This businessman does spread a lot of lies.
I'm posting a rant written not by me, but I do happen to agree with most of it. I think it's pretty typical of the complaints I've had and have heard from just about every teacher who has worked for this employer.
I suggest that anyone looking for a job in Japan read this. It is what you should expect if you work at the school mentioned here, and it is a good indication of working life outside the major cities.
Anyway, here it is. I've highlighted the parts I strongly agree with.
This school has been in operation for over ten years, run by a Japanese husband and wife team named Masakatsu Horiguchi 堀口 政勝（ほりぐち・まさかつ） and Kimiko Horiguchi. 堀口 君子（ほりぐち・きみこ）
Their website is http://www.glc-la.jp/index.html and http://glc-la.sakura.ne.jp/
In Japanese it's 幼児から成人のための語学学校です。教室での授業の他
Gunma Language Center and Gunma Language Academy is NOT doing anything illegal. They are by the books and reputable in the local community. But I think Mr. Horiguchi draws a fine line bordering unethical and exploitive. I think he is very diabolical and has exploiting foreigner teachers new to Japan down to an art form.
The big draw for teaching in Gunma Language Center and Gunma Language Academy is the ¥260,000 salary and the alleged ¥240,000 bonus at the end of your contract. Regarding the bonus, it is supposed to be a rental and airfare reimbursement, but is commonly absorbed in hidden "taxes" that are never made very clear and are only revealed to you at the end of your contract.
The Horiguchis own the apartment complex that all 6 teachers are required to live. I think you are basically paying his mortgage. He charges ¥55,000/month (¥10,000/month over the true value of the apartment). The apartments are large for Japan, BUT they are constructed of the cheapest plastic material, not unlike a big cubical. You will be spending a lot of your salary on heating or air conditioning just to stay comfortable. They come unfurnished except for the very basics (fridge, toaster, stove, vacuum) so you will be spending your entire first salary on a futon, furniture, trash cans, cooking utensils and other essential comforts.
The Horiguchis like to say in their ads for new teachers that the apartment is located only 5 minutes from their GLC branch. This is true, however you will mostly have only one class per day at GLC, or one day per week at GLC. Otherwise you can expect to be driving on average between 2-12 hours/week extra UNPAID just to get to all your classes!!! The nearest other branch, MLA, is 20 minutes away. The furthest class is over 2 hours away (4 hours total drive time there and back).
Teaching schedules tend to be erratic and all over the board, some 9am-6pm, others from 1pm-9:30pm. (To add to this, employees are told they'll only be scheduled from 2pm to 10pm in the contract.) I think Mr. Horiguchi tends to assign light schedules to his favorite teachers and break the backs of the rest of the teachers. There's definitely no balance or flexibility, and I think he does this to cause competition between teachers in hopes of creating a team of kiss-asses. I think he fully expects all teachers to do exactly what he says without question or complaint.
Perhaps the most important thing to know about the schedule is that you MUST work every single Saturday (and Friday night until 10pm), NO exceptions. 6-day work weeks are contractual. Only Sundays off. You might also have to work during the holiday weeks.
The contract also says that one-hour weekly meetings are required, as are participating in Christian-themed Easter and Christmas recitals ON YOUR ONLY DAY OFF, for only 5,000yen, not to mention all that unpaid lesson planning and prep time for the recitals (and the xmas party -- some teachers get really stressed out during these times) in addition to your normal classes.
Want to make extra money tutoring students outside of GLC? Forget it. It's in the contract that you absolutely can not teach outside of GLC. Even private language exchanges are forbidden. If he finds out, then you are in big legal trouble. I think he does this to maintain his monopoly of the local area, and also to keep you hard of cash so that you are dependent solely on him for an income.
Your apartment is located in Gunmamachi, which is the countryside outside of Takasaki. Despite what the ad says, you are NOT anywhere near downtown Takasaki. It's a rare day that you even see that city. The only things you will see on a normal work week are your classroom and the local grocery store. There really is nothing else in the area to do or see in the immediate area. It's GREAT for those who love secluded farm life, and the surrounding mountains and onsen hot springs can be enjoyable, and the air is clean, but again you will only have time for bike rides or excursions on your one single day off.
