ESID-a flaw of the programme?

[SaitamaPA_Denise]

I would say that calling ESID a "flaw" seems like a bit of a misnomer--it is so inherent to the program, it's essentially impossible to imagine another situation. I would definitely call it a "drawback" and any time I talk to someone thinking about JET I try to make that very clear.

For my money, I think changing ESID is more or less impossible, and a better use of everyone's time and effort is in not trying to standardize everything, but trying to resolve the exceptionally unfair and unreasonable situations that do appear.

Isn't everything in life an ESID?

I've taken a somewhat philosophical stance towards the things about being here that fall under ESID. None of us can really control that there are different circumstances, and once we accept our placements, there's nothing we can do about the fact that our S will be D from any other number of people. This goes not just for the JET Program/me, but in life in general too--only, perhaps we're not as aware of it in our non-JET lives. So to a certain extent, learning how to do JET involves a lot of learning how to deal with things you can't control.

*Insert old platitude about things you can control and wisdom and etc.*

Rather than people's situations being different, I think the flaws (to keep the terminology) are these:
1) Not enough awareness (it seems?) that the COs and not CLAIR or "The JET Programme" are Jets' employers, and that CLAIR cannot make COs do more than a few very basic things (salary, flights, etc.).

2) Too much uncertainty for shortlisted Jets between when they get their acceptance, placement notice, and actual arrival.

There are limits to how quickly acceptance and placement results can be sent out, I understand that. And for prefectural BOE Jets there's more involved since they need to be placed not just at a CO but at a specific school (or two). But I wonder how much information is included in that first round of notices, and just what can be added (mine was going on 4 years ago so I don't remember much, to be honest). What if some of those extra, essential details could be included right at the get-go? It shouldn't be impossible to do:

-COs know by early February whether they'll be needing a new Jet.
-CLAIR knows in late February which COs will need new Jets
-CLAIR decides the placements of short-listed Jets
-CLAIR has information about toridans (torimatome dantai, offices administering the JET Programme in a prefecture) and COs (points of contact, Jets, PAs)

COs and toridans fill out different forms and questionnaires for CLAIR during the year. Granted, tons of forms can be mendokusai, but when a CO is filling out its form requesting a new Jet, why not include a couple more fields that include information like living arrangements, number of holidays per year, basic info about the town, etc.? When the shortlisted Jets are notified of the placements, this gets included as well as things like contact info for the future supervisor, predecessor, and PA. The Jet gets some kind of idea on what the conditions are (not 100%, but still), and they can take a first step in contacting people to find out more if it turns out their CO or pred are less than proactive about contacting the new Jet. (How viable this is with prefectural BOE placements, though, I'm not sure; in their case it's a two-step process--decide CO, then decide the school--and that adds more time to everything.)

I'm pretty sure we all remember how stressful it was to be so uncertain before we left. There's a huge amount of preparation to do before coming over here, both practical and psychological. Meanwhile, plenty of studies have shown that the more information people have before they enter a new environment, the more they're generally able to adapt and recover from the initial shock (I'm citing one of the CSC members from a previous PA conference on this one). Obviously, it's in everyone's best interest for new Jets to be able to get up to speed as quickly as possible, and it can help ward off some of the nastier shocks that can be harder to adjust to.


On a slight tangent, it's been CLAIR's/the PCs' official stance that using "ESID" to answer a question from a soon-to-be/new Jet is a lame non-answer, so at least at Tokyo Orientation it's supposed to be a banned like so many other four-letter words. Of course, it doesn't die quite so easily; from what I hear overseas consulates and JETAA's are still ESIDing away.

[Narcheska]

I went into my application and interview with a very open mind: I wanted to go to Japan, JET had been my dream. I didn't want a particular placement.

I had pre-warning from my mentor and predecessor via Facebook and email about the intial costs, but only the pay and rent figures from my BOE. I ran out of money before my first pay, luckily I had richer friends in my city. But the set up costs were high, higher than I expected.

