The times, they are a changing.
The news of my current position being terminated within the year was, to put it mildly, quite surprising.
It had started as a whispered rumor last month, circulating among the teachers and AETs here, but last week it was officially confirmed that Kuki was switching to a cheaper, private English contracting organization. I wish I could say this was completely unexpected on their part, but the truth is that all over Japan the same trend has been happening. The JET program by and large is considered to be the top and most elite of the English contracting organizations; that is a company that recruits native English speakers to be used as Assistant Language Teachers (ALTs) usually placed in public schools throughout Japan. In the past this status alone, along with the backing of the Japanese government, was enough to ensure a high demand for it’s services, and with it it’s heftier price tag. But over the past few years a number of private companies, offering generally the same exact services but at a greatly reduced price, have begun to make serious inroads into what once was a very exclusive field.
A very good comparison would be with the telling story of IBM. IBM pioneered the personal computer industry, and in the beginning had complete control over the entire market. However overconfidence in their product and brand name, and a refusal to remarket themselves and compete with other, cheaper companies that were entering the field, led them nearly to the brink of collapse. JET unfortunately has operated with the exact same principles and logic that led to the downfall of IBM. The JET program was the original model created by the Japanese government back in the 1980’s to introduce native English speakers into the Japanese education system. Thanks to the governments backing, and an increasing demand for English abilities, the program quickly became the norm in schools all across Japan. In the years since then many things have changed in Japan, the JET program unfortunately is not one of them. These days the JET program enjoys something of an “old boys club” status. When you’re in JET you get treated amazingly well, and instantly have access and connection to a mammoth network of other JETs. We have conferences just for the sake of having conferences, and of course for the insane amount of socializing that goes on during, and especially afterwards. Well, as they say, all good things must come to an end, and in the case of JET that seems to be happening right now. JET as a whole is shrinking quite rapidly, and unless it finds a way to change and compete in the present market, will simply disappear within the next decade.
Which of course leaves me with my present situation. Due to mostly to cost concerns, but possibly for other reasons as well, Kuki is axing JET in favor of something manageable. This of course leaves me in a pretty precarious position as far as my future as an AET is concerned. The only way I would be able to stay on here with JET would be to try and transfer to another city within Saitama. This is of course a pretty big gamble, as I would have no control over where I was transferred to, nor even what grade level I would be working with. The best scenario would have me in a nearby town teaching junior high and elementary school similarly to what I do here. The worst scenario would have me on the very edge of Saitama, a three hour train ride from Tokyo, teaching high school in a very small town.
For me however I’m thankfully not just limited to my options with JET. I had originally only planned on staying a maximum of two years with JET and then looking around for a teaching position that went beyond the scope of simply teaching English. So depending on the verdict of my transfer request, I will have about six months to look for a different job should it come to that. So while it may not be the ideal situation to find myself in, I feel like I have enough resources at my disposal to come up with an appropriate plan.
Though it was a frustrating position to be in, especially at first, I quickly realized that ultimately this whole situation is in God’s hands, and that seeing as it was His plan to get me out here in the first place, He’s certainly not going to abandon me now. There’s a reason and a plan even in this, and so I am trusting in His design for my life, and waiting for the next step to open up. I don’t expect to know everything right away, and for now it’s enough I think to simply put one foot in front of the other and see where I end up.
But to be honest, the biggest thing on my mind right now has nothing to do with my job. It’s the fact that I’ll be home for the holidays in less than two weeks!!!!
Oh man, I can actually smell the sweet aroma of home cooked food from over here!!
Hmm, I wonder what the airline’s policy is on brining back leftovers on the plane? ehehe