You are given a car to drive to work (he pays for gas and maintenance but does not pay teachers for the drive time there; (or the time you will spend to have maintenance done on the car) the cars are small compact deathtraps with no airbags or antilock breaks), and you are allowed to use it in your free time, BUT you pay 30¥ per kilometer. That sounds ok to you? Remember that you are totally isolated from the nearest city, with only 2 restaurants and a mall within walking distance. The "Guch Miles" add up HEAVILY. Basically you are forced to drive your car to do anything personal, all at what I think is the total profit of Mr. Horiguchi, and you will see how fast your salary dwindles. ¥600/day (to go eat or shopping) X 365 days is over ¥200,000/year in HIS pocket. Ouch! He even requires you to pick up your monthly salary at a branch 20 minutes away on your time off just so I think he can profit from the extra mileage.
If you are looking for cultural interaction or meeting Japanese people (other than students) or listening to music or looking at art or watching festivals or visiting shrines, THIS AINT THE PLACE. Gunmamachi is far too secluded and barren for any of that. Sundays into Tokyo are doable, but you will wind up exhausted if you factor the 6 hour there-and-back train ride. That only gives you 8 daytime hours in Tokyo.
At GLC, I think it truly doesn't matter how great a teacher you are or how loved by your students you are. If Mr. Horiguchi personally doesn't like you, then I think he will treat you like dirt. One teacher who taught at a company class received a substantial monetary gift from the company for all his hard work. They gave it to Mr. Horiguchi to give to the teacher, but Mr. Horiguchi didn't give it to him. The company later asked the teacher if he got it. The teacher confronted Mr. Horiguchi, who told him he was not allowed to receive gifts from students, and that it should go to Mr. Horiguchi instead.
Most teachers wind up re resentful of Mr. Horiguchi but some strive to please him; one went certifiably insane, collapsed from exhaustion while at work and had to be hospitalized before deported to America. This is no joke. Other teachers have gotten cabin fever because of the isolation and quit.
One teacher who ended his contract early was invited to a school dinner party of 15 people, during which Mr. Horiguchi stood up to make a toast then in front of everyone ripped into the teacher for not honoring his contract and being unreliable. Another teacher wasn't given any time to clean the apartment before going home. Mr. Horiguchi then demanded that teacher pay a ¥20,000 cleaning fee, even though the contract says only ¥2,000.
Very few teachers have anything nice to say about Mr. Horiguchi. He has said to new teachers "You are not in Japan to experience culture or have fun; you are here as an employee of this school and only here to work for us."
My intent is not to personally attack the Horiguchis, but to exercise my right to pass on information and inform prospective teachers of details that are left out of the GLC contract that usually surprise new teachers upon their arrival, such as the promise of a bonus that never materializes; by saying you are in Takasaki when really you are in the sticks; by not informing you of the 6-day work week; and not informing you of the unpaid drive-time.
For those reasons alone, I think prospective teachers should be on guard. There are worse schools in Japan, but I am positive there are better ones as well. All I'm saying is look around more before signing a contract with the Horiguchis at Gunma Language Center.
Good luck!!!
14 comments:
I, too, worked for Mr. Horiguchi. I agree with the statements made by the writer. In addition, I'd like to share a short story. This may seem petty, but I think it speaks to the type of person Mr. Horiguchi is. My washing machine was making a clanking noise and not working properly. Mr. Horiguchi arranged for me to have his friend, a man from the local electrical shop, take a look at it. There happened to be a sock caught between a small basket in the washing machine and the wall of the machine. The electrician new immediately what it was, stuck his arm in the machine, and pulled the sock right out. I had no idea until I received my monthly salary, that I was going to be billed for this visit from the electrician. I don't recall exactly how much it was, but I believe somewhere around $100. The most disturbing piece to me was that Mr. Horiguchi had the electrician "fix" a student's washing machine with the exact same issue six months prior. Couldn't he have asked me to check on whether or not I was having the same issue, rather than having his electrician friend come out to my apartment for some crazy fee...that was simply deducted from my salary? I certainly believe so.
ludicrous
Mr. Horiguchi is a fair employer and to my knowledge he has never charged anyone for repair costs to their apartment.
Be aware that this job requires a certain amount of driving,up to 10hours a week, gas paid for (but time not recompensed), a six day work week, no national holidays (exempting vacations), and the school is not located in central Takasaki. Also make sure to inquire about city taxes, so as not to be taken by surpise.