I was in Fukushima.I broke my contract after the Tohoku earthquake. It cost me a LOT of money. All of my amenities charged me extra for breaking contract early. My apartment manager charged 30,000 cleaning fee on top of the key bond refund. I was not impressed. The city also charged me something like a city pension fee, which they took out of money I was supposed to get back. I got 3,000 instead of 30,000. I still don't understand it all. But in the end I went 'oh, well', this is the price of me getting back to Australia and being safe and no longer driving my family insane with worry.

I spent every yen of every pay and I don't regret a moment of my time on JET. There were downs, of course, ESID playing a part at times, but not one moment do I regret.

[lillyredmer]

ESID is kind of like that old saw:"if life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Not everyone can wind up in cushy digs in Osaka. But as many stated, we have jobs for which we are paid and we have health care and I daresay that not one JET is living as bad as so many are in the world. The more rural (read that boring) your location, the greater (IMHO) your opportunity to a.) have a real impact on the lives of those you teach and b.) gain cultural knowledge that will serve you going forward that is far more 'natural' than you would have gained in a more sophisticated urban setting. For me, I like where I am...the setting is stunning and the people could not be kinder to me.

[GunmaBrentPA]

I went into my application and interview with a very open mind: I wanted to go to Japan, JET had been my dream. I didn't want a particular placement.

I had pre-warning from my mentor and predecessor via Facebook and email about the intial costs, but only the pay and rent figures from my BOE. I ran out of money before my first pay, luckily I had richer friends in my city. But the set up costs were high, higher than I expected.

I was in Fukushima.I broke my contract after the Tohoku earthquake. It cost me a LOT of money. All of my amenities charged me extra for breaking contract early. My apartment manager charged 30,000 cleaning fee on top of the key bond refund. I was not impressed. The city also charged me something like a city pension fee, which they took out of money I was supposed to get back. I got 3,000 instead of 30,000. I still don't understand it all. But in the end I went 'oh, well', this is the price of me getting back to Australia and being safe and no longer driving my family insane with worry.

I spent every yen of every pay and I don't regret a moment of my time on JET. There were downs, of course, ESID playing a part at times, but not one moment do I regret.

Hi there,

Sorry about your experiences in Fukushima. We got a good shake over here in Gunma so I can't imagine what it must have been like closer to the epicenter.
I'm glad that the trying experiences of leaving and the extra expenses didn't taint your time in Japan.

For what it's worth none of the extra expenses you encountered sound strange. Many amenities (especially internet and cell phones) work on a contract basis and are strict about the penalties for breaking that contract. Apartments work the same way and it isn't uncommon to also be hit with an additional cleaning fee even if it seems like key money should cover the cleaning. Depending on the details key money can just be a gift/bribe to the building owner for letting you live there and doesn't actually cover anything. Also, by leaving early you only got the sixth month pension refund as opposed to the full twelve. Pension is only doled out in sixth month increments so partial time gains nothing. I can't help but wonder if the pension fee was that difference combined with city taxes. Even if you leave early you are still responsible for these taxes and they can be quite pricey.

Apologies for stating things you probably already know. Again, I'm glad you still think of your time in Japan fondly and with no regrets.

[Tamachan87]

ESID is not just limited to JET, it's a fact of life. I knew two friends who worked in the same branded shop on opposite ends of my hometown - one had a blast and the other was cursing the place to the bowels of hell ever second syllable.

The real cop out is that JET uses ESID as an excuse to not do anything, for the most part. At least in my experience, something goes wrong and they give the ol' smile, shoulder shrug and ESID.

[Siyris]

ESID is not just limited to JET, it's a fact of life. I knew two friends who worked in the same branded shop on opposite ends of my hometown - one had a blast and the other was cursing the place to the bowels of hell ever second syllable.

The real cop out is that JET uses ESID as an excuse to not do anything, for the most part. At least in my experience, something goes wrong and they give the ol' smile, shoulder shrug and ESID.

