The JET Program Survey - BOE Problems

Question: What problems have you had with your BOE?

Responses...

Every time I ask my supervisor (who has NO English) for help doing something, he hems and haws until I finally find some other way to do it. IE, there is no bank in my town and I needed to send money to my travel agent for my plane ticket home.

I asked him if the bank was going to be visiting the office any time in the next week. Instead of asking around the office, he called CITY HALL to ask. As I watched, he chatted with them about my farewell party (which I had not been told about up until then) for 20 minutes. Then, he came back to tell me that I had to make my own arraingments. WHAT? There is NO BANK in my town.

I asked if I could leave work to go to the nearest city to take care of it, and he said no. I explained that I needed a PERSON not the machine because I can't read kanji. He sucked air until I finally got pissed and said I'd take care of it myself.

This kind of thing happens regularly here.

When I first arrived my BOE put me into an empty house, which didnt even have light bulbs. I was told that I was expected to buy everything for myself, including the fridge, washing machine, etc. This has been a very expensive year and my bank balance is still trying to recover.

After about 3 months, I was then informed that I had to move from my house to an appartment. The thing that really annoyed me was that I got to find out that I was moving through a fellow JET. My supervisor had told her, before she told me.

I have had people, who know that I understand Japanese, say malicious things right in front of me. My supervisor was there and he did absolutely nothing.

I have accomodation provided by the BOE which I pay for. It is a teacher's dormitory. Basically, I have two rooms and must share a bathroom, kitchen, and toilet with four other people. There have been other JETS who have tried to get out of this accomodation, but the BOE would offer no help to them.

I have absolutely no money given to me to pay for books and materials that I use during lessons. I pay for this out of my salary. The only thing that I do not have to pay for is photocopying.

I have had people from the BOE tarnish my reputation in the community by spreading lies. One of the BOE's staff members' sons had to give a speech at the Enterance Ceremony for new 1-nen sei. He ridiculed the standard of teaching of English in it. Two days earlier I saw the mother write the speech in the BOE. No action was taken.

When I have complained about the bullying and racism that I have suffered, they have responded by saying that I was just making it all up and that the problems were all my fault.

Forbidden to drive. Minimum nenkyu and difficult to get daikyu. Lots of "no work" days that you can`t take off to actually get out and see Japan or do something-even during school holidays.

1. Our Prefectural Advisor is inneffective in helping/advising JETs. When i turned to her with problems, she basically told me to apologize to everyone and hush up. When i was having a serious problem with a co-worker, (another JET), the PA suggested we meet to discuss it at a cafe and after school, so that my school and the BOE would not find out!!! (Not be negatively affected, were her words.)

Paying the most rent for the littlest oldest apartments in our prefecture. Well, at least we did pay the most rent.
But all in all, the BOE was great. But I am transfering to the prefectural level, because at the highschool in my town the JET gets all school holidays off too, summer vacation and stuff, but where I am now we have to sit on our butts at the kyoikuinkai.
Not bad at all when I hear other JET's stories, I know I have it pretty decent!

EVERYTHING!!!! Constant fighting over clarification of job duties, vacation, etc. I learned to make the system work for me, but the injustice of being a JET and not being allowed the same freedoms as other teachers really sucked.

Remember it's easier to apologize than ask for permission!

Jerk advisor gettin' his panties in a bunch because I gave him some critical feedback.

check out my post on Big Daikon "Problems with BOE" I posted 6/16/2002

To add recently a worker at the BOE said I was a bad person to an AET`s wife who also hapens to be my friend.

I asked why they said this. I have done absolutely nothing bad. She said she thinks they are mad because I was the first ever AET to move from the "housing" for JET`s.

I don't have a BOE. private school

They don't speak English........at all. I have huge problems if I want anything done. Although they are very generous as to apartment and furnishings etc, I con't find out simple information. Also my supervisor is a little inept and unsympathetic. I was seriously ill with Bronchitis and colonitits (hmm nice) and finally had to be taken to the doctor. I was first taken to one I had been seeing who spoke English. He said I needed to be hospitalised.....that serious. Fortunately I didn't need to stay in hospital but I had to organise someone to come to the hospital and translate for me, dispite finding it difficult to stand. I did end up with 2 JETs 3 English teachers (they arrived after about an 1 and a half) my supervisor superintendent and superintendents wife and random man from the office waiting for me.

Then next day my supervisor took me back. There was no English speaking doctor and my supervisor didn't bring anyone who could speak English to help. After being given 7 types of medication I didn't recognise he took me home and asked if I would be working tomorrow. He actually seemed surprised when I said no.

When I first arrived I was in the town office 8 hours a day with no-one I could talk to and not even a working phone I could use at home. Being the only gaijin in my town I was definately barely sane by the time I started work.

We have many miscommunications including a mix-up over nenkyu I was given to believe I would have school holidays off after summer seeing as I only get 12 days a year. This was apparently not hte case and I embarrassingly was almost in tears trying to resolve that one. It was worked out but it was very stressful just because I couldn't understand what the English teachers were saying who were translating for us.

