Interview Questions/Advice

[wicket]

Actually it's not because of when potential ALTs graduate. They are quite happy for ALTs to wait 6 months after graduation before they start on JET [ask anyone from the antipodes]. JET isn't actually about the ALTs, it's about the COs.
The start of a new school year is an incredibly busy time for all staff, teaching and non-teaching alike. They are planning curriculum, sorting out budgets, organising room spaces, getting to know pupils, moving desks, welcoming new [real] teaching staff etc. etc. etc.
ALT supervisors simply would not have the time to properly welcome an ALT and show them the ropes as well as all the other shit they have to do at the start of the year. Even in Australia I always requested my AJT [assistant Japanese teacher] start at the beginning of 2nd term or beginning of 3rd term [second semester] to make my life easier!

[Ini]

you seem to be confusing CO's with schools there love

[Jiggit]

Wow the COs must be really surprised when the programme which isn't about ALTs dumps a load of ALTs on their doorsteps.

In all seriousness while it's true that it would be a hindrance to have the ALTs there right at the start of the year this would be true if they dumped the ALT there right at the beginning of term in September, which they don't. Setting up an ALT doesn't take that long, especially with a month to do it.

The JET programme states they aim at the recently graduated and they go out of their way to accommodate people who haven't got degrees yet but are likely to receive them. I'm pretty sure they decided a while back that it was best to just bring them over once they'd finished their degrees.

[5850]

Edit: this is.a reply to the post about western start dates by jiggit......


Hun? Like europe west?? Cause in the US or more like Florida, majority of students enter in the fall and graduate in the spring... And you can basically start at the beginning of any semester......

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[Jiggit]

How the f*ck do you enter in Autumn and end in Spring? What do you do for half the year?

[Gizmotech]

Work, masturbate, do more school.

[5850]

Summer vacation.

Pretty much.

[Jiggit]

No matter how much I try to give Americans the benefit of the doubt they persist in presenting themselves as poorly educated fatties.

[Jiggit]

Hey, I'm not the one who started talking about masturbation.

Anyway, didn't the JET programme start in the UK? So it would have fitted with UK term times.

Also I guess even if you graduate in Spring you still wouldn't have time to get everything sorted and get out to Japan for the beginning of the school year, right? Whereas those who graduate in the summer have the lengthy summer/fall holidays straight afterwards.

[5850]

No matter how much I try to give Americans the benefit of the doubt they persist in presenting themselves as poorly educated fatties.

We do have a summer term that people can take. No one ever takes those classes because government loans don't cover any summer semesters. The school is opened all year round. If a student were to take summer classes, they would be able to graduate a year or a year and a half earlier than scheduled. My private school has no summer vacation so we graduate earlier than the state colleges/universities.

[WishfulDreamer]

Summer vacation at my university is three months, not half a year. That gives me plenty of time to study on my own and hold down a job for the summer, not be lazy the entire break.

[Gizmotech]

I had usually mid april (after exams) to end of August as work time. This is 4 months and a couple of weeks. (Technically school isn't done till the end of April, but exams are already finished by then soo....) Gotta love Trimester education

@Jiggit, I didn't talk about it, I mentioned it in passing as a summer pastime among other various activities (Note, didn't say the word again either :P)

[atheistwithfaith]

Hey, I'm not the one who started talking about masturbation.

Anyway, didn't the JET programme start in the UK? So it would have fitted with UK term times.

Also I guess even if you graduate in Spring you still wouldn't have time to get everything sorted and get out to Japan for the beginning of the school year, right? Whereas those who graduate in the summer have the lengthy summer/fall holidays straight afterwards.

The JET Programme didn't start in the UK...

If you are talking about the BET scheme, that's not the same thing as the JET Programme.