Teachers criticized over approach to bullying: Our hands are tied

The Mainichi Shimbun
November 23, 2006
Source: http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/national/news/20061123p2a00m0na009000c.html

Criticism over schools' response to the nationwide bullying crisis, which has resulted in a recent spate of student suicides, has prompted a schoolteacher and vice-principal to speak out about the difficulties of handling such cases and dealing with the bullies' parents.

"Using the word 'bullying' is a last resort," said one teacher in her 30s, working at an elementary school in the Tokyo metropolitan area. "If we make a mistake in our response, we take a beating."

Reprisals from angry parents claiming that the teacher is looking at their son or daughter in an unfavorable light are not uncommon, and rumors about the teacher, spread through e-mail by bullies' mothers are one such cause of concern.

"Bad rumors, like, 'That teacher bullied my child,' and 'That teacher said my child was bad,' are spread around through 'mom-mail,'" the teacher said.

Because of this, even when bullying is suspected, the teachers cannot simply tell a student to stop bullying someone. Instead, they are compelled to use soft suggestions like "Think about the feelings of the other person."

The vice-principal at a public high school in Kanagawa Prefecture said schools are forced to take this softly-softly approach.

"Bullying can lead to legal action, so schools are on edge," the vice-principal said. "Our response has to be cautious."

When bullying is exposed, the teachers write down everything they have found out before contacting the students' parents. They show their findings to the bully's parents and ask them to confirm that the claims are correct. When they agrees that there is no doubt about the claims, only then can the school launch a full-scale response.

After speaking to the bully and having them admit responsibility, teachers make the student write down the facts.

"You never know what kind of counterargument the parents (of the bully) will come up with," the vice-principal explained.

Teachers at the school are instructed not to take on bullying problems alone, but there are some cases in which teachers claim sole jurisdiction over their class and then neglect to report on issues or inform others about problems.

"Cooperation between teachers is an important part of the response, but I guess some of them don't want to bother their co-workers," the principal says. He says teachers like this need to be instructed before any bullying is uncovered.

At the vice-principal's high school, surveys on bullying are carried out several times a year and efforts are made to stamp out bullying and violence.

"It's important to discuss what can be done for the children," the vice-principal says. "But the truth of the matter is that's not happening." (Mainichi)

November 23, 2006