Interac is EATING YOUR LUNCH!

[kathi]

My BOE had an "interac ALT newsletter" envelope sitting out the other day... hmm. recontracted already and as far as I know there is only 1 other ALT in my city but he is privately hired and independent I believe. Wonder if my BOE is thinking of dumping JET after I leave too.

[shinyplum]

Chances are that independently-contracted ALT is in for the same treatment we received this year. His contract will be underbid by INTERAC and he won't know it. He won't even be given a chance to match their offer. He won't even know that his continuing employment is threatened until the BOE slips him the shiv.
Oh, to be fair, he'll be given the chance to sign on with INTERAC and continue going to the same schools. However, he'd be under INTERAC's authority and getting 20%-30% pay cut and a general worsening of conditions. INTERAC WILL BE PIMPING HIS ENGLISH MONKEY ASS AND DOING JACK-SHIT TO EARN THEIR CUT.

Teachers with any sense of self-worth will just move on... and another BOE will have been compromised by INTERAC's sleazy wheeling and dealing.

[ghostdust]

Are there any English teaching options in Japan aside from JET that offer a half-way decent pay and real health insurance? I wish I finished college a few years sooner before it started getting this bad (assuming I would have been accepted then).

[genkigirl1]

How can an ALT respect any board of education that uses these contracts with Interac and other ALT companies?

I feel the same way about BOEs who hired non trained, non-certified teachers with no teaching experience but hey, that's just me. JETs are no better, no more qualified, no more mature than these people you are slamming. The OP is slamming the BOE and their decision. Some of you aren't even on JET yet but have the attitude that you are better than these teachers.

OP, I can understand why you are upset but as I said, this is happening ALL over Japan in various jobs. Yes, it is illegal but many places get around this by moving the teachers around, signing different companies for each year.... Japan doesn't care about English education. You've stated you've been living here for a while, haven't you figured this out yet? If you have other skills and are qualified - even in teaching - there are job opportunities in other feilds. However, you have to go out and look for them. Being a gaijin English teacher in Japan has had it's day. Sad but that's the way it.

Signed,
Certified teacher with 6 years teaching experience who couldn't find a job making more than JET so said fvck it and got out of teaching while she could but misses teaching more and more each day.


ETA - not many option outside of JET. Even university are going through dispatch companies now.

[ghostdust]

Damn privatization!!! The socialist parties need to get their act together over there. Seems like the LDP wants Japan to be worse than America. Everyone working min wage with no or crappy health insurance, all English speaking foreigners working below min wage at English companies, they'll be giving speeches about how we do jobs the real Japanese won't dare do, haha.

[shinyplum]

How can an ALT respect any board of education that uses these contracts with Interac and other ALT companies?

I feel the same way about BOEs who hired non trained, non-certified teachers with no teaching experience but hey, that's just me. JETs are no better, no more qualified, no more mature than these people you are slamming. The OP is slamming the BOE and their decision. Some of you aren't even on JET yet but have the attitude that you are better than these teachers.

OP, I can understand why you are upset but as I said, this is happening ALL over Japan in various jobs. Yes, it is illegal but many places get around this by moving the teachers around, signing different companies for each year.... Japan doesn't care about English education. You've stated you've been living here for a while, haven't you figured this out yet? If you have other skills and are qualified - even in teaching - there are job opportunities in other feilds. However, you have to go out and look for them. Being a gaijin English teacher in Japan has had it's day. Sad but that's the way it.

Signed,
Certified teacher with 6 years teaching experience who couldn't find a job making more than JET so said fvck it and got out of teaching while she could but misses teaching more and more each day.


ETA - not many option outside of JET. Even university are going through dispatch companies now.

Genkigirl,
Are you really a native English speaker? Are you just a lazy typist?

You sound like WORMTONGUE to me.

This month I'll be using my various skills to make ends meet and pay my bills and improve my lot in life...same as usual. I didn't post here for your unsolicited free career counselling service.

