It is always a shock to see empty space where until very recently an venerable tree had spread its boughs. That is the sight that greeted me as I headed up the slope towards the part-time lecturers' staff room on my first day back at college for the start of the Autumn Term.
The empty space was a moment of clarity, as I shall explain.
Incredible as it may seem, this is my 21st year of teaching as a part-time lecturer at the said college. It has served me well, as this teaching gig was a constant source of income during my daughter's childhood. For twenty years that ancient tree showered me with leaves, twigs, nuts and raindrops as I toiled up and down those steps. In the late spring term it also provided some shade against the unforgiving rays of the sun.
Of course, I barely gave it a thought, but I suppose it must be almost as old as the college campus itself judging from the girth of the trunk.
A College Struggling with Dwindling Numbers
For the last decade at least, probably more, the college has been struggling against a downward spiral caused firstly by the declining birthrate in Japan, and secondly by the fierce competition for female students by a couple of other bigger and more business-savvy women's colleges in the prefecture.
That leads in turn to a decline in the average ability of those who are admitted. There are still plenty of bright sparks, but also plenty of what I refer to as "bums on seats."
It is now a fairly common event for me to be offered five classes for each term only to be told that a couple of the first-year ones are shutting down due to a lack of students, which in turn is due to a "lower than expected" intake of freshers, which in turn is due to, let's face it, the perennial incompetence of the marketing arm of the college.
To their credit, they pay me for three or four of the classes as a kind of compensation. So I get money-for-nothing and some extra free time to enjoy!
Until this year, however, I have always had at least one class of first years, which I feel is important to build the relationship that will grow over the next couple of years as I also teach second and third-year courses.
This year, I have taught just ONE first year student, a scatterbrained specimen who is supposed to be on the "elite" course and therefore the class cannot be cancelled.
Happily, my second and third year students are some of the funniest and most engaged students I have taught at the said college for a long time.
To Renew Or Not To Renew?
Last week, I was offered some classes again for the next academic year, just four, none for first years, with an ambiguous note about one of the classes being shut down in 2024 due to "curriculum changes."
In short, the slide continues.
So now that (1) my daughter is an adult and (2) I don't know any first years, and also (3) my online business is showing signs of life... (paying me in bouyant dollars and promising Bitcoin rather than in flaccid yen) I have been thinking about NOT renewing the contract...
It would be a big step towards striking out on the "digital nomad" life that I have been dreaming of for a while.
The Pros and Cons
The Opportunity: I can potentially earn more money and more easily from online business than from another year of classroom teaching at a college in decline...
The Fear: I fail to make sufficient profit and so am left with the double whammy of falling yen and rising prices. Yup, Japan is no longer the golden goose it once was for layabout gaijin "teachers"! I've had a good innings, mind you, but these days, it is much sweeter when dollar-based commissions land in my Japanese bank account, pleasantly surprising me with more yen than my outdated calculations had anticipated!
The Dodge: Okay, even if the online business doesn't work out, by cutting my monthly pound-cost-averaging investment and picking up a private gig or two I can probably make up for any slack...
The Double Dodge: If I were to accept the offer of another year, I would not be surprised if some of those classes I have been offered will attract to few students for them to continue, which would mean I'd earn 3-4 weeks of class pay for nothing. He, he!
The Moment of Clarity
So it was that when I headed up the slope past the library, I was suddenly confronted by the shocking emptiness where the old tree had been, and after the shock, there it was, the moment of clarity, the knowledge that now is the time to move on if I am not to perish there.
Indeed, the case of a felled tree is better than that of a fallen teacher:
For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.
Though the root thereof wax old in the earth, and the stock thereof die in the ground;
Yet through the scent of water it will bud, and bring forth boughs like a plant.
But man dieth and wasteth away: yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?
Job 14: 7-10
It is time, therefore, to cease wasting away and to answer the call that I heard in the fall...
Cheers!
DH
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