As Jim Foxworthy the host of "Are you Smarter Than a 5th Grader" became famous for, "If you have relatives that tell you that it is time to move and they put wheels on their house and drive off, you might be a redneck." the same holds true for messed up gaijins but goes like this:
"If you are pushing 30 and have more comic books than the average 15-year-old Japanese kid, you might be a messed up gaijin."
It is true that life overseas is an eye-opening experience but what opens the eyes even more is returning to your home country and moving forward in the direction that you want to move in while remaining relevant. That is why it is so important for international education professionals that do work overseas in the field make the most of their time because the competition and the geographic limitations can be too much to bare.
Life-changing experiences to draw from are what allowed me to find my way as a professional. What are your life-changing experiences? If you can't think of any and find that you have been away for too long to remain relevant, it is time to put down that comic book and develop a career plan.
The Divine Wind Vault http://divinewindvault.blogspot.com
(C)2006-10
Friday, July 23, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Messed-up Gaijins
The past couple of months have allowed me to travel across the US where I have met with a variety of international education professionals. Last week, I was in Chicago and met a teacher of 19 years who managed to do his teaching gigs at a local junior college and a for-profit language center with only his bachelor's degree and teaching experience overseas as the prerequisite. He mentioned that when he returned from his four-year stint of teaching in Japan that he was "messed up." He didn't go into details but having walked a mile in his shoes, I can only imagine. It wasn't that long ago when I felt "messed up" trying to make a go of things in the bucket of the "Bible Belt". As we observed his class, he stepped over to us and gave more teaching tips in five minutes than I could imagine in my four years of teaching ESL.
This reminded me of the out-of-touch American student advisor in Yokohama, Japan who got completely bent out of shape when I questioned the need for a post-bachelor's degree as a PREREQUISITE for the international educational profession. Their are two things that are essential for international education. International experiences preferably overseas and continued education beyond a undergraduate degree. Mr. "Out-of-Touch" couldn't wrap his head around my need of being practical and not wanting to invest 2-3 years and $30K when I could be working and going to school on the side like it is done in the real world.
Are you one of those messed-up gaijins reading this in Japan? It is time to man up or end up irrelevant. One good thing that has come from this recession is how things are correcting themselves. Government and for-profit English-language programs in Japan are having to revisit the effectiveness of their International
Education Programs (IEP) meaning that the token gaijin in Japan is having to do more with less. Why would you work like that on the other side of the world with nothing guaranteed? Too often, people do not know when to call it quits or will walk away from the industry only to return with disasterous results.
The Divine Wind Vault http://divinewindvault.blogspot.com (C)2006-10
This reminded me of the out-of-touch American student advisor in Yokohama, Japan who got completely bent out of shape when I questioned the need for a post-bachelor's degree as a PREREQUISITE for the international educational profession. Their are two things that are essential for international education. International experiences preferably overseas and continued education beyond a undergraduate degree. Mr. "Out-of-Touch" couldn't wrap his head around my need of being practical and not wanting to invest 2-3 years and $30K when I could be working and going to school on the side like it is done in the real world.
Are you one of those messed-up gaijins reading this in Japan? It is time to man up or end up irrelevant. One good thing that has come from this recession is how things are correcting themselves. Government and for-profit English-language programs in Japan are having to revisit the effectiveness of their International
Education Programs (IEP) meaning that the token gaijin in Japan is having to do more with less. Why would you work like that on the other side of the world with nothing guaranteed? Too often, people do not know when to call it quits or will walk away from the industry only to return with disasterous results.
The Divine Wind Vault http://divinewindvault.blogspot.com (C)2006-10
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