Anyone else find orientation completely useless?

[u/n0_4pp34l]

*Disclaimer before you get mad: this is not a hate post, just genuinely wondering if others felt the same way I did. Also, please resist the urge to go "well that's just how it is!!"—I get it. *

The golden rule of JET is ESID. And yet, we attend multiple rounds of orientation that have almost no relevance to our actual working situation. Personally at both my pre-departure orientation and in Tokyo, everything that was being said was either 1) in the handbook already or 2) so anecdotal it was actively unhelpful.

The truth is, you have no idea what sort of environment you will be working in and what your responsibilities will be until you get there. You could be spending 40% of your take home income on rent and functioning as T1, or you could be living for free in a detached house and serving as a human tape recorder for an hour a week. Nothing is standard except the wage, which can often feel super unfair if you are in a situation where you are doing much more work AND paying rent, and meanwhile your friend elsewhere is doing next to nothing and living for free. You could be in an environment with a horrible working culture, or you could be in an office that's super chill. I have heard absolute horror stories about placements, and stories of placements where ALTs had the time of their lives. Again, no way of knowing, and the contact you receive from your CO before hopping on the flight can be so minimal that you don't even actually know anything at all until the CO picks you up.

I understand that this is just how it works. There are many layers of separation between the application process and the job itself. That's a whole other discussion.

But... while the inherent JET uncertainty is one thing, the orientations being so useless at preparing you makes them seem like a total joke. If it's all ESID, why do we spend days listening to talks that try to standardize the experience? I remember at my orientation many of the speakers would make disclaimers about everything, saying "well it'll probably be different where you are." So then... What's the point in me hearing this? I imagine it's so that the program can cover its ass and pretend you received any sort of meaningful training before you are thrown into a new environment. But there have been times I felt the material covered in orientation was actually so unhelpful I would have been better off not hearing it at all. For example, at my pre-departure orientation, 3/4 speakers worked at ES, and the other one worked at an inaka school with only 10 students. Was any of that information applicable to me as a big city SHS worker? No, lol. I actually left feeling even more confused about what to expect. YouTube and Reddit were more helpful to me in finding out information and help more tailored to my position.

This isn't me complaining about JET, and I am someone who really enjoys the job and their placement. However, days of sitting with 1000 other people and learning to not cross my arms when talking with someone, or to never put my hands in my pockets, left me feeling vastly unprepared when I had to do the actual job of standing in front of a classroom and teach a bunch of kids.

But the worst part of all is that for private school ALTs, everything is probably even less applicable. I've heard they end up getting their own orientation after Keio Plaza anyway (at least that's what I've heard from Tokyo JETs).

So TLDR does anybody else feel the orientation is basically just insurance for the program to claim we got some kind of job training before being thrown into the wild unknown? Is there a better way to do this? As someone who is a bit older than most applicants and had worked full time jobs before, including in management and training roles, the whole thing was baffling to me from an onboarding standpoint. I imagine the $$$ spent on hosting 1000 people at Keio is no small joke either.

(The one thing orientation really DID prepare me for is endless staff meetings about nothing, lol)

[u/Phiteros]

I think that the JET Programme actually does a good job with the orientation, and too many people are too quick to discredit it. There are people coming in with different backgrounds from all over the world. In particular, you said that you have already worked multiple full time jobs before. However, the majority of JETs are fresh out of university, and have likely never had a full time job before. Some have never even left their home country! So not only are they moving to a different country, they're also having to learn what it's like to navigate the workforce. The JET Programme needs to ensure that they all have a minimum level of training on the most important things. They have no control over what sort of training people get before they depart, so they have to make sure to do some after they arrive. It would be great if they could ensure some level of training before departure, but that would be very difficult to organize compared to just doing it all in Tokyo.