The problem with viewing it that ways is the fact that in Japan, JET doesn't exist, and as such, they are not able to do something about a problem. The best bet if you are having issues while here is to contact your supervisor, RPA (for those that have them), or PA and work it out. Yes, there are some situations that are far beyond what is reasonable, but the majority of situations fall into the range that is told to be expected. If something goes wrong, it is the participant's job to make it right... or at least start to. We aren't kids anymore and should be able to fight our own battles.
(before anyone flames me though, please understand, I do not mean to say that there are not situations where JET would be better off not contracting with particular COs... I'm speaking about the majority, not in absolutes)

[Thaedra]

I must admit that while going through the application process being given the answer "ESID" really annoyed me because many times I was trying to ask about that persons situation so that I could gather ideas on what sort of things people experienced. I think that when something like what I had comes up instead of saying ESID and being done with it people should elaborate and say "but for me..." "here are some examples of things that I have heard that have happened...." and so on.

Also with the predecessor thing... I was unable to contact mine, period. I had no idea who my pred was until I came to Japan and was told I was so and so's successor. When I asked last summer for their contact info so that I could ask questions I was told that for my city we didn't have "preds" because what school the new person would go to would not be decided until after we arrived. Therefore I was unable to ask my pred anything. I would have liked to ask about my schools, the area, what sort of things to expect (in my apartment and school) when I arrive, etc. I understand why this happened last year when we all arrived (I am in Fukushima and there were 11 of us that joined this city's BOE in one year), however I hope that those coming in this year and the future don't have this problem.

I agree that there are a lot of things that could be improved with the program but I am also aware of Japanese practices in business matters with the need to talk to everyone on an idea before it is even brought up in a meeting for contemplation.

[earnyoursleep]

I think a bunch of JETs are just not experienced in real world situations. You could stay in your home country and get a job that isn't as good as your friend's and it would be a different situation even if you were in the same field. Nobody is making you stay here in Japan, if you don't like it leave. A flaw in program? No.

[bex]

I think a bunch of JETs are just not experienced in real world situations. You could stay in your home country and get a job that isn't as good as your friend's and it would be a different situation even if you were in the same field. Nobody is making you stay here in Japan, if you don't like it leave. A flaw in program? No.

Completely agree!
If you think that somehow the JET programme has the power to regulate every board of education in an entire COUNTRY which have different budgets, living conditions, climates, and even slight cultural variances, you need to re-think what you thought you were signing up for.

This kind of attitude reminds me of when I was a kid and my brother used to count xmas presents to see who had the most. College is over people! Don't mean to sound terse at anyone inparticular, but come on now..
The ESID slogan, no matter how much ALTs 'boo!' at mid-year conferences at it, is just telling it like it is.

[OdysseyOfNoises]

Nobody is making you stay here in Japan, if you don't like it leave. A flaw in program? No.

Forgive the rant, but this post made me kind of irate.

I'm going to guess that you and Bex both have placements that are somewhat redeemable. Unfortunately, this is not the case for some ALTs. Some ALTs come into placements that even the most perfect ALT in the world would not be able to countenance.

A significant number of ALTs face real problems in their placements. Sexual harassment, bullying, violence and abuse from students, little to no support in the workplace, horrendous and sometimes dangerous working conditions, overwork, ludicrous responsibilities, family issues at home, the list goes on and on. All of this whilst dealing with adapting to life in a new country, learning a new language and adjusting to markedly different cultural expectations.

All in all, this is an incredibly dismissive attitude to take towards people who have applied to the programme in good faith, and it implies that you think that employers in Japan have the right to treat foreign workers like dirt, merely because they are foreign. An incredibly dangerous road to travel down if ever there was one.

"Don't like it, leave"? This is a rather dumb thing to say. People do leave, often to the utter detriment of the programme. These people leave Japan with an absolutely no respect for Japan or Japanese culture because of the way they have been taken advantage of. In this way, the programme has failed in one of its core aims. This should not happen, and the utter lack of respect with which some ALTs are treated is unacceptable. Some ALTs who absolutely work their butts off are treated in this way, ignored and berated in equal measure for trying the best for their students and trying to make as big a difference as they can in the circumstances they find themselves in.

The amount of placements I know that have a yearly replacement of the ALT in that position is staggeringly high. Maybe instead of accepting the status quo, and saying that these people are merely fly-by-night gaijin who lack the willpower to live in the 'real Japan', the powers that be should acknowledge that real problems DO exist over here, that they SHOULD be tackled, and sometimes it is the worst possible cop out to say that "Every Situation is Different".

