Principal apologizes after spanking, injuring student who played with food

The Mainichi Shimbun
November 22, 2006
Source: http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20061122p2a00m0na018000c.html

SANGO, Nara -- An elementary school principal spanked a student as punishment for throwing food around, knocking the youngster to the ground and leaving him with injuries requiring a week's treatment, it has been learned.

The 59-year-old principal from Sango Kita Elementary School and the local education board in Sango have apologized to the boy's family over the incident, saying the principal went too far.

The principal, Kiyoharu Okamoto, has a record of turning around schools in which education of students is difficult, and has written on the psychology of children and teachers. Locally he is known as the "hot-blooded principal."

Education board officials said a teacher saw a student scooping up rice left over from his school meal on Nov. 13 and throwing it toward the ceiling, and reported the incident to the principal.

The following morning when the principal spotted the boy coming to school in front of the school gate he dragged him by the cheek and spanked him between six and eight times. The boy fell over and skinned his leg, and a mark was left where the principal pinched his cheek.

The boy attended classes as normal that day, but when he got home his family, who noticed the injuries, took him to a hospital, where he was told he would need a week's treatment to recover.

The same evening, the principal visited the boy's home and apologized. He reported the incident to the head of the local education board on the morning of Nov. 15.

"Playing with food like a toy was unforgivable, and I strongly thought that I had to warn him," the principal was quoted as saying.

In 1995, Okamoto published a book called "Kodomo no Kokoro to Kyoshi no Kokoro," (Students' minds and teachers' minds). This school year Sango Kita Elementary School was listed by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology as one of nine model schools in Japan for comprehensive learning. (Mainichi)

November 22, 2006