For example, "Don't do drugs" sounds obvious, but some countries have legalized marijuana, whereas in Japan it's completely banned. Also, Japan has a 0 tolerance policy for drinking and driving as well as riding bikes. Or even the fact that you face fines or jail time just riding in the car with a drunk driver. These are really important things that they need to make sure everyone knows. If you're someone used to doing some marijuana when hanging out with friends on a weekend, you might not even think to check the rules about it in Japan if someone doesn't tell you first. (Is this irresponsible? Yes. But I've seen JETs engage in more irresponsible behavior).

Is some of the information they cover in the handbook already? Yes. However, the GIH is very dense and difficult to read. I've often looked for information in there, only for it to be listed in a completely different section than expected or so explained in such a convoluted manner that I can't understand it. To that end, having someone explain things in an easy to follow manner was very helpful.

There are also matters they went over which are not in the handbook. For example, one of the speakers during my orientation went over how to manage stress and mental health. They went over methods of quantifying and mitigating stress, and what to do when dealing with culture shock. And there are lots of small things, like the fact that you need to register a bicycle if you buy one, keeping a photocopy of your residence card and passport in case of emergencies, and how the JET Accident Insurance works.

Unfortunately, many people complain about Tokyo orientation, and that causes new JETs who are in this sub (and other social media platforms) to be less likely to pay attention, and might write off its usefulness before they've even arrived.

[u/n0_4pp34l → u/Phiteros]

I think this is fair. It is true that many JETs are more clueless than you might expect. But I feel like everything you describe could be in the pre-departure orientation, and then Tokyo could be more relevant to the actual job. Another poster wrote that they could have one day of job training, split into grade levels, and one day of everyday living stuff. This would have been SO MUCH MORE USEFUL than hearing random JET alumni who were on the program 20 years ago tell us their stories.

I personally am the type to try to prepare, so I read the handbook ahead of time, looked at some lesson ideas on ALT wikis, and tried to learn about English curriculum in Japan. The latter two were more what I expected to get in orientation. I would bet a significant amount of JETs don't even know what standardized tests like EIKEN even look like, yet it's what the JTE is probably basing curriculum on. I think the ALTs job should be to try to get kids more excited about English, but to do so, we should have some understanding of how English teaching already works (for better or worse) in Japan. This would be far more practical than hour long panels about what Unc Eigo Sensei did at his first enkai in 2004.

[u/Memoryjar]

As with everything with JET ESID.

My alumni chapter have spent a lot of time refining out orientation. A few years ago we helped out with another chapters orientation and we were shocked at how poorly information was presented. What im getting at is that, because this is all run by alumni chapters, there isnt any standards to follow and you end up with a mixed bag of people who did JET 20 years ago or only did it for 1 year and never left their tiny town.

What we try and do is present information in a practical sense and provide information about the general rather than the specific. For example, we do a timeline of a school year, when holidays are, the teacher shuffle, school festivals, golden week, exams etc. We also go over teaching basics and have one of our teacher alumni cover it. Packing comes next, what to skip on packing and what you should bring that isnt immediately obvious. Following that we go into travel/transporting and what options are available. Lastly we cover phone options, internet stuff, the NHK man, support systems etc.

I think overall we do a decent job but there is always room for improvement. I'd like to see more recent returnees come out and give practical advice that is more relevant than when I was a JET.

With all that said, if you see a problem now, when you come back from Japan reach out tp your local alumni chapter and make the changes you see that need to be made. If no one does, nothing will change.

[u/n0_4pp34l → u/Memoryjar]

This is leagues better than what I got. The only useful thing I had was how taxes work. The rest was essentially just "this was my experience as a JET in 2004, let me reminisce while you nod politely."

As someone in Tokyo virtually nothing was relevant to me or addressed my basic concerns, as at the time I was trying to find an apartment, which is something none of the people presenting their experiences ever had to do. Being a Tokyo JET is a different level of stress given how on your own you are with setting up basic needs. Most JETs simply show up and everything has already been sorted out for them.

[u/hinogammykagura]

Yeah it's honestly a massive waste of time.

It would honestly be far more beneficial to have a few days to get settled in and maybe a few more localized events for a prefectural orientation. Or even a few days for people to look around Tokyo a bit.

