Bullying at elementary school in Nara City was recognized as a serious situation, teacher wrote “HANAMARU” in the description that implied suicide

2 comments

1. A female student at an elementary school in Nara City was found to have been bullied and was in serious situation. The child’s homeroom teacher had returned a note implying suicide with a “Hanamaru” mark on it.

   According to the Nara City Board of Education, a female student in the third grade at the elementary school was bullied by her classmates from last year to last year, including being kicked in the leg and injuring herself.

   In June 2022, a female student submitted a note to her then homeroom teacher stating, “I wish I would die,” to which the teacher added a “hanamaru” and wrote, “You can do it!” and returned it to the girl.

   The girl was later diagnosed with stress disorder, and her symptoms continue to this day.

   The city plans to release an investigation report by the end of December.

2. It’s clear from the video that the teacher wrote, “You can do it! ファイト！” Which suggests to me that the “You can do it!” was meant in the がんばれ！ sense. Further, the “I should just die,” was not in a note to the teacher. It was one line in a longer composition written in the student’s *notebook*, which was regularly turned in to the teacher for feedback. The article notes that the student *alluded* to suicide, which means the phrase was but one part of the whole composition.

   Which is not to say the teacher’s response was perfect, and the school certainly thinks it was not appropriate. But there’s a big difference between:

   Student: (giving note to teacher) I wish I was dead.

   Teacher: You can do it!

   and

   Student: (in one part of full page daily essay) I struggle sometimes and when it gets bad I wish I was dead, but still try to do my best everyday.

   Teacher: You can do it! Fight!

   The latter is a made-up example, because neither article nor video provide the full context of the student’s comment. But the way the story is being presented is clearly more inflammatory than the reality.