I asked about where to get the forms for claiming back pension when I get home. I was told Tanabe, without any directions or details to tell me where in Tanabe and as I assume this place will only be open during normal office working hours how I am expected to get there when its open. Still working on this one.

All of these are fairly petty except when I was ill, but it all adds up to me avoiding my direct supervisor as much as I can. My superintendent has been a wonderfully friendly and helpful man so its not true over everyone I work with.

As an extra little story about my supervisor after I had been in the office about 3 weeks, there other 2 women in the office were away. Now I was drinking water because I wasn't to keen on cold Ocha and don't drink coffee, but halfway through the day my supervisor picked up the tray of dirty cups he and the other men in the office had been using and explaining to me that he was sorry but the other women were away. Took me to the kitchen and got a woman for another office to show me how to clean them. because a) he is incapable of cleaning cups and b) I need to be shown how to clean cups

One thing about my BOE is that I never know who my supervisor is. There was no actual introduction in Japanese or otherwise letting me know who my supervisor was when I came and since then I know employees have changed and again, I don't know who my supervisor is.

Getting tax information/papers to send home is sometimes difficult to get from my BOE. This year, I didn't even recieve my T-4 slip. And asking for it gets no responce. It was supposedly mailed to me - but I really didn't get it.

I brought my family out with me to Japan, we have a young daughter who will be two next month. I have cousins and family in Japan (Yokohama) however being in Okinawa they couldn't be further away.
That aside, I only found out last week that virtually every Okinawan that lives here in the city with an infant uses a dehumidifier, otherwise kids get serious lung problems, of which our daughter has had for the last eight months. Another JET who broke her contract and left a couple of months ago, found on returning home that her two year old had mold growing in his lungs.

What I have found frustrating is the lack of information about bringing children out here. before I left, I had friends in the Japanese Association saying we will be fine, people will help, the medical system here is great, etc. I only found out a few months ago, quite by accident that I could get refunds for my daughters hospitalisation bills (she's been in hospital 13 times in eight months, on one occassion spent a week in intensive care). We have had a rough trot to say the least. A friend asked me last night, if I knew how our first year was going to go, would I have still come out on the Program?. I replied no. I have wanted to do JET for a long time, and was advised to wait till I was in my thirties; people would take me seriously then. That was a mistake. I know when I return home next year, I will flatly tell the Japanese assocaition my JET experience and how it should and should not be promoted back home.

But to be honest, not many people understand my situation, and many are unwilling to empathise. My supervisor's don't have children, they have no idea, the PA here doesn't know much about anything, and makes silly suggestions about childcare; it's not his fault, he just doesn't have an idea.

What is needed is more information about childcare in Japan and what to look for and what to look out for. There was not enough information upon my arrival. The first ten months here in Japan has been perhaps the hardest I have had to experience in my life. What makes it worse is the standard of living for my family has plummeted, and as a result my daughter has been sick, and still is. If she doesn't pull through before winter, they we may have to pull out.

don't have a BOE

No contact with them

Well, just the usual crap about dictating what I can and can't do during my free time. For example, I've been told that I'm not supposed to help people (for free) with English outside of school, it's not good for me to spend time with Japanese families because people at the BoE are suspicious, I can't go on school trips, etc. I wouldn't really call these problems, more like things that are a pain in the ass. The real problem is that there is no standard for the JET's in this area on such things as taking nenkyu, working during the winter and summer breaks, being able to receive your pay a day or two early, stuff like that. Some JET's are told they can only drive to and from work, some JET's are not allowed to drive at all... where's the uniformity in standards?

my supervisor is just really really strict, especially regarding nenkyuu. i don:t really have reason to complain because everything he says is "officially" correct. other JETs in my area have a little more leniency regarding holidays etc., but my supervisor is really concerned with making himself look good for his boss, and never goes outside of the rules at all. e.g. at christmas, my kyoto-sensei wanted to give me some extra time at home, but my supervisor said no, and took almost all of my 12 days of nenkyuu, leaving me with three days for the last 6 months of my contract year. it:s all officially good, but compared to the other jets in my area, he is MUCH more strict.
another e.g. is that all of the previous jets in my town only worked half-days in the summer, but as soon as my supervisor found out that some jets work full days, he made me come in for full days too (even though he was also told that some jets don:t work at all during the summer). my problem is, i don:t really have reason to complain, since it is all officially okay.

I have never been to the BOE, but I believe it was them.

When my spouses grandmother passes away I was put through the third degree for wanting to return with her. I could understand if I was going to miss a lot of school, but it was right before Christmas vacation, so only 3 actual days of teaching were going to be missed. Watanabe-san at Kencho in Fukushima-city was very uncompasionate and rude towards the situation.

i am the only jet in my prefecture who can't drive to work. i have a car, but as of yet can't drive it between 8:30 and 4:00 everyday. i'm working hard on changing things, though.

