Teachers beware!

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Wed Mar 02, 2011 2:27 pm

Teachers, this is for you. Smooth, I'm looking at you.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110302/ap_ ... e_rattling

******* ridiculous.

Professor Smooth · Post by **Professor Smooth** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 6:48 am

...rant...

See, every time somebody says, "why not just be a teacher back in the US?" I just point to bull**** like this.

Although, to be fair, this will almost certainly turn out to be nothing. The teacher's on paid leave (which would, admittedly, suck for people who love teaching), but won't be fired or disciplined. If it were me in this situation, I'd probably turn it into a running in-class joke. "Here, Jimmy, could you pass these papers back? I don't want anybody to scare anybody and wind up talking to the cops again.

But between absurdly stupid **** like this and the absolutely terrifying bogus claims of abuse, I don't think I'd ever feel comfortable working with kids/teenagers in the US. I mean, yeah, I wound up having my life turned upside down because I "didn't make small talk with the teacher in Japanese in the teachers room," but that was just a strange thing...and didn't WIND UP WITH ME IN FRONT OF A JURY FACING 20+ YEARS IN PRISON.

There are a ton of stories out there about teachers, counselors, etc who were accused of abuse and had their lives ruined just by the accusation. As soon as the story gets out, that's it. BEST case scenario, you're finding a new career. Good luck with that, by the way, because a quick google search of your name brings up "educator accused of abuse."

Over the past few months, I have been accused of being the best elementary school English teacher EVER in Japan. From the students, other teachers, faculty, and a half dozen principals. People who've watched my lessons are amazed at how well the kids perform, and how much fun they have. Earlier this week, one observer went so far as to say that it was like magic. The only "complaint" I've received was from another teacher who felt like she was being "upstaged." I make learning a subject (foreign language) that I absolutely hated in school a LOT of fun. And, every so often, I think that maybe I could apply my skills to teaching science or history or maybe even math in a US school. It'd make my family happy (and my ego would LOVE for them to be able to understand some of the compliments I receive), the pay would be a bit better and the cost of living would drop considerably.

...

But then I read about things like this and go back to figuring out how to make the next foreign language class as much fun as the last one.

Professor Smooth · Post by **Professor Smooth** » Thu Mar 03, 2011 6:52 am

By the by, there's an interesting arcade game in some of the local game centers here in Hiroshima. I can't remember the title, but the entire game involves violently overturning a table. You can choose between a table at home (dinner table), at work (office table), at a funeral (the table contains the deceased), at school (teacher's podium), or at another few places.

It's a very simple game. In-game characters piss you off, then you violently slam your fists down on and then flip a table (the controller is a table), terrifying the in-game characters and causing chaos. Points are awarded based on how far the debris flies.

Professor Smooth · Post by **Professor Smooth** » Fri Mar 04, 2011 1:37 pm

And yet...

It seems the US is in need of dedicated teachers. Now, maybe more than ever. I've been talking it out with the GF. We might be making the trip to the US within the year.

Post by **Kaylee** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 12:07 pm

So your big Japanese adventure may be over?

Professor Smooth · Post by **Professor Smooth** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 1:49 pm

Karl wrote:So your big Japanese adventure may be over?

If there is one thing I've learned from you lot over the decade I've spent here, it's that it never ends.

Shanti418 · Post by **Shanti418** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 4:36 pm

Professor Smooth wrote:And yet...

It seems the US is in need of dedicated teachers. Now, maybe more than ever. I've been talking it out with the GF. We might be making the trip to the US within the year.

Psssh. We need lots of things. It doesn't mean we're going to do a lick of what needs to be done to attract, sustain, and reward any of them.

Don't get me wrong Smooth, America and I talked, and we'd love to have you back, but you should come here under humanitarian reasons, not for any sort of career path. Currently, teachers are literally being reviled. It's crazy.

bumblemusprime · Post by **bumblemusprime** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 4:55 pm

Not to mention the fact that nobody is retiring, and when people do retire, positions are being eliminated rather than filled. And from an administrator's point of view, why should they retire? Older teachers who have stuck around in the system are family favorites who know how to teach no matter what malarkey the students or the system throws at them. It doesn't matter if the teacher is pushing 70. We should continue to cut their benefits so they stay in the system until they die, and millions of kids who are seeking for new teaching jobs can just work as managers at McDonalds.

Yaya · Post by **Yaya** » Sat Mar 05, 2011 7:19 pm

Sounds to me like the US could use Smooth back. Especially with the experience he's had overseas.

Meanwhile, because of things like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NutFkykjmbM

and this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCV4Isa7XEw

Smooth and I should just swap places.

The teacher crisis, though, is freakin huge here. It's like the children run the schools now.