Tuesday, April 28--Career Validation

All of my teacher friends are going to be sooooo jealous!

I have been teaching a Tuesday evening class at a factory in Hon-Atsugi. The class is scheduled to end in a couple weeks, and I have to create an end-of-course assessment. The test must consist of both a written and oral evaluation, and I have to submit it to my boss for approval beforehand. No sweat—teaching third grade gave me plenty of practice creating tests. But never have I ever been paid extra for this. I was stunned to find out that in addition to my regular pay and transportation costs, I will be compensated ¥2000 for making the end-of-course assessment. If it had been April 1, I would have sworn it was some kind of April Fool’s joke.

I don’t know how Japanese teachers are treated here, but the respect and appreciation I have experienced as a foreign instructor have been amazing, and a little overwhelming. And it’s not just in the form of monetary compensation. It’s the bow at the beginning and end of each class at JMSDF. It’s the heartfelt thank you students give at the end of each private lesson. It’s the smiles of gratitude from the mothers of the little ones in my children’s group. It’s the look of admiration I get when I tell a Japanese person my occupation. There were certainly some appreciative students and parents when I was teaching in the States, but overall I didn’t feel my efforts, or those of my fellow teachers, were truly valued, which was hard on the self-esteem. For the first time since earning my teaching certificate, I feel satisfied with, and even proud of, of my choice of profession.