To re-contract or not to re-contract..
For the past week (well, for much longer than that but especially this past week), the decision about whether to stay a 4th year in Japan has been stressing me out. The deadline for handing in my 'intent to re-contract' form is coming up soon...exactly a week from today, on February 2nd.
Before coming to Japan, I had no idea what to expect and had no preference as to where I wanted to work. I feel that I really lucked out with my placement. I was assigned to an upper-academic school attended by 900 students and 60 teachers. I am kept quite busy at work and get along with all the teachers so it makes work seem...well, not like work. And I have very genki students. Even at Bunko where the students' main goal is not academic achievements, I still feel like I'm making a difference in the lives of these students.
Should I leave while I'm still enjoying what I do? Or stay one more year and possibly get sick of being in Japan?
A few things I need to keep in mind for next year:
Every April, there's a reshuffling of the teachers throughout the Nagasaki prefecture, which means the dynamics in the staff room will change.
It also means I don't know who I'll be working with in the new school year. If I end up having to work with grouchy, stuck-in-their-old-ways teachers, it will certainly make for a very different experience than I've had to date...
Another change from previous years is that almost all the foreigners that I like to spend time with will be heading back to their home countries soon.
There are good and bad things about living in Japan..Is it any different from anywhere else in the world? There will always be good things and bad things about anywhere you live, anything you do.
I know that I really love teaching. I discovered this when I was given my first French class at UWO. I was encouraged by the fact that the course director had so much positive feedback to share with me after sitting in on one of my classes after only 2 months. Having been awared the 'Excellence in Teaching' for each of the two years that I taught was another source of encouragement. Teaching is something I want to continue doing for the rest of my life!
Do I want to continue teaching in Japan? Although there are many aspects of living in Japan which appeal to me a great deal, I don't think I would live in Japan for good. At least not in the same position I'm in..there's no future in what I'm doing now. As a JET, I have the option of staying a total of 5 years. (This is a new change to the re-contracting procedure, introduced just this year..in previous years, the maximum allowed time on the JET program was 3 years).
I'm in the opinion that any experience is (or can be a) positive experience. I've learned many things living in Japan these past 2.5 years. I've also learned a lot about myself..There are many aspects of Japanese culture which I think would be worthwhile trying to incorporate into the way I deal with people.
What will I do when I finish working here? I want to pursue my studies in linguistics (possibly using some of what I've learned of the Japanese language) while teaching at the university.
Should I put it off one more year to continue teaching/living here?
Before coming to Japan, I had no idea what to expect and had no preference as to where I wanted to work. I feel that I really lucked out with my placement. I was assigned to an upper-academic school attended by 900 students and 60 teachers. I am kept quite busy at work and get along with all the teachers so it makes work seem...well, not like work. And I have very genki students. Even at Bunko where the students' main goal is not academic achievements, I still feel like I'm making a difference in the lives of these students.
Should I leave while I'm still enjoying what I do? Or stay one more year and possibly get sick of being in Japan?
A few things I need to keep in mind for next year:
Every April, there's a reshuffling of the teachers throughout the Nagasaki prefecture, which means the dynamics in the staff room will change.
It also means I don't know who I'll be working with in the new school year. If I end up having to work with grouchy, stuck-in-their-old-ways teachers, it will certainly make for a very different experience than I've had to date...
Another change from previous years is that almost all the foreigners that I like to spend time with will be heading back to their home countries soon.
There are good and bad things about living in Japan..Is it any different from anywhere else in the world? There will always be good things and bad things about anywhere you live, anything you do.
I know that I really love teaching. I discovered this when I was given my first French class at UWO. I was encouraged by the fact that the course director had so much positive feedback to share with me after sitting in on one of my classes after only 2 months. Having been awared the 'Excellence in Teaching' for each of the two years that I taught was another source of encouragement. Teaching is something I want to continue doing for the rest of my life!
Do I want to continue teaching in Japan? Although there are many aspects of living in Japan which appeal to me a great deal, I don't think I would live in Japan for good. At least not in the same position I'm in..there's no future in what I'm doing now. As a JET, I have the option of staying a total of 5 years. (This is a new change to the re-contracting procedure, introduced just this year..in previous years, the maximum allowed time on the JET program was 3 years).
I'm in the opinion that any experience is (or can be a) positive experience. I've learned many things living in Japan these past 2.5 years. I've also learned a lot about myself..There are many aspects of Japanese culture which I think would be worthwhile trying to incorporate into the way I deal with people.
What will I do when I finish working here? I want to pursue my studies in linguistics (possibly using some of what I've learned of the Japanese language) while teaching at the university.
Should I put it off one more year to continue teaching/living here?
posted by Meeshe at 5:01 PM
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