Many, many people consider a managerial, full-time position something to aspire to. I only say be careful. Sometimes it's not all it's cracked up to be - an extra 10,000 a month for hours and hours...

I don't know. All I really know is that in the grand scheme of things it doesn't really matter. Be nice and the world will (hopefully) be nice to you..
I hope so anyway....

Yes, you are right and I agree with you. I sometimes feel that Tatsuo (and others) just start threads/make comments to bait English teachers and belittle us. In my opinion that kind of person has no...

Point taken - and I was quite surprised to find that in the US the behavior of UK politicians would be censured because their behavior is considered so rude....On the other hand I'm just trying to...

Complete lack of respect for what exactly? For English teachers? For foreigners in Japan? I'm guessing he is one of the latter in any case. He raises discussion, forces us to think. And do we really...

Actually I have to very respectfully disagree. Tatsuo comes across as logical and bright. Just because he goes against the grain doesn't mean that his viewpoint isn't valid at all. And he does...

Actually though, in my own country teaching has always been pretty poorly paid - especially for women. You could ask 'Why is teaching so poorly paid?' here - but then again you could ask the same...

Sorry about that. I do too and I AM me ! All I really meant to say, and probably didn't clearly, is that physical perfection isn't that great in the end and may even be detrimental. It depends on the...

Whatever, and whatever again. All I know is that where I am there isn't much enmity, and while there are both men and women I sometimes look at and think 'Well, you could lose a bit of weight and...

I disagree. Adding Japanese to the 'mother tongue' languages the IB can be taken in as not a bad thing and I would even say it opens up the Japanese education system because the IB is now available...

Basically, yes - they're the ones with the resources and public schools are still very much geared towards the Center test. The great thing about the new IB program is that half of it is in Japanese...

This is more of what I'd heard and knew was coming - from JT....

On the other hand, it might not be as expensive as you may think. I was quite surprised myself at how many foreign teachers there are here who do have a teaching license in other subjects back home...

Grrr, no delete button sucks...

It is massively expensive - and that's why it's the private schools that are doing it. Basically there are a few 'enlightened' (for want of a better word) people in education here who want change....

They are hiring and training both foreign subject teachers with teaching licenses from their own countries and training Japanese subject teachers who have a certain proficiency in English. The...

yikes - double post.

I know just a little about this, having met one of the people working to implement it (not JET - a more IB style of education) and from the sounds of it it has nothing to do with JET whatsoever. The...

It's great that you're helping the kitty. I wish you could keep the cat too !

I often see 'animals lost/animals found' posters in my local supermarket. They usually have a photo of the animal,...

I'm not sure he deserves to be vilified as much as he has been. Basically he said that military men need sex, and if they're stationed abroad then if that isn't taken into account rape will occur. In...

I think part of it also has to do with a lack of recognition of different learning styles. Here, where lecture style is often prevalent - well that doesn't work for all students - especially male...

Yeah, sadly I have to say I've had these kinds of experiences too. Though the UK is supposedly 'multicultural' and 'tolerant' and I grew up myself with very little awareness of racial/religious/etc....

I often think it's cheaper to eat out or buy ready made here - especially compared to the UK. But I cook. I'm cooking for 2 only and I'm the only one doing it. I think it's maybe vastly different if...

First - she could just be home/family sick. I know that whenever I go back for a vacation I start to really appreciate my family and the lifestyle of home and not want to go back to a 'foreign'...

Probably Separatists. Maybe Muslim as - many/most Chechnyans are. I hope not but it seems likely atm. No cause is worth the life of an 8 year old boy who just wanted to hug his daddy Congratulations....