Interview
Thom Simmons
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On Professionalism
A significant number of schools in Japan don't require teaching job applicants to
have any formal teaching qualifications. What are your views on this?
Well, what do the conversation schools sell their clients? Do they say their clients will
be taught how to speak and use English or be entertained by a gaijin? My information thus
far is that there is a lot of subterfuge taking place. The agreement between the client
and the agent here must be the deciding factor. After that, the national Labor Standards
Law and the immigration laws and policies are to be obeyed. On the other hand, in an
actual school that is concerned with education and research, the teaching credentials are
paramount at the undergraduate level to be sure. Once the students can communicate in the
foreign language, then the issue shifts to credentials in the specific area being studied.
So if you study French, you need qualified teachers who can teach you how to communicate
in French before you move on to 14th century French literature.
What resources have been beneficial to your professional development as an educator?
Tremendously varied with the classes I teach. JALT in Japan is a good place for language
teachers and others interested in related disciplines. TESOL has branches in other countries
as does IATEFL. JALT is an affiliate of both here and we promote their activities since
they are actively involved in the same goals as JALT
On JALT
How and when did you get involved with JALT? How has JALT helped you as a language
teaching professional?
Back in 1988 I was working with a group of teachers who had a group membership. We went to
the conference in Kobe and that was all she wrote. Great weekend. The conference was good
then and they have improved.
JALT is a college really. You will find your peers there and they will provide the
interaction needed to improve professionally. You will also get to stretch your self and
learn different things. Taking jobs administering JALT's affairs is a great way to get a
more rounded perspective on what the education systems entail. Rather than simply being an
employee who clocks in and clocks out or a member of the audience who pays their fee and
sits in the bleachers, you see the other side of the issue.
What prompted you to get involved in JALT at a national level? What are your goals
for JALT in your term as President?
I have friends in JALT who were working at the national level. I am very team oriented.
Joining them was the natural thing to do.
We have to get JALT up to speed on the responsibilities and the opportunities this new
NPO law has brought to the table. We also need greater visibility and to increase membership
- that is always a priority. For these two reasons, the chapters and the SIGs (Special
Interest Groups) and the publications are day-to-day concerns for the Directors. It is a
big job and the logistics are very complicated at times. The conference is a major part of
any Director's life as well. With all this in mind, keeping people focused and making sure
they get the support they need to do their work is a primary aspect of the President's job.
A lot of teachers, even those who have been in Japan for many years, have never heard
of JALT. What's being done to make JALT more known?
We have advertisements for book fairs, regional conferences, chapter meetings and the annual
conference, the publications are sold in bookstores, there is word of mouth and there is the
occasional article in an English daily but by and large, that sort of exposure, especially
in a population that changes quite a bit, would require an advertising budget that is not
really within our grasp at present.
What do you say to those who comment that they are not getting 'value for money' from
the 10,000 yen annual membership fee?
Nonsense. The publications alone are worth two and a half times the entire membership fee at
the very least. In JALT, you get far more than what you pay for. On the other hand, if they
want something that JALT does not promise, then the question can not really be answered.
JALT is a volunteer organization. Folks who pay their money and expect to be entertained are
missing the point. JALT gives its best value for those who get involved. Onlookers who have
come to be entertained are not going to get the most for their money.
How far do you think should JALT get involved in labor dispute cases such as the
current Gallagher .v. Asahikawa University case?
Involved? That is very ambiguous. I have a question that is more grounded in the context
here: How does this and similar cases concern JALT? JALT can provide, therefore it must
provide a balanced research and debate forum for these issues. There are two sides at the
very least to every issue. We need to be aware of these perspectives and how they affect
language education. The issues are relevant to JALT's mission because they have a profound
effect on the quality as well as the future of language education. It is also important in
that they effect the welfare of Japan -- we are a public interest Non Profit Organization.
This all places it squarely in any professional's portfolio.
Why does it have a profound effect? Simple. If anyone entering the field in Japan is
expected to have an advanced degree and can only expect temporary employment, then the
whole system shuts down. Why enter a field wherein the only professional track is the boot?
Second, temporary laborers who are just picking up a few extra yen to pose as teachers can
not be expected to teach nearly as effectively as those prepared to do so. Japan's government
agencies, families and courts must be committed to a genuine effort to educate their
children and to make sure that there are qualified personnel for continued education
throughout life. Treating these people as unskilled labor good only for hourly wages or
piecework is a tragedy that must not continue. The damage this will do to any nation is
magnified in a small country with few natural resources. Japan's primary resource is its
people -- neglect their education and training and Japan is imperiled. It is essential that
these cases like Asahikawa be discussed openly. Discussion and research into these matters
is within our purview. Beyond that, the matter lies with the courts and the unions.
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