What kind of teacher you shouldn’t be
Allow me to get into a bitchy, ranty mode for a moment. I’ve been teaching English in Japan for 9 months now - and while that isn’t really much and I know I missed the prime time to come teach in Japan and I know that peiople who’ve done it longer possibly know more about the job than me - I feel the need to shout at people a little.
I have met a lot of really awful teachers here. I don’t mean everyone, of course. There are some teachers that have been here since the beginning of eikaiwa, and are still going strong. There are teachers that had never envisioned themselves to be teachers but just happened to love the job and be good at it, so they stayed on. There are brand new teachers who are making the most of their time and their job here.
Then there are….the others. Similar categories. New teachers but who have some pre-conceived notion of how English should be taught, and rule their students as such. People who actually want to be teachers in the future so have brought their college textbooks with them but don’t actually realise that they lack the personality traits required of a teacher (you know, like compassion and patience).
I’ve been witness to utterly atrocious teacher behaviour towards the students. For example, greeting them as “dickheads” like it was completely normal. Telling them they should give up on learning English because they’re useless. Humiliating them in front of other students.
Those in-front-of-students examples are thankfully quite rare, but the bitching that goes on in the staffroom is a daily event. Insults, personal comments, bitching, horrible written comments on their progress, planned practical jokes, the list goes on. It all adds up to utter contempt, hatred and even latent racism towards the students from some of these teachers. One teacher I know told me that on his reason for resignation, he’ll be adding a 2-page document entitled “All the Things That Are Wrong With Japan”.
Why the f**ker is still here is beyond me.
I can’t understand it myself. These students are just normal people. Also, they’re aren’t just your students, they’re your bloody customers, so show some respect for that reason alone. Personally, I respect them for actually taking the initiative and making the big (especially financially big) decision to learn a new language. They want to learn something new, they want to improve themselves, they want to make new friends, they want to have new experiences. And what the bloody hell is wrong with that? I often wonder, if an eikaiwa system existed in Australia, would I sign up? Probably not, as I’m too lazy. So I admire these students for making the decision.
Maybe I have an advantage over the other teachers. For starters, I’ve been teaching English pretty much all my life to my Eastern European family and friends. I already understand the difficulties associated with learning a new language. I know that elusive dream of being perfectly bilingual and the frustrations that come with it. So maybe I can understand and sympathise better with the students here but that doesn’t mean that people without my experience can’t at least show some bloody manners.
If you want to teach English, then please don’t get arrogant. Don’t think that you know better than the students. Don’t think that you’re better than them as people. And if you catch yourself making fun of the Japanese, then it’s time to go home.
Be patient, be open-minded, be respectful. Three basic rules for teaching in Japan.
- 
June 7th, 2006 at 7:22 am
Oh my god! While I understand that this happens, it really disappoints me.
It is one of my personal goals to be a teacher in Japan for a few years at some point and to hear this is upsetting.
It will at least encourage me to try harder and let me know that those people are out there.
Thanks Chidade for this article :)
I love reading your posts and am glad you write them.
See you,
John
June 11th, 2006 at 11:31 pm
excellent post and a first class site! Nice to know there are people like you teaching in Japan.
Keep up the good work :-)
Your new fan,
CraigD
June 12th, 2006 at 9:39 am
I have met many an instructor like yourself. Before you start singing about the great things about NOVA and start bashing the instructors who complain about their students, remember this. You are a perfect nova teacher. Why? Because you are naive about the company that employs you. You said that you have been in japan for 8 months. Well done. Teachers who have been here a long time and are complaining about their students do so because their environment makes them that way. You also make little reference to their reasons for staying here. If students come to nova for therapy, teachers come here for money and some depend on it more than others. Being here for 8 months, you have no right to criticise those that have been experiencing this for longer than you. You say that a tecaher shouldn’t be arrogant but they should also have a mind of their own. Sadly, you seem to have not found yours yet. Incidently, how many students have you had that confessed they bought nova tickets for the stuffed pink bunny? Whilst we all rely on companies like NOVA for money, its people like you that allow them to think that they can continue to get away with the way they treat senior instructors who have a mind of their own but are sadly caught in the capitilist- money always required to live- machine. I”d say that you should stay here longer and wait for the dark experience of japan that everyone has at some stage. That is the reason why people leave. The only people that can live in Japan comfortably are japanese people. Even those japanese with minds of their own leave and not come back. I feel as a teacher you do not see the students who go to bed at 3am and wake up at 5am to take a lesson before they go to work. Go to the MMC and you will see the real students and the real reasons why they take lessons and it isn’t pretty. Above all, find yourself something to do other than sit by your computer and contemplate the shallow outlook you currently have of your role in this ‘money’ orientated company. Interesting also to note that the company president doesn’t actually speak english and neither does Usagi.