In addition to my diurnal burden, I will be pamphleting outside my old schools, letting students and their parents know about the perfidy being committed by those civil servants entrusted with allocating funds for the best English education available. The Kanagawa BOE refused to negotiate with us and have angered teachers and principals alike with their single-minded pursuit of THIS ILLEGAL AND CORROSIVE CONTRACT.

If that is just the way of the world and I should "get over it"...or..."What-EVER!", or (INSERT DISMISSIVE REJOINDER HERE)...then I really must wonder what stake you have in dissuading me from pursuing a fair and equitable result in what is an ongoing labour dispute.

Age hasn't mellowed me (I'm 35) and you are wrong to say that "Japan doesn't care" about English language education. The Japanese teacher with tears in her eyes as I told her my decision to reject the INTERAC co-opt contract couldn't be MORE concerned about education.

GO PEDDLE YOUR TRIPE ELSEWHERE!

[Airion]

Airion what is "that"?

It seems that you got upset about some truths about Mormon b.s. and had a little cognitive dissonance breakdown which is common when Mormons are confronted with their church's bullshit dealings.

That = suggesting that because Interac is full of Mormons, it therefore shouldn't be involved in taking jobs away from JETs. There are plenty of good reasons for why JETs shouldn't be replaced by Interac, but religious affiliation isn't one of them. Isn't freedom of religion one workers' rights? At least in my cognitive dissonanced mind, there's no way you can defend "that," no matter how strange Mormons may be.

I'm not a Mormon, I'm agnostic. I may be a rat though!

[shinyplum]

I agree that "Interac is full of Mormons" is not a pertinent criticism when speaking of INTERAC's aggressive intrusion into public education in Japan.

However, one should consider that the "bottom-line" argument means that the cheapest labour will be sought to fill all of those former JET positions. With a Mormon back-channel to hundreds of Brigham Young graduates wanting to do God/Smith's work in Japan...and a numerical cap on those admitted for overt missionary work... such a tie-up might be a win-win situation for Mormons and INTERAC. Teaching visas could be arranged by the hundred for young missionaries intent on proselytizing in their non-teaching hours (which would be numerous)!
Those Mormon-teachers would be happily tithing to a foreign church that "QUAYLED" them their jobs AND gathering converts to do likewise.
Do you ever wonder why the LDS are so inordinately interested in converting heathens that happen to reside in the second largest economy in the world? ka-ching$$$$

All that aside, my original post in this thread has more to do with the KANAGAWA BOE's malfeasance than any debate over INTERAC's ulterior motives. Obviously, money is the main motivation...the ROOT, if you will. They can go build a friggin' CRYSTAL PAGODA for all I care. GRUBBY CORPORATE HANDS OFF PUBLIC EDUCATION.
HEED THE LAWS OF JAPAN. YOU CANNOT SERVE GOD AND MAMMON BOTH!

[shinyplum]

Having said that, I really don't feel comfortable getting into a bout of Mormon-bashing. When someone is picking your pocket, do you care what god he prays to?
shinyplum

[granite]

Well, Arion, "that"...

suggesting that because Interac is full of Mormons, it therefore shouldn't be involved in taking jobs away from JETs.

...was not what I posted.

The Japanese Ministry of Education said that companies that use gyomu itaku (service) contracts should not be taking jobs away from JET and I would agree with that.

But I posted information on the parent organization of Interac. Just as one might want to know that Berlitz schools are owned by Benesse Corporation, people should know who owns Interac. It turns out to be the Mormon Church.

The problem with Interac being owned by a religious organization is that they do not make their finances public!

You cannot buy shares into the Mormon Church and attend their AGM and hold the directors responsible.

That is what is important.

Good luck to shinyplum and his/her protest efforts. These boards of education need a black eye.
And I could not agree more with your retort against genkigirl. Things have already turned against Interac in the last couple of years. It will take a while, but they cannot go on like this much longer.

