Quote:
Originally Posted by Tsuwabuki
While this is accurate, it's an attitude that drives me up the wall. A bit of a threadjack, but this perception is the reason why:
1) Most Assistant Language Teachers suck
2) Many Japanese people do not take us with teaching backgrounds seriously
3) Boards of Education refuse to do direct hire and consider ALTs to be temporary, or transient individuals
4) Culturally unaware individuals fail to grasp the importance both of their profession and their need for a certain degree of sensitivity (or as I call it, "White Boy Entitlement Syndrome" though it may not necessarily involve a white male).
Teaching is a skill. Those that arrive without the ability to teach are often bad at it. At least initially. Japan really needs to do more to set teaching requirements and standards for native English teachers. I have a job; I don't need to be doing a second trying to make up for/help fix unqualified individuals.
Sorry. Threadjack over.
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This is partly the industry's fault too. By asking nothing more from people than a bachelors and native ability.. what do you expect..
I agree the standards should be raised. I even think ALTs should be allowed to take the Japanese test and become real teachers. A quality ALT with certificates, language and cultural understanding is certainly worth more than 5 jokers hanging around Japan for a year or two of kicks. I am not quite sure why more BOEs have not caught on to this. Give people a career to pursue, and the real talent will start to show its face.