All this said, GLC is a good company, and allows a greater amount of freedom for the teacher in the classroom than most schools.
There are also many other positive points about GLC.
If you speak to most of the teachers there the only real draw
back is the six day work week.
As far as I am concerned, all the rest is simply a disgruntled teacher's propagandaism.
hey! you should change your blog settings so that your first (and in my opinion most valid) post comes up at the top!
not here to bitch, nor defend, GLC, as everyone will have a different experience there. just wanted to let people know that The Guch fired the teacher he suspected of writing this blog; freedom of expression is one of the many rights lacking at Gunma Language Center.
in a classic twist, however, not only was Guch mistaken about who he thought authored this blog, but the wrongly-fired teacher went to the free Legal Aid for foreigners center in Takasaki, who helped him get Guch to shell out 3-months salary compensation for his early/wrongful termination, per Japan’s own workers-rights laws.
Gunma ain’t so bad though; nice for mountain biking and onsen.
James Underwood here. I'm glad you posted this. I was just checking back in on the GLC and stumbled upon your blog.
Segoi.
James
Don't change a thing! There is nothing in Japanese law that says you can not voice your opinion and experiences on a blog; That law only exists in the mind of The Guch. Plus, if you are international, he'd have to go through the United Nations to get your blog account deleted.
Horiguchi is nonetheless still active in trying to take down all these anti-GLC blogs. He was successful in pulling down the one on Propellor that has attracted a lot of comments, as well as the one on GaijinPot. Guch can be a real bastard when it comes to suppressing opinions.
So keep the GLC posts coming - positive or negative, they are all helpful for prospective teachers!
p.s. The only reason a Gray List does not exist in Japan is because GaijinPot, the largest forum, values ad revenue over truthful posts. It's up to indi blogs like this one to spread the word.
YOU CANT BLAME MISTER HORIGUCHI FOR TRYING TO DELETE ALL THE ANTI-GLC BLOGS! HE HAS WORKED TIRELESSLY FOR DECADES TO BUILD UP THE REPUTATION OF HIS SCHOOL IN THE GUNMA COMMUNITY. HE AND HIS ELDERLY WIFE EVEN HAD A LITTLE COLONIAL SCHOOL-HOUSE CONSTRUCTED, MODELED AFTER ONE SHE ADMIRED IN THE U.S.A. NOW THE ANGRY RANTS OF EX-GLC TEACHERS ARE DESTROYING THEIR REPUTATION...THEY CANT EVEN FIND WHITE PEOPLE TO WORK FOR THEM ANYMORE, SO THEY HAVE TO HIRE FILIPINOS! SO WHILE THESE EX-EMPLOYEES MAY HAVE GRIPES, THEY SHOULDN'T BE AIRING THEIR DIRTY LAUNDRY AT THE EXPENSE OF THE HORIGUCHIS!
Gaijin, that's horsesh*t! read it again: http://artemisfalls.blogspot.com/2008/04/theres-man-goin-round-in-this-town.html
If these complaints were even slightly erroneous, Guch would respond to this blog in kind and refute it point by point. But he knows as well as we all do that these gripes are valid, so he can't refute them, because to do so would be lying, and lying would open up a world of legal hurt for him.
So instead, Guch just tries to get these blogs removed from behind the scenes so that prospective teachers won't know the real deal until after they arrive at GLC and are trapped in Gunma - just the way Guch likes them!
I taught at GLC for a few years and was extremely happy there!
Over time I had ingratiated myself with Horiguchi-san so that I could gain an advantage over the other teachers at GLC. It’s a small school but Horiguchi-san has fashioned it as competitive as any Japanese corporation, playing the teachers off each other, rewarding and punishing as he sees fit. If you understand Japanese society like I do, then you will do well at GLC. The gaijin who come here and complain are the ones who don’t know how competitive this country really is, even in a farm town like Gunmamachi.
The normal number of class hours at GLC is between 20-25 per week, and the drive time (unpaid) averages around 5 hours per week. However by doing favors for Horiguchi-san, over time I was able to wean my classes down to less than 5 hours per week with less than 1 hour driving. Some of these favors included helping GLC get new teachers from the internet (but I wasn’t allowed to tell them about the 6-day work week or unpaid driving), and reporting any teachers who said bad things about him.
