Why I have the teacher's dream job

With all the negativity for teachers in the media and the bleak outlook across the US. I can't express enough how truly blessed I am to be working at MeySen Academy. I know many friends thought I was crazy for going back to this job after all those earthquakes but when a school really takes care of you both as a professional teacher and as a person its hard to not want to come back to them.What jobs can you think of that would drive you up to a military base on their own dime and also pay for your stay in a hotel if needed after the earthquakes.

Since being back, I have started taking Japanese lessons at the international center. It was here that I really noticed how well I had it. During orientation they talked about the services they provided and people were giving testimonials about what they had to do in the earthquake. So many were with little to no food, and were cramped into shelters with hundreds to thousands of people they didn't know. Some of these people came over just like me to teach and work. In the few days I was in Sendai after the earthquake, I never had to worry about where I'd sleep or if I would eat. We had it so well given the circumstances.


I know many people are graduating and looking into the teaching field and starting to look internationally. Though every job has its own issues I want to share why i think I have a teachers dream job:

• We have 3 hours of planning time and  teach 2 hours a day
• Daily lesson plans can be very generic and generally are pretty easy to get into a routine of
• Your curriculum maps are done for you. There are no real committees to be on outside of your grade level meetings once in a while. 
• The school is tuition based and there is very little out of pocket cost for supplies
• The School is beautiful. There are constantly people cleaning something. They even have people rake the stones in the playground to make it look nice every day. 
• It is literally the best playground I have ever seen and you are expected to play with your kids at recess
• Many of your coworkers seem more like family than just someone you work with. We basically live in our own English speaking world 6 days a week. 
• The kids are generally great. You always have your kids that like to mess around but generally come from a stable background.
• The school takes care of all the Japanese paperwork and has an assistant that can translate and take you to doctors, immigration, etc. 
• The immersion program is adding a new grade every year for the next 2 years so they are guaranteed to need more teachers. Also, many American teachers only come for a year or two so there are always jobs need to be filled. It provides great job security for someone wanting to stay here.
• The salary and incentives are very comparable to some tenured US teaching jobs. 

I could go on in so many different directions. Of course, there are draw backs such as moving to a new country, earthquakes, etc. Things can also get mundane and stressful at others just like any other job. Its also tough to be away from family and friends especially missing out on events you cant afford to make it home for (like a best friends wedding). I didn't mean for this to be a recruiting tool but if your interested let me know.