Mainly regarding my living conditions.

I live in a hut. When I arrived there was only cold water, this was changed after considerable campaigning.

My water is frequently cut off. I live in inaka, so have to shit and wash is the river occasionally. Not nice.

Naturally there is no air conditioner. The walls have large cracks, which are large enough for mukade to crawl in and bite me. The walls are also very damp.

I have asked to be able to move myself, at my expense, but have be told I cannot.

I also found out that they were using my considerably small educational budget to fund things in my house. (My budget for 160 kids over 12 years is 9000 yen a year).

However, they are good about my nenkyu, and let me take all the holiday I want (inside or outside the country), as long as it is in the school holidays.
Also, my kacho did lend me a lot of money when I came.

Most of the problems arise for substandard housing, and lack of money.

Sexual Harassment

I was an ALT but because people in my office kept dying off/ getting into the loony bin, I ended up doing the job of a CIR and then a komuin.

Intense stress about anything from the sexual harasser- studying Japanese (time off), taking time to go to the hospital etc. He also continually harassed me about my fiance- none of his business though. He tried to get me fired from my new job after I quit JET. Luckily he's too incompetent to do so.

Geeting proposals for projects through.

Occasionally not being informed of things going on in the office.

Not having much help from my supervisor in developing kokusai kouryu and having my work on the matter being curtailed by him for fear of having to do extra work, take ultimate responsibility and basically not understanding the value or possible scope of internationalization projects in the town. Though other people have done this in his place with limited success.

Again, not life threatening. Will Hyogo-ken PLEASE move more quickly in notifying new JETs where they are placed? Last summer, I found out my placement in mid/late June, and this year, the new JETs were told on June 20. This is way too late. The new person needs a lot of information from their predecessor.

my BOE is located 53 kilometers away from my place of work (a high school). there are over 100 ALTs which report to that BOE. obviously, there's no personal relationship between BOE and workers, and, relatedly, no feeling of support. the BOE has never done anything to make any direct problems for me that i know of, but that's because i don't know that it's done anything at all.

Allegations that my BOE was lying about my personal past to other staff, assuming that I would never find out, to make it look like I was leaving due to my lack of coping abilities. Not due to their inadequate actions and the problems of the school itself. I have previous experience living abroad in Japan and elsewhere, but little experience with completely inadequate stff.

Not notifying anyone of my departure. Hoping I would slip away into the night so that they wouldn't have to deal with the problems at hand. On my last day, I said good bye to people that were visually shocked when they heard I was going. They didn't know anything about my problems and probably still don't.

I taught a night class for students who never received their high school diplomas. Basically they come into class, eat/talk/read manga, then graduate without doing much work. Despite everything I have done, including sending a formal letter to BOE, nothing was ever done to improve the system. It was extremly frustrating.

Well, I have no direct BoE, being a senior high JET, but I like to think that Kenchou are generally utterly shite, probably because of the distance between us. Mainly on my arrival, with the utter lack of planning for my arrival, I blame Kenchou, but my teachers were equally crappy. I arrived in a strange place, not knowing who the fuck to talk to with nothing material in my life (I did not even have a fridge for the first month -August, by the way, quite hot, really). And then I hear other JETs moaning because they didn't have a sofa.... but Kenchou generally block anything that might be quite interesting in my life, whereas I know JETs with no problem doing the same things through their BoE. Crappy system, really. I think senior high JETs need "ground support" too.

This is trivial: but my workload is pretty high sometimes. I cover three JHS, three elementaries, a kindergarten, and two eikaiwas. Some days I teach five or six hours, and a free office day or half day happens once a month or so. But all the schools etc are great (it's a whinge only in terms of not having much energy and tending to get sick a lot.) My BoE is sympathetic when I point it out, but I think they forget how tiring some of it can be. The workload tends to increase slowly and then I have to say something!

Nenkyu (when I was sick). I also informed them on my school situation and they didnt want to hear about it

Constantly comparing me to my predecessor, who spoke fluent Japanese.

In my first year my BOE had nothing to do with me. All of a sudden in my second year they were complaining about me. They complained that I did not volunteer at the local town sports festival. But they did not tell me about it. They did not inform me as to when, where and what time it would be held. It was not held at the normal time like all other towns, which is usually the time that everyone gets the national holiday off. It was held at a different time. The teachers and my BOE did not tell me then complained that I am not like my predecessor.

Another point was I could not get any sleep as my neighbour would have her tv on all day and all night really loud. I would get no sleep most of the time. When I complained and asked my neighbour to turn it down, they poured ketchup in my genkan. My BOE saw it and told me not to tell anyone. Also my letters were being intercepted torn up to pieces and re-deposited in my mailbox. I was stalked for over a year, almost raped and when I finally told my BOE about it my kacho made me feel that it was my fault.