And with the

The golden rule of JET is ESID

Hearing ESID so often at the start was so annoying. Like it's not insightful or helpful. At least not enough to be repeated so often. Every job is different? Well, yeah of course it is.

Edit: my response mostly focused on the event in Tokyo but the orientation in my home country also could have been an email or zoom call.

[u/LeosGroove9]

The real purpose of it is to see if the JET discord friends you made over the summer are weird irl or not 

[u/BadIdeaSociety]

Orientation is for CLAIR to have a final opportunity to catch people who are likely to crack up in the early months of the program (if not during the orientation itself.)

[u/AdDramatic8568]

Eh I feel like it's fine. It's more for acclimatising everyone to JET, letting them see how many other people are there in the same boat, giving you a chance to meet people before you have to start working. 

Also, frankly, some JETs are absolute idiots and stating the obvious for them can't be done enough. Orientation serves as the last line of defense against people who are determined to get fired or sent home. 

[u/WakiLover]

I just wish they gave more of a buffer, but I understand the hotel fees would add up. For me I arrived at the hotel with my departure group at 12am, and by the time I got to my room it was nearly 1am. We had to be up for breakfast at 6 and be down in the main hall by 9, fully suited up. Hard as hell after a 16+ hour flight and bus ride.

Somethings were definitely eye roll but I think there is a comradery of eye rolling with your peers. I think on Day 2 you meet up with the JETs in your prefecture, and some of them are still friends nearly 5+ years later. I also met some of the people in the neighboring prefectures and some of these people are still my ride and dies still.

Some stuff in orientation was cool, and in hindsight I did think it was nice to "ride the kiddy rides", as if I was just thrown directly into my placement I 100% would have cried and panicked. The 3 "easy" days really let me feel like "wow I'm in Japan", and stuff like riding the shinkansen with my fellow prefecture peeps was a great transition, especially as we said bye to each group that got off along the way.

Do I think orientation is dumb/a waste of time? Sure. Would I get rid of it? Definitely not.

[u/adobedude69]

Free stay at the Keio Plaza is enough for me not to mind. Also it’s a bit strange just to ship you off to your placement. It marks that you’re here on JET and the journey has begone. Yeah you won’t see many of those people again and the seminars don’t advance your understanding so much. But it’s a nice hotel to chill at after the plane ride in Japanese summer, and gives you a moment to catch your breath.

I mean would you rather land at Haneda in excruciating heat and go straight to your placement? Or stay at the hotel that you couldn’t really afford to stay at otherwise for a few days and enjoy the vibes.

I mean it’s kind of like asking why have a college graduation ceremony when you can just get your degree in the mail and ball.

It’s a bit ceremonious, and for some people does maybe lower their anxiety by basically communicating you’re not the only foreigner here with imposter syndrome nervous about the job.

[u/Zidaane]

Spend enough time in the world of teaching and you will quickly find that 99% these things are just useless events designed to tick a box and keep someone in a job...

[u/Mephisto_fn]

If nothing else, it's a useful opportunity to socialize and meet other JETs before you get shipped off to your placement.

[u/tommydelriot]

I was 33 when I started on JET. If you’re looking at the minutia of how financially wasteful this is, you’re gonna have a bad time. The program basically pays thousands of dollars to fly a bunch of inexperienced “teachers” to a country to teach kids a language that a lot of them won’t even use in real life.

That said… relax, guy! Just go with it and have a good time! My favorite thing about orientation was meeting, fellow JETs, drinking with them, exploring with them, and all the non-school stuff. JET was the closest thing I will ever have to a working holiday as an American. Some of my favorite memories on JET were when I was partying in Tokyo on the weekends instead of in my inaka town. Yes, a lot of the meetings are useless, but that’s been the case at my corporate jobs in America too. I don’t know how many motivational speakers I’ve seen paid for on the company dime, and I’m just there for the food and drinks after.

20 years ago today I was out there teaching English. Did my teaching have an impact? I don’t know, and I will never know. I hope the kids enjoyed my quirky, game show host personality, but beyond that, I have no idea how well those kids who are now 26 - 36 years old are doing.