Sometimes, as I sat on my patio all day enjoying the sun while all the other teachers were trudging off to their classes, I felt a little guilty. But when I collected my full salary each month, paid for hardly working, the guilt escaped me. I also tricked one of my friends from back home into coming to Japan and working at GLC. He was a little pissed off because I didn’t warn him about the 6-day work week or unpaid driving, and eventually he quit like all the others.
True, GLC is in the middle of nowhere, but for me this is okay; I am a YouTube addict, I like going to karaoke and onsen (especially while the other teachers have to work), so I was never bored in Gunmamachi like most gaijin are.
I also hit on one of my female students till she reluctantly became my girlfriend (Japanese girls are pushovers!), which helped me kill the time. Actually, it’s against GLC rules to date your students, but in my case Horiguchi-san was willing to overlook it.
Tokyo is several hours away by train; the other teachers could never go to Tokyo because they all had to work on Saturdays, but not me ;) However, I don’t like Tokyo; it’s too “hip” a scene for a corduroy and penny-loafers wearing fellow like me. The Tokyo girls never talked to me at the clubs I went to, so I wound up just going to karaoke, which I could have done in Gunma for much cheaper!
It’s true, many teachers leave Gunma Language Center in disgust within a few weeks or months, but none of these gaijin ever understood that in Japan you must go along to get along. There have been many colorful characters to pass through our school: the 2 lesbians; the guy filming a reality TV show about GLC; the boy who trashed his apartment like a rock start after Horiguchi-san fired him; the old guy who wore a kilt to class and did swan dives at the onsen (so rude!); the lady who walked around in her bikini to tease all the sex-starved male teachers here; the weird rock climber prone to temper tantrums; the creep from California who was obsessed with Japanese high school girls; and assortment of alcoholics; and, most famous in GLC, the guy who went clinically crazy from being overworked and had to be institutionalized.
I’ll probably be remembered as “The Guy Who Got Paid For Not Working” and this is one of the reasons why I finally quit GLC. Because instead of having 3 years teaching experience, all I really have is my first year repeated 3 times. Nor can I say that I ever saw or experienced anything memorable in Gunma since all I ever did was sit in my apartment watching YouTube or playing video games.
I feel kind of stupid now, hence this outpouring of my feelings. But besides all that, GLC is a fine place to work for someone like me. Ignore the original poster of this blog; he’s just a disgruntled GLC employee. As for me, I know that if I fail in my own country, I can always return to GLC where I am wanted. Go GLC!!!
I can believe this is true. I worked for a company that did similar things and have heard similar stories. I recommend no one go to work there.
sounds like the horiguchis get off on exploiting foreigners (since we obviously dont have equal rights in japan) to make themselves feel superior.
If you can you should sue these people for exploitation or anything else you can. Even if you loose. Just keep suing till he either changes or gives up and shuts down.
The only reason he is hiring Filipinos is because they are even easier to exploit...
bottom line: mr. Horiguchi is a complete Nazi. i worked/quit there recently, probably would have actually liked it except for him. i think the people writing these pro-Horiguchi comments are his family members, who all happen to work at the school as well (except for his outcast son, who is the apartment janitor, LOL!) which makes it an even more uncomfortable place of employment. basically, not advisable to work at GLC. plenty of other schools in gunma and around japan. good luck!!!
Hey ya, Ben here to set the record straight:
I worked for GLC, great place to work! But here and there, you get your bone-heads comin` in.
Canadian ol` friend relayed to me a new addition came in to GLC, a North American, blond hair guy. She said the guy acts bad to students and gossips about past teachers degrees, negatively.
Shame! But not owner`s fault, they are good people.
I used to work at GLC too. What I did not appreciate was The Guch overcharging the teachers for our apartments at Purunie. He's making a huge profit not just by forcing teachers to live there - but by charging them DOUBLE what the rent should be! Not only that, but he pads the utility bills so you pay way more for than you actual consumed. The final insult is charging the teachers to use the company cars beyond the allotted mileage to get to class, despite the fact that teachers are not compensated for their personal time it takes to drive there (sometimes HOURS!). This kind of heartless exploitation does not inspire much loyalty towards GLC. What it does inspire are endless gripes, grudges and regrets among the teachers, who mostly spend their free time at Purunie bitching about The Guch. If that's the sort of environment you DON'T want to work in, then do as the above person suggested and look elsewhere in Japan for work.
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