It is people like shinyplum who will effect this change.

[shinyplum]

Thanks for the vote of confidence. Many of the PFTs who lost their jobs have found new ones and are just as determined as ever to see the end to this gyomu-itaku regime.
Many of the PFTs who felt they had no option but to sign the coercive Interac contracts are still supporting our efforts to put an end to Interac in Kanagawa and return to direct contracts.

shinyplum

[Oriental Chairboy]

The thing about Union blowhards such as shinyplum is that if by some miracle Interac were to offer him a 'management' position where he got to boss people around a bit and perhaps picked up an extra 15,000 yen a month or so, he'd take it and drop this 'outraged, impoverished victim of corporate greed' monologue once and for all.

[genkigirl1]

Shiny, maybe you should be spending you time polishing up your resume instead of trying to get people you have never met and many who aren't even in Japan, to write letters of protest to your BOE.

BTW, did your BOE ever use JET? If so, don't you think it's rather cheeky for you to be asking JETs for support when YOU took THEIR jobs away?

Ya, haken sucks - as I have said before and agreed with you - as they take jobs away from full-time staff in places BUT I am sure if we sat down and looked at the qualifications and experience when you all started, they would be the same - minimal at best. That is why many schools are doing this. No need to pay for the same quality of teachers when they can get it for a cheaper price.

GG1
Who feels that Shiny can only be a troll - but a good one at that!

[shinyplum]

Well, sticksnstones, sister.
Again, with the defense of ILLEGAL gyomu-itaku contracts by two posters who share the same LOCATION and JOIN DATE (Oriental Chairboy and GENKIGIRL1).
You seem very quick with the pejoratives, GG. I don't really feel myself effectively baited, however.
Want to give it another go?

[genkigirl1]

Def a troll. Good job.

Got me. Hook. Line. Sinker.

Very rare that happens to kudos to you!

[shinyplum]

Yamato's Information:

Joined: 01 Jan 2002
Posts: 8338
Location: The secret ministry of gaijin misery

I'd say Yamato is probably Genki Girl, too. Do you guys all buy your bike helmets at the same place?

[granite]

I would recommend phoning up Brigham Young University, the local Mormon church in your area and other Mormon owned businesses in Japan (e.g. ALT companies Maxxim and Selti) and let them know about the gyomu itaku issue and other illegal activity by Interac.

You can also anonymously post messages at the ex-Mormon forum at

http://www.exmormon.org

[shinyplum]

It really is amazing to me how few Incoming/Potential JETs are interested in the general state of education in Japan. Do they really think they are going to be "ambassadors for the West" and not just a disposable educational labour force?

[antisense]

Yamato's Information:

Joined: 01 Jan 2002
Posts: 8338
Location: The secret ministry of gaijin misery

I'd say Yamato is probably Genki Girl, too. Do you guys all buy your bike helmets at the same place?

If you have a look at the memberlist, Sherlock, you'll see that well over 60000 users are listed as joining on 1 Jan 2002, including Mochee. I don't know why this is, but unless you're suggesting that Yamato, GG and OC, not to mention the other 60-odd thousand, are all hydras of Mochee, I think you'll have to find another line of attack. Preferably one that doesn't fall over under the pressure of 20 seconds' research.

[yamato]

http://www.bigdaikon.org/board/viewtopic.php?t=67864

[Josefu]

In my opinion, the teachers should get paid, but there shouldn't be a non-teaching "owner" making money off the backs of teachers. The money earned as profit by private firms would best be spent funneled back into the public education system so that the students are the ones who profit, not shareholders.

[ippollite]

It really is amazing to me how few Incoming/Potential JETs are interested in the general state of education in Japan. Do they really think they are going to be "ambassadors for the West" and not just a disposable educational labour force?

