Neil Duckett

Thanks for the linking!!!!
F.Y.I.
I make 3x what I was making when I worked for someone else. So yeah, opening your own School (If you are a skilled teacher who gets results) is the pearl in the oyster

WOW!, where is the school that picture was taken at…???

Seriously, the fat cats are the ones who took the chances starting the business and now the reap the reward… If I was to start a company I certainly would take all the profits also…. I don’t think we can begrudge them that…

I can’t believe that English Teachers earn ~250,000 yen a month… thats like $675 a week… how can you possible live in Japan on that money.. it costs me ~$400 a week on food and beer not to mention the $2000 a month rent and utilities on top…

That article is a real eye opener for those who are thinking of comming to Japan to teach English… as far as strike action I couldn’t do that, after all I am not a citizen, I chose the job I’m in and salary and if I wasn’t happy I would leave and get another job….

That pic would make an AWESOME header!!!

With about 89-91 students I clear between 830,000 ish..to ??? depending on attendance. I love teaching, and when I started, I struggled to get students and survive off what I was making. I decided to be a hard-core, no bullsh__ kinda teacher and it has really worked out great!! Most of the adults are Japanese English teachers and their children study here as well.

P.T.A. mothers are THE best resource for a teacher trying to get students. The product is the English. Not what you wear or anything else. (I will be wearing surf shorts and a t-shirt today)

Do not be afraid to say no. Having good chemistry in the classroom is HUGE!! anything that bothers that ( a new student who doesn’t get along with the others) should be refused and given directions to another school that doesn’t give a f__k! and only counts the money.

4 years on, and I am thankful everyday for my good luck!!
My blog follows only 6 classes because students or parents in other classes were concerned about the internet ( I can respect that ). So everyone pictured has given their consent:)

Results > Everything else!!!

Wow Neil, that picture just drives my eyes away from the text

-Mike

I’ve made it my personal goal to not apply for JET (or any other program). I know there are stories of those starting out in JET and getting deals with other schools or universities and whatnot, but from what I know, JET is just a way for people who know nothing about Japan to get there easily. I am definitely setting my sights higher, and attempting to prepare well for a better opportunity to be useful (not only for my english) in Japan.

Of course, I’ll always have teaching to fall back on.

Dave’s esl is a great resource for teachers. I used often and it’s one of the best sites out there.

Incidentally though, my post on monday dealt with teaching english overseas. great minds think a like neil!

If only the students really looked like that, I would have been a teacher a decade ago

A Little Motivation for Poor English Teachers…

The owner of Benesse Corp. is on the Forbes’ Rich List thanks to his English school chain, Berlitz. Meanwhile English teachers in Japan are up in arms about the low salaries Berlitz pays, so Neil is here to remind us that there’s more to teaching tha…

Chris B. - thanks for sharing. Really enjoyed reading your comments.
Neil - Great write up - and what a pic.

Thanks a lot Neil!!!!
Hope you have a great weekend!!

Hmm … I guess few people know about the Berlitz strike.
The strike involved only unionized members in the Tokyo area. No other unionized teachers took part in the walk-out. The reason was, of course, for more money. The union was demanding both a raise of 4.6%, and that the 5 minute break that teachers have between classes be paid breaks, since they’re often filling out paperwork or preparing for the next lesson during that time.
Why a 4.6% raise? Well … the advertisements you see all over Japan tell us that only 4.6% of all applicants are hired, so the union wanted to poke fun at the number.

So far, there has been no resolution to the matter. The walk-out was only temporary, and inconvenienced only a few hundred students. Since then, the union has started plastering the teachers rooms with hostile posters telling non-unionized members that they’re being ripped off, which is creating a hostile work environment. Although the management has asked that the union remove the posters, Japanese labor laws are on the side of the union regarding their right to post them. Because of this, some of the teachers who are nearing the end of their contract have decided to not renew for another year (so I’m told). There is talk of another walk-out in the Tokyo area, but nothing has been finalized.

Unionized members make up a very small percentage of Berlitz teachers, with the highest concentration being in Tokyo. The odds of such idiotic behaviour taking place in other areas are slim and, even if they were to happen, no more than one or two language instructors in a particular area would be forced to walk out of the classroom. In the Nagoya area, there are less than five unionized members. Suffice to say, any petty political action outside of the Tokyo area would be ineffective and create too much bad press for the union, which has been on shaky ground for several years already.

Despite what many people believe about the Berlitz salary, it’s not *that* bad. I generally earn between 270,000 and 334,000 per month, including 19,600 in commutation. I’ve been paid less for far more challenging jobs.

If you’d like, I can keep you updated on the farce in Tokyo

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Damn, I thank GOD I don’t have to go through any of that bull___t!!

If this my teacher in English I will set in the front..aehheh…:D

It’s been two months, so I guess this is as good a time as any to write a quite update regarding the strike situation at Berlitz. I can sum it up in one word, too: nadda.

There’s been absolutely no movement in the matter. The union seems to have gone quiet, and the staff have gone back to quietly grumbling when they’re especially angsty about something.

At the end of the day, I don’t think this will amount to much. The union isn’t so stupid that they’d jeopardize their cushy jobs while the language school industry suffers from a shortage of customers. Perhaps in the fall when more people feel the need to speak another language but, until then, they’ll keep their opinions to themselves.

Hopefully

Hi Chris,

Your article has been inspirational.

By the way, how do you get yourselves a visa to set up english school in Japan?

thanks

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If only students looked that good. What a difference it would make in my job.

It seems that my estimate of the Union’s intelligence was greatly over-rated. Not only have unionized members (in both of the two unions) have continued their angsty demonstrations, but they’re doing so illegally according to Japan’s Labor Law regarding disputes.

According to the upper management at the company, they have tried to hold several open discussions with the instructors and staff who have grievances against the company. However, there have been many who have continued to protest in ways that are considered illegal according to Japanese Labor Laws. Here are some of the activities they’ve carried out:
* a rather harsh article in the Japan Times was published in late September
* unionized teachers are engaging in “personal walkouts” at their own convenience rather than with prior permission of the union
* union members are visiting corporate customers and handing out documents describing the dispute, which has made it incredibly difficult to keep customers
* union members are bad-mouthing the company during lessons, which means rather than speaking, language students are merely paying a premium price to listen to somebody complain

Although language centers are occasionally employing several (rather costly) tactics to ensure that customers will receive lessons in the event of an instantaneous strike, this does not bode well for the company at all in this ever-slowing economy. Clearly these people are forgetting the rules of negotiations, which are covered in the Level 6 Negotiations, Business, and Business II textbooks.

It’s a good thing I do not belong to the union, and their numbers are small and insignificant in my area. Although the pains in my chest are not quite as bad as they were last year, working with a large number of people who think the same way as Louis Carlet (the Japan Times article guy) would undoubtedly give me a heart attack, or just cause for an act that is punishable by deportation….

I’d write about it on my site, but I have never actually mentioned the names of any employer on there, and I plan to keep it that way (not that Google wouldn’t bust me, anyways). That said, since I had mentioned I’d keep ya updated, I thought it would be good to let everyone know what was goin’ on, as it’s been pretty quiet in the (English) Blogosphere.

If you’d like another update next year, just let me know. That said, I’m not sure how much time I have left with the company. It seems that there might be a juicy translation + IT job for me in Kanigawa starting next year. All I need to do is play my cards right and keep my mouth shut … easier said than done

Man…
That sounds like a total mess.
Hope you get that IT job!!