “ALT-sensei, how do I spell tournamento?” I can tell you, but that doesn’t help you build the skill. Try checking your dictionary first. That’s part of learning.
“ALT-sensei, how do I say 昨日友達とサッカーを遊んで過ごした?” I can tell you. But that doesn’t help you on your test. I won't be standing in the room with you and it sure as hell doesn’t help you build actual English skills. Use simple English you already know. That’s literally the point of learning a language.
After 20 years, I’m angry, I’m burned out, and I’m tired of a system that refuses to change while pretending it wants “global human resources.” It doesn’t. Japan teaches Eigo. Not English.
I’m just venting. All this is my own fault for being in this too long. But I honestly was enjoying the ALT life for a while. But that life has died and I have changed but the job hasn't. The desire to move on with my life. Getting better at Japanese and also building a family. Man… I’m ready to move on.
by AdUnfair558