[shinyplum]

Sorry, I'm new to this discussion group.
Am I really expected to get into a side debate with anyone who wants to dash off a post about "trolls" or "lurkers" or whatever?
It seems the first ten or so responses were very on- topic and thoughtful.
Then there are the "old-timers". These (mostly Osaka based) putative former JETS (?) who want to bait and deride without actually addressing the original post.
PLEASE SEE THE ORIGINAL POST to refresh your understanding of who I am and why I am persisting with this thread. NO SECRET AGENDA.

[triforcekt]

I have an awesome idea. You should keep harping on this topic in the forum devoted to the people who aren't in Japan yet. Makes perfect sense.

[shinyplum]

In my opinion, the teachers should get paid, but there shouldn't be a non-teaching "owner" making money off the backs of teachers. The money earned as profit by private firms would best be spent funneled back into the public education system so that the students are the ones who profit, not shareholders.

I am truly heartened to read this post. Call me corny, but I really view education as a public service issue. Taxpayers do not generally like to see sweetheart deals like the one INTERAC has worked out with so many BOEs.
When control of staffing is taken out of the hands of the principal, corruption and abuses at all levels can be expected.
CASE IN POINT: Interac hires and puts to work recent arrivals to Japan who do not have proper WORKING VISAS

[Serenade]

More real stories to feed you guys...

I work in the new combined Nishiwaki City of the Hyogo Prefecture. And they had decided to dump me (JET) for INTERACT instead for a few rather dumb reasons.

I used to work for Kurodasho Town before October 2005, This is my first year, and I didn't know how bad it would be before I actually got here.

Now, after I got here, they told me that it will only be a one year contract for sure, since the Kurodasho BOE didn't know what will happen after the inter city merge of Kurodasho and Nishiwaki.

So... the two cities merged, and the lameass Nishiwaki City BOE had decided that they no longer want to do JET anymore. They wanted a private for a really stupid reason (which I will explain later). There were two other Private ALT in my town from the rivalling GOOD private company call W5. Where, from what I heard, the company actually care for the ALT's and real education. (not an advertisement, cause I dun work for them.)

Now, after the merge, bad things, horrible things started to happen. My workload was low since the beginning, but it got worse later on. I had to drive during work to other schools, but is not reimbursed in any way. I have to go to Nishiwaki's BOE for meetings during work hours and is not reimbursed neither... (around 10 KM drive). Alright, that's not a big deal... since it's just a little problem.

Then the REAL nightmare came... They CUT THE ENTIRE STAFF ROOM's INTERNET down to 3 shitty computers with almost everything locked. Their reason --> We don't want viruses running in the intranet. Which in reality means --> We want to cut funding so whoever up high gets more money in their pocket.

Next thing, they decided to make me leave and had to contact JET to put me somewhere else. I requested for a Senior High School. They told me they will put me somewhere in Osaka in Sennan Senior High. End up --> They screwed me, and I got sent even further down south in nowhere AGAIN... a city call Hannan which is the furthest South of Osaka. Fine, I took the job anyways, since I wanted to gain more experience before leaving the country. But they actually MAKE ME use my paid holidays to go to Osaka for the orientation... They said this is not their 'work', and that I will have to take nenkyuu for such 'work'. I am sure more ridiculous shit will continue to happen, but who knows...

Now, the worst is yet to come. March, one of the other two ALT who worked so hard at his school (OT, extra work days, etc etc)... got refused on recontracting because the BOE wanna reconsider on the contracting private company. So... this ALT friend of mine is screwed. They didn't tell him anything on the decision. Until suddenly, he got a call from W5 saying: "I am sorry, but we lost the contract to INTERACT, apparently they put in a dirt cheap price on the contract..."

The man lost his job to Interact just because the BOE wanna further save money on education... the only question is... WHERE DID ALL THE MONEY GO???

Apparently, INTERACT is offering the new ALT 200,000 yen. and that's not including tax, health insurance, pension, etc. (probably will end up only having 140,000 at the end of each month...) This is a total ripoff... The BOE does not care who they are going to get, as long as the guy can speak English. They do not care whether the ALT can teach or not, all they care is how much they can stuff into thir pockets.