June 13th, 2006 at 8:59 am
Well said Chidade!
These people need to go home as you suggested.
Thanks for the great content.
Craig
June 15th, 2006 at 3:28 am
I just wanted to say that I can’t believe some teachers are like that!! That’s disgusting..
I have the highest respect for the Japanese people. I have some Japanese friends and they are the smartest, most industrious, kind, gentle people I know, and most of all they show total honor and respect towards other cultures and nationalities.
It’s too bad that the world sends “dickheads” to teach English in Japan.
I really feel ashamed that they come from our culture…
I can guarantee you that if I teach in Japan one day (which is my dream), I’ll be the best teacher that I can be. I know they will love me as I love them.
June 24th, 2006 at 9:58 pm
Wow, this rant brought back a lot of memories from my own full-time eikaiwa days! I mostly agree with you about teachers needing to respect their students and treat them decently. However, that’s really a two-way street. I clearly remember some junior high students (not mine, thankfully) who did everything in their power to humiliate and degrade the teacher. I know that if I had a lot of classes filled with students like that, my outlook would quickly sour…
June 25th, 2006 at 11:32 pm
Firstly, apologies to everyone who commented that it took a long time to get your comments approved and on the site. I’ve been travelling recently so I’ve been slack at updating at 3yen. But, on th plus side, your comments shouldn’t need approval anymore, if you keep the same name and email.
Secondly, to 28787…umm, I don’t support NOVA. I guess you haven’t read any of my past posts but I can’t say that I’ve written many positive things about NOVA. The best I can say is that I wrote neutral facts about it. In fact, if you read here, here and especially here, you might even find that I’m of the opinion that NOVA is not exactly the best company to work for. And you know, I don’t even recall writing that I even work for NOVA. So, please, don’t attack me if you’re not even sure of what you know about me. You can also look at my past entries at what I think are people’s reasons for working here and flame me in another comment, if you feel the need.
Besides, I still think that criticism of teachers that behave so badly towards their students is totally justified, no matter which eikaiwa they work for. I don’t care what their reasons are, I don’t care what company they work for, I don’t care if they just had a bad day. Behaviour like the examples I mentioned aren’t mature, professional or acceptable in any job, not just teaching English.
To risingsunofnihon: I guess that’s true of any teaching job, where children and teens are involved. I know that high school teachers have a more important and stressful job than mine. Still, I would hope that if you show your students some respect, they’ll respect you too. That, or hide behind the principal’s authority :)
July 13th, 2006 at 3:54 pm
28787 “dark experience of japan” blah blah blah. If a certain class of western men “don’t get it” “don’t get along” or “can’t do something” its the fault of the thing, and the world which that thing inhabits, never the incessantly complaining westerner. no one’s calling it a perfect system, but the sort of angry self-centeredness that drives the japan-hating japan resident is the worst.
angry begets angry begets angry. If you hear only bitching it’s for one reason. The only people who want to befriend whiny foreign bastards are others of their own type, and Japanese folks who have problems with their own country. Foreigners who speak decent japanese have anywhere near as hate fueled take on japan… then again, unlike the non-speaker, they have seen fit from the beginning to put some effort into getting along with those around them.
October 31st, 2006 at 9:14 pm
I for one agree with you. BUT i can not help noticing your one eye. maybe you should try LISTENING to some of these dickhead teachers to see their motives. YeS Admittedly there are people in every walks of life who are dickheads. How nice of you for some unknown reason, to choose NT’s teaching in Japan.
October 31st, 2006 at 11:45 pm
Dennis: I do listen to their motives. That’s what they bitch about in the staffroom. Occassionally, after arguing with a few of them, I get an extra reason like “I’m fed up” or “They’re idiots”, in which my argument of “Well, go home then” applies. These people seem to be unhappy here for whatever reason, so they take it out on the students. If they’re unhappy, why don’t they get another job or go home?
Or if it’s a question of having a bad day/week/month, then I argue that it’s not professional conduct. It wouldn’t be tolerated repeatedly in any other organisation, but it seems to be in eikaiwa.
Believe me, I’ve tried looking for their motives. I was amazed to think that people could behave that way, so I wanted to find out why. All the reasons I’ve heard are either weak or very immature. But I’m curious to know if you think you know of any other motives they might have.
By the way, I’m not sure what you mean by NT’s. Did you mean NOVA teachers? I’ve already pointed out before, that this post has nothing to do with NOVA specifically but everything to do with eikaiwa teaching generally.
As for why I target dickheads teaching English in Japan as opposed to dickheads in all walks of life, I’d like to point out that this is a blog about teaching English in Japan. Talking about dicheads everywhere would a) be irrelevant and b) take forever :)