I'm the Grand Cyclopse of Tottori-Klan

Is teaching English in a Japanese jr/high school akin to being in a cult?*

As a soon-to-be ex JET teacher in a Japanese Jr. high, this is a question I have pondered long and hard, but only taken the steps to answer today. A quick googling took me to Steve Alan Hassen's BITE model (BITE stands for Behavior, Information, Thought, and Emotional), which outlines the common methods for mind-control a cult exerts on its members. See for yourself:

* Behavior Control: financial dependence(check), need to ask permission for major decisions(nenkyu battles), individualism discouraged and groupthink prevails, rigid rules and regulations, etc.

* Information Control: access to non-cult sources of information minimized or discouraged(I'm not know how to explain this to you in English), compartimentalization of information, outsider vs insider doctrines, etc.

* Thought Control: adopt "loaded" language (tsss....muzukashii...), thought-stopping techniques (murida!), only good and proper thoughts are encouraged, etc.

* Emotional Control: excessive use of guilt, extremes of emotional highs and lows, phobia indoctrinations.

omoshiroi...


*this post is based on the assumption that 1) majority of English-speaking gaijin in Japan are/were employed as English instructors in some capacity, 2) JP readers care about the plights of these poor souls...