| JET Tales: stories from rural Japan This website is a record of my experiences in the JET Programme as an AET (Assistant English Teacher) in two Japanese public high schools. Part one: the application October came and left a large bowl of cheap candy at my front door: a lean year for trick-or-treaters and still no sign of a JET application form. Yes, I reminded myself that the applications are only mailed out ONCE A YEAR - that once a year being 'near the end of October.' My mailbox continued to yield only junk mail, bills, and the Victoria Secret Season Sales! catalogue (how did I get on that mailing list??). November days began to slide through my dayplanner. And then: 
It came. The 9x12 white envelope with some sort of grass-hand kanji character and
JAPANESE EMBASSY making the
return address corner look so official. This is the first book, along with a
long application form. The booklet gives you an outline of the three different
positions available through the JET Programme [ Assistant Language/English Teacher,
Coordinator of International Relations, and Sports Exchange Advisor ]. The application
packet also includes the application form, two recommendation forms, self-assessment
medical form, proof of enrollment/graduation, and an essay requirement.Ah, the application form. There's a big space available for Teaching Background/ Experience. Blank there. Another big space for Japan-Related Studies - my classes only filled two lines in one of a three-part section. Hmm... More blank space on Study of Japanese language. ..By this point I started to wonder whether I would even qualify as an applicant... International Experience? Well, I lived overseas for several years, then went to boarding school. ...Club activities, other foreign languages, basic job history, etc. Scribble, scribble, scribble. About the section entitled Placement Request. Guided by my Asian studies classes, I picked places whose history or cultural significance interested me. The trick here is to pick places 1)where you would actually like to live, and 2)that you know something about. This requires a little research! Lonely Planet: Japan is a great resource, but that's just one suggestion. The chances are high that you will be asked about your placement request during your interview, so be prepared. If you want to be in one of the major cities (good luck), it might help to request the Prefecture which the city is in, as well as neighboring prefectures. Requesting a city (anything ending with '-shi') may result in your teaching at junior high schools or elementary schools. If you would prefer to teach in high schools, then select only Prefectures (anything ending with '-fu' or '-ken'). Not to depress you, but the whole placement process is very mysterious and unpredictable - you may not actually be placed in any of the places you requested, but then again... you might. The Statement of Purpose essay. That sounds so official and stilted. Blah. Oh, wait - did I just describe my essay?? Why yes I did, which is why I am not going to post it here. I've read the essays of a few other JETs - some are like mine [ pragmatic, solemn, painfully earnest ], others are outrageous, othersare witty and creative. So why bore you? Go find a funny one. The (first) Medical Evaluation form - Self Assessment. It makes sense, really. As a JET, you will probably be 'by yourself' for a long time in a foreign country where you don't speak the language. If you have medical concerns [ as I did ], be forthright about them. I have hip problems, so I mentioned that I would probably do better in a suburban area - no mountain-climbing nor cross-country running for me! [ Of course, I was still placed in the mountains...But it's a two-minute walk to my visit school and a five minute walk to the bus stop for my other school. ] *And if you have/had mental health concerns, really really consider your own capabilities. If you have a tendency toward depression, for example, ask yourself how well you can stand the strain of isolation, alienation, confusion, boredom, apathy, and homesickness - in Japan. Possibly in a big city. Possibly on an island. In a village. Surrounded by rice paddies. Think about it. Oh, and do not put any of this off until the last minute. Get those recommendation forms out to people and back again ASAP. Complete the paperwork. Write your essay. Get it done and mail it off - everything is due back [for U.S. applicants] in THE FIRST WEEK of DECEMBER, so you only have... Well, if you're like me, you don't even have all of November to get this done. [ next part two: the interview ] |
This site is not an official site of the JET Program
but was created by an Assistant Language Teacher [ Kaui MacDonald ]
who served in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan (2001-2003).
Unless otherwise noted, all graphics and content copyright © 2001-2004 Kaui A. MacDonald