Thursday, September 04, 2008
Money for Very-Little, Chicks for Minimal-Effort
I've got some great news to report if I don't tire myself out by musing at length on my job.
Four days into the new semester, my schedule is starting to take shape, and so far it's looking just like I imagined it would. September is going to be very quiet, as most of the schools insist they need to focus their efforts on preparing for the annual undōkai (運動会). It's a school-wide competition/exhibition of athletic and physical contests, such as relay races and choreographed dances. Back in elementary school, we called it "Field Day" and it was something no one talked much about until two days before it occurred. In Japan, it's a massive event that requires weeks of planning, so my lessons are put on the back burner. In other words, having the children practice playing Tug of War is far more important than teaching them English. If there's a more succinct statement on the fundamentally-low priority placed on English education in Japan, I haven't encountered it yet.
As I'm commuting to work on a regular basis once more, I'm getting back into my usual routine of listening to podcasts while riding out into the countryside. While I admit I am a big fan of the various 1up.com podcasts on video games, it's not all superficial pop culture discussions on my iPod. NPR's This American Life is a wonderful weekly show that manages to run the gamut of humorous anecdotes and heart-wrenching tragedies, often including both extremes in the same broadcast. The latest episode's theme was "something for nothing" and the stories all featured persons who achieved a measure of financial success while circumventing the traditional "get a job, work hard" method that we all accept as normal. The program told these stories specifically to explore the hidden costs of these money-for-apparently-nothing routines.
For example, there was one guy who won a truck in one of those contests where you win by placing a hand on a vehicle and standing there until everyone else drops out. He explained that even though you don't pay a financial price to win the truck, the contest lasts for days at a time and when you go through that extended period of sleeplessness and boredom, you drive yourself crazy. I don't know how much of my sanity I'd part with for a brand-new pick-up truck.
This got me thinking about my current position as an English teacher in Japan. On the surface, this looks like a deal that's too good to be true. I'm hired as a teacher simply because I am a native speaker, something I achieved without dedicated study. Despite having virtually no training as an educator and precious little experience working with children, I get set up with a place to live in a modern, developed nation with a high standard of living and I receive a fairly generous salary for working substantially fewer hours than my colleagues. There's an established network of fellow English teachers who I can meet up with, and Japan is an easy place to meet women. Dream come true, right?
Well there's a serious sacrifice to be made here, and it's something I honestly never considered before I applied. Since the telephone and the Internet make keeping in touch with my friends and family in the United States affordable and easy, I always assumed that any issues of loneliness or homesickness could be solved with a simple conversation. The truth is, that's not enough. There are times when I feel downright foolish for leaving behind New York and all the people I know there. The occasional contact I have with people in America magnifies, rather than shortens, the distance that lies between us. I am becoming more aware at the rift slowly opening between myself and everyone I know and love in the States. In short, much like that guy touching the truck, the longer I live in Japan the more I feel myself slowly...changing.
Is this cause for alarm, an excuse to run back to New York screaming? No, I don't think so. While I have become increasingly mindful of the "price" I pay for participating in the JET Programme, the reward thus far has definitely been worth it. As awkward as I feel at times, I need only remember my friend Scott who lived here for six years and still managed to come back to New York and reintegrate himself into our circle of friends. He changed, I know, but the person who came back from Japan was still a guy we wanted to hang out with.
What's my point? My point is I'm coming to New York in November and I'll be around for Thanksgiving. Regardless of what the future-future holds, the near-future includes me hanging out with everyone again real soon. I'm feeling another KARAOKE THROWDOWN, who's with me??
Four days into the new semester, my schedule is starting to take shape, and so far it's looking just like I imagined it would. September is going to be very quiet, as most of the schools insist they need to focus their efforts on preparing for the annual undōkai (運動会). It's a school-wide competition/exhibition of athletic and physical contests, such as relay races and choreographed dances. Back in elementary school, we called it "Field Day" and it was something no one talked much about until two days before it occurred. In Japan, it's a massive event that requires weeks of planning, so my lessons are put on the back burner. In other words, having the children practice playing Tug of War is far more important than teaching them English. If there's a more succinct statement on the fundamentally-low priority placed on English education in Japan, I haven't encountered it yet.
