Nova don't believe everything you hear.

A lot has been said about Nova the past few weeks, the English school has been in trouble for various business practices, but find me a major company that hasn't been under fire. It happens. Anywya I'm not here to discuss Nova's business practices but more about teachers that complain about working there.

Firstly I should tell you I worked for Nova for 18 months. The worst thing about working for Nova was one random idiot staff member that ended up joining our school from Australia, England or India depending on who was winning the cricket at the time. This is not Nova's fault though, there is one jerk in every work place no matter which country you are in. The best thing was I was able to turn a simple holiday in Japan into a extended working holiday where I saw most of Japan in 18 months, found my future wife, made some great life long friends and a new place to call home.

But there are those whose experiences aren't so great and are very bitter about their experiences due to various reasons. I would suggest dismissing complaints from the following kinds of people.

- Those that signed the contract and broke the rules and got fired or disciplined. If you don't like what is stipulated in the contract, don't sign it. If you decide to break the rules and get caught, don't whine like a baby, suck it up, you got caught!

- Those that don't like teaching. It's ok to not like teaching, not everyone makes a good teacher or enjoys it. Some people have referred to teaching at Nova like working in a processing plant. Really? Thats teaching, do you think there have been any major developments in maths over the last few years? No? Maths teachers teach the same thing week in and week out, thats teaching, sorry! If you don't like it, don't rip into the school, just accept that this job is not for you, you've learned something about yourself and move on. For some, like myself the enjoyment came out of watching people grow and helping people. You get out what you put in.

- Those that complain about Japanese culture. Again as above, not all cultures will suit you, this has nothing to do with the school. As one person pointed out on their email, if in your home country you live in the country and have never lived in a city before, don't go and choose Tokyo to live in. Perhaps visit a city in your own country first. Vice versa for those that live in cities. I know sometimes you don't have a choice but again don't confuse your personality traits with what happens at the school. Most Japanese companies send people where the needs of the company need them, this is Japanese culture. If you are the kind of person who does not adapt easily then don't go. This is a cultural and personality issue, it has nothing to do with the school.

- Those that say you can't live of the salary. I lived quite comfortably on the salary Nova gave me and I was only working 20 hours a week part time. Sure you can't party out every night but do you do that at home? Japan is quite a cheap country to buy food and drink in, well at least to Australia it is. The truth is that I got to travel all over Japan on my wage, I visited everything I wanted to see plus more.

So why am I sticking up for Nova? I'm not really, but if people are going to complain they should make sure they aren't the source of most of their problems. Read between the lines a little, perhaps write back to people and find out more about their situation. Most of the complaints come down to their personality in the end. Hopefully this will help you sort out the winging from the real complaints.