They got the kencho to investigate me and made complaints that I left school early all the time. But I was able to back this up because the few times that I did leave school, I got permission from the principal and it was mainly to go to the doctors. I was constantly sick because I was so stressed as I did not have any sleep most nights then going to school and putting up with the bad behaviour of the students. Not being allowed to tell my problems to anyone. I was specifically told by one of my principals not to say anything to anyone about anything.

I wrote down all the information supporting myself against their accusations and sent it to the kencho. My two doctors even wrote a letter stating that the amount of stress and lack of sleep was causing my illness. On the day that the people from ken-cho came I was not allowed to present my point of view. MY kacho and supervisor talked to them. Then I was informed at the end of the meeting that they would not recontract me unless I change my personality and make everybody in my town like me. They wanted me to be like my predecessor. All of a sudden I was told that I had to go to the BOE and make chit-chat with them like my predecessor did. The only thing they could not complain about me was my work ethics. They knew that I work hard and always come to the classes well prepared. One of my JTE's even wrote a letter supporting me about this but again no one got to read it as I was not allowed to present my point of view at their inquisition.

My Japanese is limited. I was told that when I go to my BOE I am not allowed to bring an interpreter as my predecessor never had one and I should do the same. My predecessor was the greatest thing since sliced bread and I cannot fit into his shoes. All the good things I have achieved and done for the schools were not taken into consideration.

They take forever to get back to us on even the smallest thing.

Poor housing (ie. drafty windows, ants) needs to taken care of ...but not yet..

again, minor stuff. slow-paced communication is about it

My BoE Section Cheif (Kacho) brought me many extravagant gifts to win my affection and asked me to stay the night anytime at his house in the first few months of my first year. He drives by my home every morning before work, and in the evening after work, even though I am not on a convenient route to his home. He has been sexually harrassing my office co-worker for over four years (of which everyone knows about, including her husband), and if it wasn`t for her warnings, things with him could have been much worse for me. Suggestion: make friends with your office co-workers and share everything you think may be important, strange or making you uncomfortable!

I applied to transfer (it was granted - thank god) but i was accused of being dis-loyal and a bad person. i was bullied and told they would get rid of me and get a new alt if i continued with my application. i continued as it was for medical reasons, but they have had a semi-hostile attitude since. i also have to pay my moving costs as it is a personal reason (where i come from medical is not personal!).
also, my BOE is extremely strict with nenkyu and byoku. if you are ill you must have a docotrs note for every day you miss or it is nenkyu - it doesn`t matter if you can`t walk to the doctor. the CLAIR recommendation is that BOE@s should take the JETS word in cases like this, but my BOE seems to think all foreigners are dishonest. I know these aren`t big problems, but they add up. Also, I have been told I must leave 50,000 when I move to cover my bills. My bills are never more than 20,000-25,000 and apparently it is up to my supervisor`s discretion how much I receive back.

Nobody speaks English, apart from this it has been a breeze.and they let me do what I want to do

Housing

Same as teachers.. ignoring me. not beleiving me about anything. Basicaly, i know if anything were to ever go wron, i wouldn't get any help. They always manage to put the blame on me no matter what. For example, when my kitchen sink broke. they said, 'Maybe one of your friends broke it?" Thinking I'm just a stupid foreigner and making it soooo clear to me tha I am different than me. The fact that one of the guys there seriously thought my name was ALT until last week!! I could go on and on and one

Catch 22 like byouku policy. If I am sick, I must get a note from the doctor. I don't have a car, so I must walk several kilometers to the doctor to get said note. If I am well enough to do that, then I am not sick enough to warrant the note. One time after going to the doctor, my BOE made me sit in the office for an additional two hours while the heads conferred on this very subject. I had severe bronchitis but no fever, so I couldn't possibly be sick.

Absolute refusal to allow any elementary school visits. They don't care about the Monbukugakusho policy. They are making no efforts at all to comply. Nor are there any plans to do so in the future. This is from the Kyouikucho, Superintendent.

Am not aloud to drive to and from school. Have been in "negotiations" with the superintendant from September until now (July)

Telling me after deadlines have passed that they have not submitted my applications to things.

Well, in Miyagi, the SHS ALTs (me) technically work for the central BOE, the kencho. I haven't had a lot of contact with them, save my Prefectural Advisor and my Chief Advisor.

When I did have problems, they sent the Chief Advisor out to me twice in a week (which is UNHEARD of). Eventually, though, I got told to suck up and deal. My teachers said they would "reflect on how they could do better", but of course, nothing changed.

They told us not to have loud noisy parties on week nights at our houses....I guess it`s reasonable.

They were always supportive.

the problem was with violece against students...when i approached my JTEs about bringing this problem to the principil and BOE ...i was told not to...i did however....the kencho was amazing and helped a great deal... but it , in my opinion, led to my BOE attempting to not renew my contract...however the kencho came to my aid and to make a long story short i am to be transferred..
.i will add that not amoung their complaints was that i talked of the schools violence problem...but they did complain about my alergy and that i had too many people at my apartment....especially of those of the male persuasion...

