All Kanagawa PFTs Getting the Axe

An LJ reader has sent us a letter from the Kanagawa BOE stating that all foreign teachers will have to re-apply for their jobs. The reader offers the following comments.
-Shawn

All Kanagawa PFT's are losing their jobs as of March 31st. Ostensibly the reason is that the Kanagawa BOE is having trouble finding enough teachers to fill the positions it has. Also, this "on the job training" stuff is tough. Too difficult for the poor folks at the Kanagawa BOE.

Update February 23, 2006. Interac has been awarded the ALT contract for Kanagawa.

I offer some solutions. Place want ads in the Monday edition of the Japan Times to find more teachers. Last year, the BOE only advertised the positions in some "life-in-Kanagawa" type weekly pulp magazine published only in Japanese. Yeah, that'll get all the native speakers you need to fill the positions!

Next, and this would be difficult, amend the law that limits part timers to a mere 18 hours of work a week. Allowing more hours would let the teachers fill the other positions.

About the troublesome on the job training, the solution is easy: require all PFT's to attend a one day conference where they can be told/taught what exactly it is that is required of them.

I work in three different schools for Kanagawa and team teach with seven different Japanese teachers. At each school and with each teacher I'm expected to teach in a different way, mostly to satisfy the Japanese teacher I work with. How on earth does the Kanagawa BOE expect there to be seamless teaching if it imposes such conditions on the PFT's?

I am, however, clever enough to figure out what I'm expected to do at each school and with each teacher. Someone not as clever as me might screw up. Although how they could is beyond me. The Japanese teacher should and does communicate what is expected.

This just leads me to believe that the new contracting organization (Interac?) had some smooth talking suits approach the BOE and make them a sweet deal, maybe something like this: "If you let us run the PFT's, you'll never have to worry about filling positions and never have to deal with the foreigners again. All this could be yours for a mere ***% percent of the foreigners' salaries."

February 23, 2006

LJ has been given an update from our reader who has provided us copies of his walking papers that show Interac has been awarded the ALT contract for Kanagawa.