3.5 years of Osaka

Ermmmm... apologies. This is such a super delayed post I have no excuses. NONE. Not when I'm writing this four years AFTER I promised I would write an update about how I looked for a job after JET. Then again, who am I kidding, no one is actually waiting for an update haha.

And. Another unnecessary update, but....I'm writing this from Tokyo. I'll blog a little more about that, hopefully soon. Within 2 years. Which would be an improvement, I know. ;)

So. Where do I start?

Lemme recap.

I'm a Singaporean who was on the JET Programme in 2011 and was based in Mie Prefecture for two years - lovely quaint place which has sneakily gotten quite rooted in my heart.

After a few months of struggling to find jobs in Japan pending the end of an un-renewed JET Programme contract (my choice), I got wind of the Native English Teacher Programme in Osaka Prefecture (read more here) and sent in an application.

I waited. And waited. And waited. I still remember thinking, this has to be it. If I don't even get an interview, it would be an extremely clear sign from God that I was to return home.

My friend got herself an interview. I didn't, and straightaway I fell into a day's worth of useless and overly self-critical analyses of what I had done wrong. (I still do this now, but to a lesser extent, and mainly only because God has been graciously teaching me how to love myself more.)

Then a few days later, I got a call from an apologetic employee of the Osaka Prefectural Board of Education - the email inviting me to interview with them had been sent to the wrong email address, and they were very sorry, but could I come in for an interview the next day?

Of course, I went. Got the job. Was so moved by how God works to mould me and draw me closer to Him. Moved to Osaka. Stayed for three-and-a-half years, during which I met a great teacher who opened my mind and heart to this craziness that is EFL teaching, and was one of the reasons why I started studying for an MA in TESOL. But more on that later.

The NET Programme in Osaka, like many government-run EFL programmes in Japan, has its flaws and weaknesses, but one thing I will always be grateful for is that it hires teachers regardless of nationality. It was quite the forward-thinking program back then. Singaporean, Taiwanese, Filipino, Jamaican, Nigerian etc, it didn't matter, all that matters was and still is that the applicant has a passion for teaching and some teaching qualifications too.

Four years on, I am relieved to report that there are many more opportunities for citizens of the non-Big Seven countries to get English teaching jobs in Japan. Public and private schools or organisations hire almost any suitable and qualified person, just do your due diligence to check out the company or school before you accept their job offer. Friends and colleagues have recounted horror stories of buraku (black) companies who pay teachers less than what labour laws stipulate, don't provide employee and health insurance and who threaten to revoke company-sponsored visas as a means of controlling employee actions.

I was posted to a preparatory high school in northern Osaka (yes, the very area that was hit by the recent level 6 earthquake (level 6, not magnitude 6, the Japanese scale for earthquakes is different in that it measures earthquakes by how they affect human activity) on June 19. It was one of the best teaching experiences I had ever had, mainly due to the teachers, students, and the school's emphasis and approach to English education. It started me on the road to reevaluating my teaching skills and philosophy, and introduced me to individuals whose varied and very unique stances in the world of EFL teaching polished the rather rough idealistic me into a more settled, humble and practical teacher.

It might seem a little sad, but I'm less bubbly and energetic in the classroom and less interested in building rapport with students. However, my lessons are based more on pedagogy and teaching principles then an artful 'winging it' mentality.

Some days, I wish I were that kind of teacher again. To enter the classroom bent on creating and developing a connection with students, thinking I was righting a wrong, avenging the injustices brought upon them by the staid and strict education system.

But most days now, I am thankful that because I am aware of my short-comings as a teacher, I judge other teachers less. I learn from them more. Where I used to think I was the one who had the power to control and influence everything in the classroom - students' moods and motivation, teaching partners' energy levels and methods - I now understand and accept that the classroom is an oddity; there is nothing quite like it in the universe. One day it is a calm, beautiful mirror-like lake that absorbs and reflects everything that is given and transforms images into shimmering creations. And on another (the next day, even), stirred up by some mysterious natural phenomenon, it is wild and gray, angry waves refusing anything you offer, tossing it back at you almost playfully like it is a pathetic toy.

It is a strange human activity, teaching and learning. Learning is influenced by so many things, teachers really can't blame themselves for students' failures (nor accept students' successes as their own) if they have tried their best. They can (and usually do, the good ones) try to tweak and hone their craft, but it is an exercise that can in turns exhaust, yet encourage.

So here I am, after 3.5 years in Osaka and a year in Tokyo, a teacher so different from when I first started out, I could be an entirely different person altogether.

How have you changed as an educator over the years? Have you changed as an educator at all?

If you have any questions about the NET program in Osaka, do ask, I'll try my best to answer.

Perhaps my next post will be on the different approaches Japanese schools take towards English education, and how the Japanese English education system is changing.


Mata ne~