Very small things. They send us documents in Japanese. I would prefer to receive important news in English.

HOUSING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

They are very kind but poor explanation was made of a lot of issues when I first arrived and akthough my supervisor is great the people in charge doin't seem willing to take on my concerns.

Further problem is that they don't know what they want me to do. They can be very obstructive when I have suggestions for internationalisation etc.

That said, have recently been having meetings with my supervisor who is wonderful and things are improving.

Overall, they have treated me and the other ALTs in my city as if we are extremely dangerous children. No contact is allowed between incoming JETs and those they replace. I think this is a policy which says clear as anything that they do not trust us at all to think for ourselves.

Their demeanor towards us is condescending at all times, and I get the feeling sometimes like they would greatly prefer if we had never come.

They don't speak English terribly well either, most of them. There are some exceptions.

not telling me daiku was only valid for 2 months and loosing lots of daiku, being ignored by the staff in the office and when suggesting the new alt spend less time in the office they said the alt needs to be in the office so everyone can communicate with the alt!!!!
not including me in on anything at all

My cowokers at the BOE are generally friendly, but my supervisor does not speak a word of English. This makes it quite difficult to discuss technical matters like nen-kyu etc..

While I understand "ESID", I wish that JETs were more uniformly treated with regards to holidays etc. I work for a small rural BOE, and am expected to show up for "work"(there is none, of course) at the BOE office whenever my schools are closed, including summer "vacation".

What bothers me is that fellow JETs working for the Prefectural BOE are given all school holidays off. I feel that this is quite unfair! Here I am scrimping on nen-kyu to go home while they are telling me about their last trip to Okinawa, etc.

The 20 days vacation in my contract is generous, but I do not feel it is fair that I should be stuck behind a desk while others have the opportunity to travel.

Supervisor's victimisation.
Intrusion into my personal life
Refused to renew my contract for a third year for reasons which were non teaching related.
ie paying a telephone bill late
accused of 'bad relationships' with other ALTs who i don't work with.
on a couple of occassions not completing monthly paperwork properly
on a couple of occassions arriving late at monthly pay day meetings.

I was then forced to retire, on February 7th 2002,from the JET scheme. My father was diagnosed with terminal cancer and had only 2 months to live. I requested special leave of 3 months max( on an unpaid basis) and was denied this, even though my schools had agreed to this proposal. This information was dismissed by the B of E. Within a space of 10 days I had to pack up all my possessions, find places to store them, take them there, say goodbye to students, teachers and friends and do any necessary paperwork.
I was obviously unable to work at that time. However, the B of E demanded the repayment of salary for the days i could not work, any expenses incurred for the clearing out of my apartment, as i could not clean it as much as i would have liked, due to time constraints. The have even had the ordascity to expect repayment of postage for correspondence them had with me in England. As i wish to return to Japan to work again, I repayed what i considered fair, ie the salary and cleaning expenses.
Basically i was caused unnecessary distress and stress ontop of the trauma i was facing at the time. There was absolutely no compassion or understanding. There was also no support from the international relations division of that board of Education

I don't work for a BOE, but my contracting organization (my high school) has been mostly problem-free. I've been treated so much better than I have ever been treated as a teacher in the U.S. (although, I was working for the notorious Los Angeles Unified School District.)

My supervisor at the BOE was quite good about helping me find a second (and a third) doctor while trying to treat my eyes.

However, when i t came to the beating problem, the BOE supervisor made excuses for the students who hit me, and almost came out saying that it was my fault that students hit me. they refused to even TALK to my school to find out what was going on.

Dont know where to begin. Bottom line, I am paying for past AET issues and complaints! I am being treated as a child and am tired of being told to do things by myself since the BOE cant help because of past AETs actions.

I asked to fundraise for habitat for Humanity in my Junior Highs, and they said that I should not try to fundraise in public schools unless it was for an organization that Japanese students already support, such as UNICEF. They insinuated that teachers and town's people might mistake my intentions (ie. think I was stealing money for a holiday in India) and therefore, distrust me afterwards. All this was said, After I provided many documents about Habitat 4 Humanity and my specific project in Japanese! They still said it was too sketchy for them. I didn't relent on my case, and they eventually allowed me to collect donations from the teachers alone.

Also, I requested to attend one school's graduation ceremony specifically, and well in advance. My BOE asked me to do a lot of extra work at that school, so I became closer to those graduating students as a result. I explained this to my BOE when I made the request, thinking my desire to be at that school's graduation would be obvious then. When my request was turned down later, the messenger told me that my boss had a bad cold, so he didn't want to make that decision, and didn't feel like making the arrangements with the 2 Jr. highs in my town.

They scammed me on Nenkyu (only giving me 12 days instead of the 20 that everyone else in Nagasaki gets). But it was later resolved that I would get 20 next year. Not such a big problem.