The guy who got fired was a great teacher. A week ago, he told me that he is being hired by Ritsumeikan of Kyoto (One of the most famous Kindergarden - University Private School in Japan) His salary got jumped up to 5.5 Mil annual, and is the head teacher of 10 JTE's.

Some parents in this town simply HATED the BOE, and would rather send their kids to private schools rather than having their kids ruined by the schools here. The teachers hated the inter city merged, because nothing good happened at all ever since the merge.

In my opinion, THIS PLACE IS HOPELESS. With educators like this, we can never get the country up to the international standards.

With the lack of enthusiasm of the JTE, I am not allowed to go to class just because they dun wanna look bad in front of the ALT. Same thing happened to my Pred, and the pred before hers. The kids can barely do a proper greeting. They simply run away when you want to talk to them in English.

According to my ex-supervisor of Kurodasho BOE, Every BOE receives an extra 5 million yen annually from the government for every JET that they receive. And 3.6 million will become the JET's salary, while the rest will be the BOE's funding to maintain the programme. So, all-in-all, they don't have anything to lose.

These BOE didn't quit JET for INTERACT for saving money. They just didn't want the hassle and English documentation that they have to work on for CLAIR and JET. Their staff cannot speak English, and they would rather have it that way. They think that JET is annoying, and they dun wanna deal with them. This is why they would rather spend the LEAST money and save the hassle. They don't want parents whinning at them for having no ALT, thus, hire INTERACT for the lowest bid.

These guys don't care about education, They just want to keep their job, live their easy lives, and retire with a good lump of money in their pocket.

I can foresee that Japan will be facing it drastic downfall within 10 years time. In the long run, JAPAN WILL BE HOPELESS.

[shinyplum]

I have an awesome idea. You should keep harping on this topic in the forum devoted to the people who aren't in Japan yet. Makes perfect sense.

Actually, the topic I was "harping on" is "Interac is EATING YOUR LUNCH". It was originally linked to the "Kanagawa anyone?" thread posted by "oki res". As it turns out, my response to that question seems to have been definitive...there are no further posts on that thread as of this writing.
So, I guess I answered that question and probably hundreds of other such enquiries before they were even formulated.
As prospective JETS (now admitted, shortlisted, made alternates, rejected, or what have you) I really thought that ya'll woulda liked to have known why you won't be going to KANAGAWA.
As it happens, I worked WITH JETs as a supplementary Native English Teacher. I'm sorry that my job was nuked and you should know that this is one of the issues you will be meeting with in the schools you go to.
IN FACT, you might be working alongside one of these INTERAC "native English speakers" without a proper WORKING VISA Not that you'd be able to pull your iPod buds out of your ass long enough to give a shit, but when the cute backpacker dude you met your first day doesn't show up to work the following week and none of the Japanese teachers can tell you why, you might want to call his Embassy for him because he's down in the West Tokyo detention centre awaiting "processing" which can take MONTHS if you are unlucky enough to not have outside forces working for your release.
But, I digress...

[triforcekt]

All this is well and nice, but do you all realize you're posting in INCOMING AND POTENTIAL JETS, and that half of us are drunk and celebrating having just gotten accepted into the program? Most of the people here probably don't even know what BOE means yet. If you want your point taken seriously, go somewhere serious... like ithinkimlost.com or something.

[shinyplum]

If you don't like this topic, you don't have to read it anymore. If you don't take these issues seriously because they don't affect you directly, well...I guess that just demonstrates your disinterest. Bye, bye, then.

[triforcekt]

[Edited out something mean.]

Fine. Keep making the retarded suggestion that newly accepted JETs email your prefecture and say, "Tee-hee, I'm a gaijin who's not even in Japan yet, but YOU'D BETTER GO BACK TO USING JET PLZ!!!" If you really cared about your message, you'd find a more effective way of mobilization--i.e, selecting a better audience. I'm only trying to help.