[bex]

Hello OdysseyOfNoises, While you didn't quote me, you referred to my post, so I'd like to clarify where I was coming from.

You listed every worst possible case scenario. I am not talking about those cases. I replied to this post after reading a comment on the first page where somebody complained they are wasting their life away in a small rural town while others are living it up in the suburbs.

The problems you listed are very terrible, and nobody should have to put up with them. Unfortunately these are very real problems not just for ALT teachers, but for Japanese teachers too. And for that matter teachers all over the world! That doesn't make it right but as I said, those weren't the issues I had in mind when I wrote my original post.

[OdysseyOfNoises]

Hello OdysseyOfNoises, While you didn't quote me, you referred to my post, so I'd like to clarify where I was coming from.

You listed every worst possible case scenario. I am not talking about those cases. I replied to this post after reading a comment on the first page where somebody complained they are wasting their life away in a small rural town while others are living it up in the suburbs.

The problems you listed are very terrible, and nobody should have to put up with them. Unfortunately these are very real problems not just for ALT teachers, but for Japanese teachers too. And for that matter teachers all over the world! That doesn't make it right but as I said, those weren't the issues I had in mind when I wrote my original post.

Thanks for the clarification. Sorry to have jumped the gun, but I just wanted to say it because I think there is a tendency to blame all the problems that ALTs have on some 'flyjin' personality trope that only holds true in a very small number of people.

P.S. That post you refer to annoyed me as well.

[Namisuke]

I think those are real problems that every teacher faces at least once in their career, not just in Japan. It is more of a flaw of people and individual schools than a flaw of the Programme. The Programme itself (separate from the schools and BOEs) has a support system set up to help people. The beefs people have with the Programme rarely deal with the Programme itself, but the JTEs, staff, students, and BOEs that hire the ALT through the Programme. Sometimes problems occur because of previous or other JETs. Sometimes in life you get hired for a really cruddy job. You can stay and try to work things out as best you can, or you can search for something more suitable. When someone applies for a job through a placement agency, they are gambling with what situation they will be in for a year. If someone wants a job that is more of a sure thing, then it is safer to apply for a place where you can check out the exact place you want to work in, meet the staff, check the culture and conditions of the workplace, and so on. It doesn't make sense to say a job placement isn't fair when you state you are willing to work anywhere.

To be honest, I think a lot of people on here try to help people with their problems. I rarely see anyone just spurt out "ESID" and nothing else. It is good though to let applicants know that not all jobs will be wonderful. Many are quite challenging. It is good that people can at least be honest about things going on at their schools on forums, even the one paid for by taxpayers' money.

[bRadO808]

I'm going to have to agree with the ESID cop-out = flaw in the program side.
There is no accountability on the COs' side. In the real world, if a company treated its workers horribly and another company existed with the exact same hiring standards and salary, but better treatment and benefits, then no one would CHOOSE to work at the crappy company. Then the crappy company would be forced to do something about the situation to attract workers. As the program exists today, a CO doesn't have to worry about treating its JET well because it knows there are people all over the world competing to be hired by JET. The good COs produce loving ex-JETs who go around giving glowing reviews of the Programme, when in actuality it's their CO that they're in love with. People hear those reviews and sign up, only to get stuck in some hell-hole that is nothing like what they've heard about. It's a bait and switch.
Yes, life's not fair. But that doesn't mean that we should just accept things the way they are without trying to improve the situation. If you believe that, you've been in Japan for too long.

[bittersweet]

There are some BOEs out there who view their ALTs as easily replaceable cogs, so coming here is taking a risk. Most likely your pred is not going to tell you the truth, as they have nothing to gain from badmouthing their BOE.
JET is merely just guidelines that a BOE has to follow (pay them this much, etc), and there are BOEs who will try everything they can do to "get around" those guidelines. I've heard about a BOE tax scamming the JET* or not paying for the return flight, etc, because of some loophole the BOE thought they found or whatever.
If it sucks, you finish your year contract and then you go home. I think people should be aware of the possibility that they might be returning after 1 yr due to a variety of reasons, including but not limited to bad BOEs or schools.

*http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fl20120228a1.html