I requested a transfer and the BOE denied it. I had a new host school set-up and everything was good to go, until the BOE decided to not approve the transfer.

it has been rather difficult to communicate with them about my housing. its an old aprtment and i think everything decided now was the time to break. i have been without a sofa for 9 months because i asked for a new one and the only one they would aloow me to but was out of their budget. ive had many repairs since i arrived and things are still not working right.

They take my two-faced teachers' word over mine and don't know the first thing about teaching EFL and yet criticize my teaching. I was told that my contract would not be renewed because, "Your students don't like you."

Failure to address problems, or to listen and act on perfectly reasonable solutions offered by ALTs. Thinking that each ALT has the same strong points and should therefore be given the same tasks at schools - hence recommendations were sent to the schools with schedules about what the ALTs should be doing, although it only really applied to certain ALTs with certain traits. The whole set up was on a one-shot basis with a ridiculous amount of schools but they have since changed this into a base school system. Thumbs up there.

they trapped us in a tiny room all summer long. it was hot and miserable with nothing to do. I started my time in Japan hating life. I felt I made the wrong decision to go on JET. It was awful. We were told we did not need to know any Japanese, but our Supervisor also did not know any english. it was beyond frustrating.

If you can believe it, too much work. That is my fault, though. No matter that all the other jets are basically doing nothing all summer. I have to teach 30 Eikaiwa classes for elementary teachers and principals. When they told me this I was extremely mentally exhausted from the mental stress of the schools. I didn`t react well to having the time I felt I needed to mentally regroup taken away from me.

To: AET
Pages: 4

Dear AET,
The following is a letter of complaint against the Yokohama City Board of Education. Several AETs have contributed to the writing of this letter over the past few weeks. We intend to present this letter to the BOE at the February 23 meeting. The letter will be written in English and Japanese. It will also be mailed to all of the addresses on the bottom of the third page. We ask the following of you:

We would like each AET to read the letter carefully. If there are things that you wish to include or omit please contact any of the AETs who appear first on the phone tree.
We would like you to sign on an attached page to the letter before the meeting on Febraury 23. Someone will be outside Fujikaikan on the day of the meeting to get signatures. PLEASE REMEMBER TO SIGN BEFORE GOING INSIDE!
We will hand you several copies of the letter in Japanese to give to your teachers. We ask you to hand these letters to your teachers after the AETs present the letter to the BOE.
PLEASE DO NOT DISCUSS THIS LETTER WITH ANY MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF EDUCATION AS WELL AS YOUR TEACHERS AND PRINCIPALS UNTIL AFTER THE FEBRUARY MEETING!! This letter is addressed to the BOE and will be officially presented next week. We are asking to keep the letter confedential until then.
We are asking for a small amount of money to cover the expense of having the letter translated into Japanese and mailing to the various offices dealing with the JET Programme. We will let you know of the total expense at the meeting. It should be about 150Y per person

Thanks

February 23, 2000

Council of Local Authorities for International Relations

To Whom It May Concern:

We are writing to inform the Council of Local Authorities for International Relations (CLAIR) as well as the Kanagawa Prefecture of questionable policy changes made by the Yokohama City Board of Education (BOE) over the last year regarding Assistant Language Teachers (ALT). We believe the Yokohama City Board of Education has disregarded the wellbeing of its employees, diminished work morale to disturbing lows, and jeopardized the reputation of the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme (JET). We, the Assistant Language Teachers, hereby file an official complaint against the Yokohama City Board of Education.

The following is a timeline of events over the past year which have been a source of contention between the ALTs and BOE:

February 19, 1999 all renewing ALTs sign papers of formal intent for 1999-2000.

March 6, 1999
The BOE extends ALT working hours for the stated reason, "All teachers (in your schools) are required to work longer hours (see Appendix A).
The BOE is preoccupied with mirroring ALT working condition to that of Japanese Teachers of English (JTE) in order to reduce complaints of unfavorable discrepancies by JTEs; differences include shorter working hours and use of consecutive nenkyu days. In doing so the Board has ignored the distinctiveness of the ALT role and our unique working circumstances. ALT hours were not explicitly written in the 1999-2000 contract allowing the BOE to use this ambiguity to its advantage (see Appendix B).

June 17, 1999
The BOE changes school groupings which in years past had remained permanent unless requested otherwise by the ALT.
Upon arrival in Japan ALTs were told to select apartments near their base school; travel expenses are calculated from the central location of the base school (ALTs generally have three to four schools; one base or primary school and three regular schools.) After school groupings were changed ALTs were then given travel expenses from their new base school. Thus many ALTs are personally paying for a large portion of their travel expenses.
In addition, principals, teachers (and in some cases students) were notified of the changes prior to ALTs receiving notification. Some ALTs were first made aware of school changes through written invitations to their own farewell parties! Consequently an apology was issued to all ALTs (see Appendix C).

July 1999 new ALTs sign 1999-2000 contracts with the BOE of Yokohama prior to arrival in Japan. Renewing ALT sign contracts for the coming year however the new contracts mistakenly states the preceding year's dates (see Appendix D).

