Fall 2009 Semester

Just wanted to start a thread where I can share tidbits about my semester.

This is my second day of classes, and as I'm sitting here at my laptop making class rosters in Excel, I've noticed that I've got either a 7th-year senior or a 3rd-year graduate student in my mythology lecture. Either way, I'm not sure how I feel about that...

I read that you taught before, could you explain a bit more on what you do and how you got there?

Thanks for asking. First of all, let me disabuse you of the notion--if that's what you're thinking--that I'm some big-shot professor. ^_^

My job is basically this: I work for a Japanese national university, which means it is among a few elite schools controlled by the Ministry of Education. My school is famous for science and engineering, though it also has decent education and liberal arts programs. Anyway, I am essentially an English teacher. What I do, however, is not necessarily language teach...you know, the whole "repeat after me" thing. What I do is provide for the students (Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Thai, hell, even Indonesian, Pakistani, and Iranian sometimes) general lecture courses in English. These courses are to provide the students with exposure to a full-on English lecture environment, but what to lecture on? Well, that depends on the teacher. Our university requires us to research certain academic topics that appeal to us--that way we get to teach what we like and are happy. It's an awesome job. The university is prestigious, with many foreign students coming to it--even Americans come for a year or two...you know, the anime nerds.

So, what I've been paid to research and teach so far in the last three years is:
* The history of rock
* Rome
* The development of the Western calendar
* English poetry
* Superheroes (really?? whoa... no, what I mean is: why are superheroes such a big deal in American pop culture. Hint: immigrant culture)
* The Beatles
* American country music
* Musicals in film
* Greek mythology
* Medieval thought and worldviews
* Outlaw American literature (great class but very, very subversive... wanna know more? Read this amazing anthology)

but how did you get to work there?

Oops, forgot that question. ^_^
I went to grad school part-time, so when I finally got my Master's after 3 1/2 years of life kicking my ass, I applied for a position at university. Guess how I did that...

Well, I was bagging groceries at a local supermarket (in Japan, customer bag their own groceries), and this white woman started talking to me. Then she happened to mention that she was leaving her job at uni--the one down the street from where I live! So I made up my resume and slipped it under her office door one day. The call came shortly after. And the rest is history. It was that easy....though, Isabelle is morally certain that I got the job because she'd been praying the novena to St. Joseph for me for some time. Truly, Isabelle is the best wife and finest woman a man could ask for.

Wow, you taught some pretty cool subjects and, hosestly, some subjects that I really would not like (American Country Music).  But still, pretty impressive list.

I'm actually not a big fan of country music, but I did it for one reason only: to expose my students to a completely new type of music they'd never heard before, to expose them to an America they'll never see by just visiting California, Seattle, or Hawaii. Country music is a huge part of American culture, whether we enjoy it or not. ^_^ Actually, the history and development of country music is a fascinating study. And besides, I focused on the awesome ones: Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, and the like.

but why in Japan...

Long story, but basically.....America sucks, and the way things stand now, I was right in that assumption. America is a terrible place to live and raise children in. It is the land of the slave. So is Japan, of course, but I, being an American, am left alone by the government, and I can conveniently ignore prevailing cultural, political, and media influences. It doesn't necessarily have to be Japan, but since this place leaves me and mine alone, that is the most important thing. Does that make sense? Non-interference and privacy in my ultra-Catholic, homeschooling ways are essential.

Don't you also have, as a general rule, better job security in Japan as well?
And, yeah, finding a job sucks right now.

Compared to America, yes, we have better job security here. But even now jobs are not impervious to the prevailing global economic climate. I'm not feeling the pinch at all, but many companies who are hiring a new generation of workers are doing so under different conditions: part-time work, no promise of lifetime employment, etc.

Mordwyr:

Compared to America, yes, we have better job security here. But even now jobs are not impervious to the prevailing global economic climate. I'm not feeling the pinch at all,

Historically, education jobs are rather safe from recession. It's why I'm not seeking a higher paying job, you know, here in shitty Michigan.

Lord Bob:

Historically, education jobs are rather safe from recession.

I did not know that.

Things may differ in Japan though.

Private universities, I think, are subject to the vagaries of economics, but national universities seem to be pretty safe. I am, after all, technically an employee of the government... Anyway, the economy is not the problem here--it's the population implosion. Private schools are closing all over the place because there just aren't enough young people.