As I'm commuting to work on a regular basis once more, I'm getting back into my usual routine of listening to podcasts while riding out into the countryside. While I admit I am a big fan of the various 1up.com podcasts on video games, it's not all superficial pop culture discussions on my iPod. NPR's This American Life is a wonderful weekly show that manages to run the gamut of humorous anecdotes and heart-wrenching tragedies, often including both extremes in the same broadcast. The latest episode's theme was "something for nothing" and the stories all featured persons who achieved a measure of financial success while circumventing the traditional "get a job, work hard" method that we all accept as normal. The program told these stories specifically to explore the hidden costs of these money-for-apparently-nothing routines.
For example, there was one guy who won a truck in one of those contests where you win by placing a hand on a vehicle and standing there until everyone else drops out. He explained that even though you don't pay a financial price to win the truck, the contest lasts for days at a time and when you go through that extended period of sleeplessness and boredom, you drive yourself crazy. I don't know how much of my sanity I'd part with for a brand-new pick-up truck.
This got me thinking about my current position as an English teacher in Japan. On the surface, this looks like a deal that's too good to be true. I'm hired as a teacher simply because I am a native speaker, something I achieved without dedicated study. Despite having virtually no training as an educator and precious little experience working with children, I get set up with a place to live in a modern, developed nation with a high standard of living and I receive a fairly generous salary for working substantially fewer hours than my colleagues. There's an established network of fellow English teachers who I can meet up with, and Japan is an easy place to meet women. Dream come true, right?
Well there's a serious sacrifice to be made here, and it's something I honestly never considered before I applied. Since the telephone and the Internet make keeping in touch with my friends and family in the United States affordable and easy, I always assumed that any issues of loneliness or homesickness could be solved with a simple conversation. The truth is, that's not enough. There are times when I feel downright foolish for leaving behind New York and all the people I know there. The occasional contact I have with people in America magnifies, rather than shortens, the distance that lies between us. I am becoming more aware at the rift slowly opening between myself and everyone I know and love in the States. In short, much like that guy touching the truck, the longer I live in Japan the more I feel myself slowly...changing.
Is this cause for alarm, an excuse to run back to New York screaming? No, I don't think so. While I have become increasingly mindful of the "price" I pay for participating in the JET Programme, the reward thus far has definitely been worth it. As awkward as I feel at times, I need only remember my friend Scott who lived here for six years and still managed to come back to New York and reintegrate himself into our circle of friends. He changed, I know, but the person who came back from Japan was still a guy we wanted to hang out with.
What's my point? My point is I'm coming to New York in November and I'll be around for Thanksgiving. Regardless of what the future-future holds, the near-future includes me hanging out with everyone again real soon. I'm feeling another KARAOKE THROWDOWN, who's with me??
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"In other words, having the children practice playing Tug of War is far more important than teaching them English. If there's a more succinct statement on the fundamentally-low priority placed on English education in Japan..."
Honestly, with the undokai, or the bunkasai or what have you, everything becomes a lower priority, not just English... to be fair.
Honestly, with the undokai, or the bunkasai or what have you, everything becomes a lower priority, not just English... to be fair.
Dan,
I haven`t had that problem at my schools. My classes go on as scheduled even with the upcoming bunkasais and undokais.
Chad
I haven`t had that problem at my schools. My classes go on as scheduled even with the upcoming bunkasais and undokais.
Chad
Dan,
I haven`t had that problem at my schools. My classes go on as scheduled even with the upcoming bunkasais and undokais.
Chad
コメントがあります？ Type something, please. It's less work for me.I haven`t had that problem at my schools. My classes go on as scheduled even with the upcoming bunkasais and undokais.
Chad
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