August 2-6, 1999
The BOE mandates second and third year ALTs use five paid holiday
(nenkyu) for the expressed reason are schools are closed and the BOE has no work to provide.

August 9, 1999
The BOE informs ALTs of significant and stifling alterations to present policies:

- attend closing ceremonies and return on the day requested by the
BOE.
-No overseas trips between long holidays (winter, spring, summer) using nenkyu, except May 1 and 2 (Golden week).
-From August 1 to August 11, use your nenkyu for 9 days

Non-Renewers policy:
-You must stay until the end of your contract.
-Airfare will be paid only on the completion of your contract.
(If you have nenkyu left between July 18 until he last day of your contract you can receive airfare on July 17, at the monthly meeting, and you leave Japan)

The BOE threatens to take away kenshu if these stipulations are not complied with; kenshu days are given to ALTs to research areas of interest regarding cultural exchanges or education (see Appendix E).

October 1999
The BOE retracts the August 9th policy changes following resistance and several heated discussions between ALTs and Board members. However, it still mandates ALTs return early from vacation in order to attend a meeting on Friday January 7, 2000 -- the meeting lasts a mere twenty minutes during which time flyers are given out and no pressing issues discussed (see Appendix F).
In regards to nenkyu, the BOE continues to mandate use of nenkyu from August 1 to August 11, 2000. The BOE explicitly tells ALTs it cannot provide work on those days, thus mandating 9 days be used during this period of time These nenkyu days are written on several memos to ALTs and even crossed of the work schedule issued to all ALTs (see Appendix G).
The BOE also mandates ALTs use nenkyu between July closing ceremony and end of contract for all nonrenewers. In early August 1999 renewers were notifed of the number of days must be saved for this time period (see Appendix H).
The BOE has misled CLAIR offices and the Kanagawa Prefecture to believe ALTs have been given alternative options to using nenkyu. We have never been made aware of the option to work during the specified days in July and August. If your office reviews the number of ALTs who used nenkyu from August 2 to August 6, 1999 you will find the list to be unanimous. In years past the Yokohama BOE has mandated ALTs use nenkyu and, thus far, we have not heard otherwise.

January 7, 2000
The BOE announces it will cancel phone service four months prior to end of the contract year if ALTs do not renew their contracts. ALTs are told to use cellular phones instead The BOE did not give ALTs an opportunity to discuss alternative options m the cancellation (see Appendix I). This is a vagrant disregard for the safety of the ALTs as well as extremely insensitive to the situation of living alone in a foreign country. The BOE breaks the primary, and often sole, link with our families. Furthermore, the BOE jeopardizes the ALTs' safety by cutting means to contact police, fire departments and ambulances in case of an emergency

January 21, 2000
The BOE issues a letter of response to numerous questions and complaints by ALTs regarding the cancellation of phone service for nonrenewing teachers. A few ALTs individually wrote letters of complaint requesting to receive a response; this memo was personally addressed by name to these individuals who later find out it was mass mailed to all ALTs in the City of Yokohama. Furthermore, the contents of the letter did not respectfully address the concerns of ALTs and did not offer an opportunity to discuss alternative options to cancellation; it was condescending and lacking professional courtesy (see Appendix J).

Throughout the past several months the Yokohama City Board of Education has managed to decrease morale to such low many ALTs have threatened to quit mid-contract, transfer to other prefectures, not renew for an additional second or third year, and/or go on strike. The BOE has consistently mad decisions lacking respect, mind-fullness, consideration, and care for ALTs.

We ask CLAIR to understand the ALTs' circumstances and the unprofessional and negligent actions made by the Yokohama City Board of Education. We ask for assistance conveying this volatile situation to the BOE which has been unreceptive to ALT pleas so far. In writing this letter, it is our intention to improve crippled communication between the ALTs and the BOE and to air the voice of the ALT which has been ignored during all decision making over the past year. We ask CLAIR for action to be done:

1) Discuss our complaints directly with the Yokohama Board of Education Chief Teachers's Consultant of the ALT Program;
2) Review the attrition rate of second and third year ALTs compared with previous years;
3) Take notice of the number of complaints written or phoned to CLAIR and the Yokohama BOE this year;
4) Create an open forum with the ALTs and BOE (perhaps with a CLAIR mediator) to discuss these issues;
5) Limit major policy changes in the middle of the contract year;
6) Recognize the collective voice of complaints by the ALTs of Yokohama.

We hope the BOE rebuilds its shaken relationships with ALTs before too many of us return to our home countries as unfavorable liaisons for Japan and the JET Programme.

We ask for a written response to our official complaint against the Yokohama City Board of Education.

Assistant Language Teachers
City of Yokohama

My BOE were always great people---they were probably the only good people I ever met on the job. It was my co-workers and superiors at the schools who were the bastards. Again, fuckem.

In my first year, I taught at my base school three days a week. I visited two different schools the other two days. After my first year, I was told I would be visiting a different school one day a week and I would no longer teach at the other school. I was fine changing schools but the school they no longer wanted me to visit was heartbreaking. It was a school that required special training as the students all had a common disability. It was my favorite school to visit.

