[Eorzea]

I actually plan to make a topic about public schools in Japan at some point and talk about things I have witnessed while working at junior high schools, but feel free to read this article in the meantime for an idea of what often takes place. It's not at all rare; it happens all the time and it sickens me. If a teacher ever touched my kid like this I would kill him/her. What makes it worse is how it gets covered up, how reluctant Japanese people are to speak up or take action against it when they know it's wrong and/or a teacher is going/has gone overboard, etc.

Quote

NAGASAKI — A 14-year-old boy at a public junior high school in Saikai City had his rib fractured last month after a teacher kneed him in the back, and the principal of the school was discovered to have attempted to keep the incident quiet by asking the parents to say it was just a bruise, it was learned on Monday.

According to the Saikai City Board of Education, the second grade student was told by a 33-year-old male mathematics teacher during class on Feb 8 to tuck his shirt in. The boy didn’t obey and the teacher slapped him in his face several times, before kneeing him in the back twice. The boy complained to his mother of back pain that night and they went to a hospital the next day, where he was diagnosed with a fractured rib and was told it would take several weeks to heal.

The principal and the teacher visited the student’s home on Feb 9 to apologize for the incident, and the principal visited the home again on Feb 10 and asked the boy’s mother if she wouldn’t mind saying it was just a bruise. The mother agreed but retracted later in the day after another parent called her saying she had heard her son’s rib was broken. The mother then told the principal that she wouldn’t lie about it.

The principal said of his actions: “I wasn’t trying to protect the teacher; I was thinking about the impact it would have on the student concerned and those taking entrance exams. It was a rash decision and I regret it now.”

A member of the Saikai City Board of Education condemned the teacher and the principal’s behavior, saying they would hold a meeting to discuss what action they would take.

Source



I still love Japan, but this is one thing that I simply can't tolerate.

[Cid]

Wow...
That teacher would suddenly find himself in a parking lot facing a big angry white guy with a bat if he touched my kid.

He better watch out or the Yakuza will be breaking down his door before long!

This post has been edited by Cid: Mar 9, 2010 - 8:27 AM

[Quinn]

Thats just horrible to think of and when the principle trys to cover it up?? Thats madness I'd hire a big strong guy to beat the hell out of the teacher for laying a finger on a child thats not his own let alone break his rib

Thats discusting that they tried to cover it up i'd sack them both and make sure they never worked with children again.

[Momotaru]

Hm, at first I was thinking highschool students, and thought it might be alright to rough them up a bit.. but Second Graders? Inexcusable!


Haha, love the emoticon you attached after the article XD .. Incredibly inappropriate, but hilarious.

[Eorzea]

Haha, thank you.

Keep in mind that the student was a second grader in junior high school. In other words, 8th grade. But still, I don't find any such abuse/punishment of students acceptable.

[Momotaru]

That's still under developed.. Poor kid.

Yeh, I agree with you. Actual injury befell this student, so that must have been some assault. The teacher should definitely lose his job, and probably face some serious charges.


Heh, there was a teacher I had in highschool who would occasionally launch chalk or chalkboard erasers at us if we were misbehaving or not paying attention.. Everyone liked him though, so it's not as though he was abusive.

[Apricoth]

That's a bit disturbing. I assume this kind of stuff happens a great deal though - with slapping, knuckle smacking with a switch, etc - in Japan, doesn't it? Or do they usually handle misbehaving children in a different fashion?