'Experience Shapes Lessons': Transitioning to Academia After a Decade in the Private Sector

I am a part-time lecturer at a private high school, responsible for teaching a set number of classes. I am a teacher who only teaches my specialized subject. Part-time lecturers do not have homeroom responsibilities, but they do have subject-specific classes.

My father was a banker who later became independent and opened a learning academy. Watching him, I wanted to do something similar, working in society first and then becoming a teacher. I actually worked in the private sector for about 10 years.

I currently teach social studies like politics and economics, but the teacher who taught me politics and economics in high school had a huge influence on me. That teacher also worked in the private sector before becoming a teacher and shared a lot of stories from that time. On top of that, they taught according to the textbook, so I gained a lot of knowledge. I wanted to do the same.

I usually take classes that start around 9:30 or 9:45, so before that, I do administrative tasks like punching the time card at school or printing handouts. After that, I usually teach 2 or 3 classes and then leave. Then I prepare for the next class, which involves creating PowerPoint presentations, and this cycle repeats.

When teaching social studies like politics and economics, you have to align with the textbook content, but you also need to give lectures on current political and economic trends. So, the most challenging part is keeping up with real-time news and figuring out how to convey that to the students.

There are two things. One is being able to accurately gauge the difference between my level and the high school students' level. Speaking in a way that high school students can understand was very difficult at first. Even though I understood the concepts in my head, expressing them in words that high school students could grasp was challenging. The second thing is that I have to keep up with daily news, so I basically have the TV on when I get home and check the news online whenever I have free time. It feels like I'm working all day, to be honest, but since I used to work at a securities company, it's become normal for me, so it's not that much of a burden.

It's about how to bring up topics that interest them. I deliberately incorporate topics like manga or dramas that high school students might like. The goal is to have a class that doesn't put them to sleep. If students are sleeping because the class is too boring, I do feel sorry.

It's been my dream since I was little, so I'm really glad I became one. At first, I wasn't confident if it would suit me, so I thought I'd try it for a year. After a year, I found it rewarding and wanted to hone my skills to become a better teacher. Now, in my 5th year, the most joyful moment is when I spend time preparing for a lesson, hoping the students will react positively, and they do.

I think people who are not good at or don't like speaking in public would find it hard to continue this job. I continue this job because I like outputting what I've studied or summarized, and I like talking and outputting using words.

During a politics class, after various discussions, a student became interested and said, 'I've decided to become a politician in the future,' which surprised me. During a court-related class, I mentioned that I occasionally go to court as an observer, and it seems that inspired a group of four girls to actually go and observe. Such cases are rare, so it was very gratifying that my talk sparked their interest and they took action.

Since it's a place where teachers gather, there are many talkative people. So, I have the impression that it's quite lively.

For a part-time lecturer at a private high school, you get paid per class and based on the number of hours worked. Part-time lecturers basically only teach classes, so they don't usually participate in school events. So, you only need to come to school when there are classes. During summer and winter breaks, there are no classes, and if there's a school event in a day, the class might be canceled. So, there are no such days. Even though I work part-time at three different high schools, the total number of classes I have in a year doesn't even reach 100.

In my case, I have young children, so I need to think about what to do when they reach high school age. Depending on the situation, I might switch from part-time to full-time, or I might choose to take on part-time roles at other high schools as a challenge.

The main thing I'm careful about is not causing any trouble within the school. Fortunately, over the past five years, I haven't had any major issues, so I feel confident about renewing my contract next year. However, there's always a risk of not being able to renew if I get into trouble with a student, so that's something I'm wary of.

I wanted to teach content at a certain level, and high school students seemed the best fit for that. I don't have the skills to teach all subjects, so elementary school might not be the best fit for me.

I incorporate a lot of my personal experiences into my teaching. I've worked in the private sector at a securities company and in the HR department of an IT company, so I can incorporate financial and career education aspects into my lessons, which I see as a strength.

I'm leveraging my private sector experience as a selling point, so I'd like to keep one foot in the private sector. I still take on freelance projects from former colleagues during school breaks, but ideally, I'd like to spend a year fully immersed in the private sector, gain new insights, and then return to teaching.

When people think of being a teacher, they often focus on teaching well or interacting well with students. However, I believe that to do these things well, one needs to have a variety of experiences. So, I think it's necessary to gain experience in various fields.