Memories from a brief stint as a preschool teacher

I survived the life of a preschool teacher for exactly 5 months.  Here are my memories from that time:

May - Subbing for another teacher I took the kids to the post office.  We made postcards for friends and family and then sent them off in a letter.  During our trip, I threatened the children with their lives.  They were absolutely perfect inside the office, standing behind the line, waiting their turn, asking nicely for a stamp in Japanese, and then exiting quietly.  However, on the outside, they were acting like wildebeest and office workers frequently complained about their behavior.

Things are said about work that make my eyebrows raise and wonder...just what is going on here?  Oh wait, that's right no one knows.  "We hired you for your expertise" is what they said, but when you offer to give it, you hear, "I don't like your negative attitude."

What I learned - Kids listen...unfortunately they don't transfer the knowledge in one context to another very well.

June - Parent social...first time I've ever been encouraged to drink and socialize with parents outside of school...and then do stage karaoke...umm...this was crossing my boundaries

What I learned - Um, parents can party hard.  I realized that wealthy people have just as many problems if not more than the rest of us normal folk.  I also learned that I should in fact date German men and that many Japanese mom's would love to have me over and feed me when I'm hungry...or have their cook feed me when they're hungry.  Old people can still be just as randy as young.  Mom - "I'm tired, I think we're going to head home." Dad - standing behind mom and silently mouthing, "I'm going to f*#k my wife!" as he air humped her. 

Morale is slowly dropping as I wonder if I can really survive this crazy atmosphere.

July - CAMP!  OH YEAH!  Nothing like preparing a new theme every week with a different combo of kids and teachers everyday for 5 weeks!  Took some fantastic field trips and had some insightful convos with parents.  Tried to see the good in a little girl who was seriously a yakuza ojousama in the making...like father like daughter I guess.  And somehow survived as growing frustrations built in the workplace...the longer you're there the more you understand how places run.  Teacher gets "let go" without any warning two months after her father passes from cancer.  They would rather continue to pay her to stay home for two weeks than have her "negative" energy around...this teacher was phenomenal with the kids...starting to become clear I might not survive.

Bossman is away, leaving us to play FREELY! Oh wait, who's this? Oh, the person sent to check-in on us and make sure we're not starting any funny business?  Or as the long-term staff called them, "the spies."  Really? is that REALLY necessary?

What I learned - before accepting a job, make sure to meet the employees and take time to ask them some questions first.

August - WHAT THE HECK WAS I THINKING!?! Another two weeks of camp!? No WAY!  Energy levels quickly dropped as I rushed to make my escape plan for my short two week break before school started up again.

Boss man returns and does nothing but criticize what I've done to the classroom...oh you mean the fact that it no longer looks like a showroom and now actually functions as a classroom for young children who need separate play areas?  As for the art room...it was being used anyways.  It looks much better as a teacher's supply room :):) At least I like to think so. 

What I learned - at my threshold and decide at the last second, enough is enough.  Can't take any more passive-aggressive behavior and feeling like despite having the "experience", my opinion is the last one to matter.  Oh pregnant teacher is fired and teacher is called into the center of Tokyo just to be told she is on probation for poor job performance (couldn't wait two weeks until work started back up again?).  This after they tell her they made a mistake and are paying her too much and not only changed next months wages, but also went back and deducted the previous months. OH DEAR!

Who really wants to work for someone who treats their employees like the enemy and makes everyone afraid to say a peep, less they want to be "black listed."  Not I!  I QUIT!

Next to come - Um, like, totally ! I think I just time-traveled back to high school...for sure! and other letters of resignation.

Sorry...it's been a while

I've recently changed jobs twice in the last 5 months.  Since I meant for this blog to be about teaching in Japan, I didn't feel it appropriate to continue writing when I was no longer working as an ALT....plus the people at my new school all know how to speak English...making it rather compromising to write about it.

BUT! I QUIT that job and now feel like I can write freely about my experiences teaching preschool in Japan!


The school where I worked was beautiful.  The teachers were all ridiculously good looking, the rooms all looked like pottery barn ads and even the parents were glamorous.  The kids from 5 year olds down to the 12 month olds dressed in Prada, Gucci, and Chanel.  You know someone has an excessive amount of cash when they only dress their child in Chanel.  Some of the parents dropped their kids off in Aston Martins, or left it to the chauffeur, or in one girl's case, the bodyguard to get their child there in the morning.

Needless to say, it was a 180 from my last job.   I was meeting parents who were heads of major Japanese companies, dignitaries, diamond dealers, and even famous musicians.  And at first, it seemed to be the best job anyone could have ever asked for!  I came in bounding with optimism...which makes one wonder, why the heck then did I quit?