After several meetings with my BOE and my final threat to consider breaking my contract, the BOE decided to honor my request. I was allowed to continue teaching at the school I enjoyed most and had worked the hardest at.

I am granted 15 days paid holiday annually. Other Jets in the ken are entitled to 20.
My contracting organisation also subsidises my rent by paying the first 25,000 whereas others in the ken only pay 20% of their rent.
My contracting organisation does not pay my rail fare to and from school every day. This is because I was offered a choice of two apartments. I chose the further apartment as it was better located to other amenities, supermarket, train station, other Jets etc. It seems unfair that I have to continue doing this for a further two years. I don't wish to move now I am settled.

See below description of an action by a JET related employer/supervisor that I think is completely out of order (blackmail, lies, unacceptable, unreasonable etc).

A supervisor who sought to limit who I could talk to in the village and who used two successive ALTs as pawns in a chess game of local politics. The interference resulted in the premature departure of the first ALT. However the supervisor has since been replaced and the interference stopped. Nothing could be done at the time however other than to bear it out unbtil the time arrived for an overdue administrative change. From day one ALTs were told not to speak to certain people in the small village as these people were "trouble-makers" and dangerous. These people have become my good friends despite this. I feel the reason this person was able to abuse the ALTs in this manner was the amount of leeway afforded these people in the "contract" of employment. So much more needs to be done to standardise and officially legitimaise the positions of ALTs within their individual contracting authorities.

Totally inflexible when it comes to make a simple request.
- A ganging up mentality. Me verses them.
- Treating me like a 5 year old though I have never given them reason to treat me this way.
- At other times they treat me like an adult. For example, the first meeting they just told me I had to go to Sapporo for language lessons, gave me the money and told me Sayonara. I didn't have a clue how to buy a ticket, where to get off, where the hotel was etc. etc. I was the only JET whose supervisor did not show up with the AET's (the supervisors had to be in Sapporo the next day for a conference of their own).

Little to virtually no communication regarding what is expected of me and what my rights are as an ALT.

lack of holidays (12 days) and nothing to do over summer break yet still having to go in from 9-4

They could not give me a reason for why I could not drive to work, except that "it is difficult". I was the only town emplyee who was not allowed to drive to work. When I told them i was buying a car, they made me sign another contract saying that i would
1) buy insurance.
2) not get into an accident [1 and 2 would seem to cancel each other out, but never mind]
3) not abandon my car illegally.
4) not drive to work
5) not drink and drive

the first three are reasonable conditions, but i was offended that they assumed they had to take these precautions with me, as if I was planning on getting loaded, crashing into everything and abandoning my car, as if common sense and basic integrity didnt apply in my home country.

My supervisor speaks no English whatsoever. That in itself is a problem as they are supposed to help us adjust when we first arrive in Japan. He is reluctant to give nenkyu, insists we use nenkyu when we are sick instead of sick leave and is ineffective at keeping me informed which schools I am to visit and when. Also why do I have to travel for 20mins in the wrong direction by bus, travel by train then walk for 15 mins when I could just drive there in 20mins?! What is the problem with allowing JET`s to drive? I`m from England so it`s practically the same thing for me to drive in Japan!
Sorry I digress!
Recently however, he has been truely awful! A fellow JET was hit by a car and he`s been very mean about granting her time off work (even though she was expressly told by the doctors she shouldn`t work) threatening that she can`t go home for summer as she won`t have enough nenkyu after using it for time off while sick. He has been rudely ordering around my English speaking Japanese friend to go to the police and deal with the insurance people with no regard for the fact she has her own life to be getting on with and no please or thankyou, and of course the huge gaping fact that all this as supervisor is HIS job. He was supposed to have made a solid booking for my flight home and though I told him a month ago that my passport runs out on the 28th and that I will make the booking myself he brushed me off. I just found out today he lost the booking because of his faffing around. Now what do I do? Flights are so busy at this time and now I have to try to get an extension on my pa!
ssport. Aaaargh!

Mainly, ignoring my problems with that teacher and the principal who subsequently threatened to tell the teacher I was ratting him out if I didn't keep my mouth shut. They said firing him was not an option even though this man, I happen to know, has a 20 year history of violence against students and problems with previous AETs that runs from town to town.

Sexual Harrassment

they don't listen
they don't care about REALLY TEACHING ENGLISH
again not qualified as managers
no advancement system for qualified teachers

Noooooooooo support. No help. If you don't like it
you can leave attitude.

I have had people, who know that I understand Japanese, say malicious things right in front of me. My supervisor was there and he did absolutely nothing.

I have absolutely no money given to me to pay for books and materials that I use during lessons. I pay for this out of my salary. The only thing that I do not have to pay for is photocopying.

When I have complained about the bullying and racism that I have suffered, they have responded by saying that I was just making it all up and that the problems were all my fault.