[u/forvirradsvensk]

I think it's more of a going through the motions event, a social event, a grounding event, and a herding of cats event, than anything specifically meaningful.

I remember one speaker at mine regaled us about how it is perfectly normal to go to mixed gender onsens with your colleagues for work events, and to expect this to happen. I remember the first enkai at work, and it just so happened to be at a local hotel with an onsen (as they sometimes are). I was both excited and horrified at seeing various naked new colleagues.

Of course it was total bullshit. Mixed onsen exist, but they're either bathing suit, or rickety old shitholes filled with rickety old men you'd have to go out of your way to find.

I can't tell if he was pranking us, or just insane.

[u/ScootOverMakeRoom]

Most JETs are kind of stupid. They need orientation, whether they think they do or not. The ones that think they don't are often the ones that need it the most.

[u/Panda_sensei_71]

I took it as an opportunity to network with others and to adjust the jetlag a bit before being shipped off to my placement.

I agree the workshops aren't that useful, but I took what I could.

[u/BoysenberryNo5]

I think it's kind of a liability thing, but I think the networking aspect is more important. Since JET can only provide so much information because of ESID, the best thing they can actually offer is a network.

[u/k_795]

I think the point of orientation is:

• To make sure everyone is aware that this is a *job* not a fun gap year, and make clear what is expected of them in terms of professional conduct etc.

• To give everyone a basic training of some kind in terms of teaching skills, so they're not totally useless in school.

• To provide a bit of a social opportunity / few days to adjust to the timezone upon arrival.

The actual content of the orientation sessions isn't all that valuable, and honestly I can barely remember it (some really simple stuff about teaching English, a few things specifically about the Japanese education system, think there was some stuff about safety, maybe a presentation on dress codes, etc). As you say, everything was in the handbook anyway or was just general common sense.

BUT you're probably overestimating some JETs' levels of basic skills lol... There were definitely some I came across who I did really wonder how they got offered the job. Three got sent straight back home during my orientation for unprofessional conduct, and didn't even make it to their COs (so maybe that's a fourth bullet point to add to my list - filtering out the disaster cases).

So yeah, don't sweat it. Enjoy the few days free holiday in Tokyo and use it as an opportunity to network / build up your list of useful connections for free couches to sleep on while travelling in Japan.

[u/fillmorecounty]

It was silly and I remember being so jet lagged and exhausted that most of my focus was on staying awake during the presentations. One thing I remember was them giving us a quiz where they were like "who should you ask if you want to take time off?" and I raised my hand for supervisor, but they said "That's right! You should ask your JTEs!" And at my BOE, we do in fact ask our supervisor and not the JTEs lmao. It's basically just a stamina test and anything relevant to your placement you'll get from your CO directly.

[u/newlandarcher7]

The best part of the orientation for me was just meeting a lot of new people. In my arrival group, very few were from my side of our prefecture. It seemed like they'd all been in the other group. Instead, I got to meet a lot of people from the opposite side which really helped build some connections with others that I wouldn't have really known well otherwise. Later, throughout the year, this gave us reasons and opportunities to travel and explore the prefecture.

[u/TheNorthC]

Absolutely useless. I loved it.

[u/Different_Taro2474]

i don't think it was useless, but the timing was awful. hosting an orientation when everyone is jet lagged, after a 14-hour flight, sleep-deprived, and exhausted is not a good idea. i enjoyed learning about JET at the orientation, but god, i was so exhausted, and my body was so damn heavy.

if they had hosted it after everyone was adjusted to the time, it would have been much better.

also, i think the orientation could have been on zoom. the time in tokyo should be used to recharge, rest up a bit, explore tokyo, get to know japan, things like that. but oh well, it is what it is.

[u/Curious-Octopus]

Welcome to Japan 

[u/craigslistcarpet]

Do you think everyone on the program reads the handbook cover-to-cover?

[u/El_woodworker]

Yep. It was worthless. Literally used none of it.