Hi all, hoping for some insight. I’m currently juggling a number of different teaching jobs including solo teaching at a junior-high/high school, teaching English at a college, school holiday English camps and private tutoring. I’m hoping to swap this for a single full time teaching position next academic year, and I’ve got an interview scheduled in Jan for a job which sounds ideal – full time, semi-international school, and teaching English literature as well as language, which is my academic background and first love.
The only thing that’s deterring me is that it’s a Catholic school, and I’m not sure exactly what that signifies in Japan. Western friends with a Catholic school background all have horror stories about abstinence only sex ed, creationism and anti-LGBT, pro-life messaging, and I wouldn’t want to work anywhere that espoused those values in the guise of education.
On the other hand, I have two private students (siblings) who went to a Catholic junior high and high school, and they said most of the staff and students didn’t identify as Catholic, and though they had to attend mass three times a year, and learn about Catholicism in ethics class, the influence was mostly cosmetic, and they went to the school because they/their parents thought it was the best place for them academically. I felt uncomfortable pressing them to say whether they were lectured about things like the topics mentioned above, but I do know from years of acquaintance that they’re socially liberal, accepting, and open minded.
So basically, is the image of Catholic school that I have as a Westener very different from the reality in Japan? Or should I proceed with caution? Is there anything in particular it would be good for me to ask in the interview to suss this out?
Thanks in advance!
19 comments
Catholic schools here aren’t like catholic schools in USA – it’ll be fine mostly just a normal school. They may ask you if you’re catholic in the interview in which case you should lie and say yes. But you won’t be quizzed on Hail Marys or anything
Catholic school in Japan is just a gimmick. Treat it the same as any ither teaching gig
[deleted]
Maybe the one I’ve worked at before? You can DM me the name but generally nothing different about it. You’re not really expected to do anything different although screaming satan 666 lmao wouldn’t really be a good thing in any school anyways
This has always bothered me. So please don’t think I’m attacking you. It’s more of the general attitude of this sub.
I’m a conservative Christian that wants to work in schools like this one in Japan. My selection is already very limited and here you are considering taking a position from someone who would be a better fit to the school’s mission.
I’m not condemning you. If you don’t quite fit the religious school mold then why apply? If you can’t abide by the statement of faith and teach the tenets that the schools wishes to put forth then why apply? There are many other non-religious schools available.
Again, please hear me, I’m not typing with any snark or displeasure. Just a slight level of frustration. Believe what you want but don’t apply to a school that goes against your values so much.
This nearby Takadanobaba by chance?
> Western friends with a Catholic school background
By Western, do you mean the US?
A lot of Christian schools here are not anywhere near the same as in other countries because….
1) they must follow MEXT curriculum or they do not get the perks from that such as students’ access to high school subsidies, or just parents being interested in sending their kids in general
2) Christians here were persecuted historically by the shogunate which might feed into things like many Christian schools being pro-intl, pro-lgbt
3) there are still not enough Christian teachers to staff a whole school so it is unlikely everyone is Christian
You will likely have to go to service with the whole school (once a week? Once a day?) and depending on your contract might have to be on the religion bukai. You likely won’t hear anyone saying gay people are going to hell or evolution is fake. (Or trashing Korea). You might have to lead a prayer in English at the beginning of your class.
Why even worry about this now? You don’t currently have this option. Don’t get ahead of yourself.
I sent my four boys to St. Marys in Tokyo at a huge cost to myself. A huge sex scandal broke out several years after they graduated that included the Brothers, of course. This was a huge concern to the parents and students. The whole thing was stifled for years as the son of a foreign diplomat was involved. You can probably Google it. However, if you are offered a solid contract I would not hesitate to teach there now providing the priests keep it in their pants.
[deleted]
You are like the parody of the bigoted “liberal”. Catholic schools are generally good and would be better off without you.
Does the job listing say that you must be a practicing Catholic? That’s a requirement for most Catholic school teachers in Australia. However students don’t have to be Catholic. I guess about 20% of the students were Catholic, which is about the same as the number of Catholics in Australia. I assume that it would be an even smaller percentage in a Japanese school.
I’m an atheist from an atheist family and I went to a Catholic high school in Australia. We had regular sex ed about reproduction, contraception, STDs etc. and learnt about evolution in science class. There wasn’t anything said about being anti-LGBT or pro-life, however an excellent voice teacher was fired because she was a lesbian. Sadly that is still legal in Australia today.
So uh… Your milage may vary?
Catholic schools are generally pretty chill, even in the west the staff aren’t required to be Catholic. If you’re worried about political leanings, find out if it’s a Jesuit school. Jesuit schools are usually very liberal, even on LGBT issues.
I have taught in Catholic schools for many years. I have also taught in Japan for three years. It’s your journey, however, you are adding two very stressful environments together. I would advise against it.
My child attends a Christian (though not Catholic) school in Japan and the religion seems to mostly “window dressing” or “added interest.” They teach some stories from the Bible, and have prayers, but that’s about it. Basic at no one is Christian— it’s an old school that was founded by a Christian missionary, so that’s why it’s Christian.
I myself attended Catholic school in the US and was worried about my kid attending a religious school. While my Catholic school was not quite as you described— we had excellent science classes, not really any mention of LGBTQ stuff (nothing negative, but also just not really mentioned, but this was in the 90s), and religion largely confined to the one religion class we had to take each semester and monthly masses. That said, I really disliked having a religious message underlying a lot of things, and as a non-Christian it was uncomfortable.
However, our kid’s Christian school was close and had a good reputation. I straight out told the principal that we weren’t Christian when we applied and she laughed and gestured at the temple next door stating the kids pray to Buddha too. And then at the first mass where parents were invited they basically had to explain to everyone the Christian way of praying. So it was clear that basically no one is Christian, people just like the school.
I’m Muslim who wears a hijab and worked at a supposed Catholic school part time. The only Catholic thing is probably the statue of Mary and the daily prayers.
Every reason you listed is a reason why I’d want to teach there. I don’t see what your issue is with conservative institutions.
My image of Catholic schools in Japan is that they’re rather benign. Much like modern Japanese Catholics themselves, they fly under the radar and almost nobody has complaints about them.
From people I’ve met who have attended those schools, theology is not a big part of their curricula and the alumni speak fondly of their school experiences. They’re perhaps a tiny more strict, but it’s not like Sister Maria is going to rap kids over the knuckles for having a skirt half an inch too short. People here tend to send their kids to Catholic schools because they are Christian themselves or because they have a positive image of Catholic schools being polite and scholastic.
>Western friends with a Catholic school background all have horror stories about … creationism
Really? Then that has more to do with those schools than Catholic schools in general. Creationism isn’t part of modern Catholic doctrine. One thing I will say for the Catholic church is that they take science seriously. Perhaps it’s the most scientifically sound of the major religions.
I’m an atheist and if I got an offer from a decent Catholic school in Japan, I’d take it.