I’m at a JHS this year. Gotta love that three year rule. /s Anyway, this is my first year with these students. I noticed one of the 8th grade girls has many “cuts”, more like deep scrtches to be hoonest, on one of her legs. These are not random, at all. the whole side of her leg from the ankle to above the knee, I’m not about to start oogling an 8th grader so I have no idea if it continues up. These are not random scratches. They are all straight and look to be about the same length. My brother would cut his wrists before he got medical assistance. These look almost identical to those.
THe student is extremely quiet and often has her head down, hiding her face. Whether its from being tired or something else, I don’t know. Hell, it could just be something sports related. I don’t want to anger the colony, as it were. I feel like I should say something to someone but have no clue how to even begin. I’d hate to ignore a potential situation. Am I making sense?
16 comments
Not your place to say/do anything. If you’ve noticed it, I guarantee you other teachers have as well
Is this your first time at a jhs? If so, get used to it. Cutters are sadly almost guaranteed at this level, good school, bad school, rich city, small town, doesn’t matter. There’s nothing you can do about it, other than to be as nice as you can to her without being condescending.
Good that you’re attentive to this and concerned, but do be careful jumping to the conclusion that nothing is being done about it.
As another poster pointed out, it is unfortunately quite common in JHS, but often private consultations are happening with parents and professionals. Source: family experience.
Tell a teacher about it. They probably already know something is up.
Mention it to the JTE or the homeroom teacher if you have a speaking relationship with them. That is the extent of what you can do.
There may be an innocent explanation, or it may be cause for concern. Unfortunately your options are very limited. You can mention something to a teacher, though they are probably aware already. Otherwise simply being kind and friendly to the student may give them some comfort. It’s good you care, but sadly we can’t fix a lot and have to accept that
cutting is a coping mechanism. if that’s what it is. hopefully she’s also getting support and therapy
Tell another teacher your concerns.
Maybe it has already Been noticed But its better to know that You at least Did It.
If you don’t.
Quit as a teacher and never teach again.
The school or the municipality will have specialist counselors. Tell one of them.
What is your Japanese level? I’d almost guarantee you that if you have noticed, other teachers have. There’s bound to be a guidance councilor who comes in at least once a week, I’m sure they’ve at least made the option available.
Speaking about it is up to you and your relationships with other teachers. First, if possible, I’d just be patient and see if she’s being mentioned – hence the Japanese question. If she is, you have no further steps here, as they do know.
Good job noticing and caring about this sort of thing: she’s lucky to have you in the classroom. While it’s possible another teacher may have already noticed, there’s no guarantee of it. Assuming you’re an ALT, what is your level of Japanese? If you feel comfortable, speak to her homeroom teacher about what you noticed. Make sure that you make your concerns clear. If you don’t feel comfortable using your Japanese for this kind of thing, speak with your JTE and ask them to tell the homeroom teacher about what you observed.
As a whole, there is a lot of truth to Japan being behind the curve when it comes to adolescent mental health in schools. At the same time, there are many schools that have worked to have at least some resources available or have some kind of care system in place for these sorts of cases. Even something like a trusted homeroom teacher talking to the student one-on-one can make a big difference, especially if there is something in the classroom causing the self-harm.
Something like this happened at a school I taught at. During a class activity, I spotted long, deep, red razor cuts going up and down the wrists of a popular SHS girl. I hadn’t noticed them before because they were hidden behind a school sweater she always wore. I spoke to the girl’s homeroom teacher and he took it very seriously, taking me to speak with the school manager (who was also a subject teacher for the girl). Both the homeroom teacher and manager started having meetings with the SHS girl (more than one of which ended up with her crying while her teachers listened to and comforted her). The homeroom teacher would update me every couple of weeks and by the time SHS girl graduated she seemed to be doing much better. I know this isn’t what we typically consider self-harm counseling to look like, but it helped her, and that’s what we want as educators.
First point of contact is usually the HRT. You can mention it to him/her and allow them to follow up on it.
Most schools also have a school counselor. You can also share your observations and concerns about the student with them.
In some of the smaller schools, the counselor may be there only one or two days a week.
Like was said, the other teachers have probably already noticed and it’s their job to handle it. Mention it to her HRT or JTE if you want but there probably isn’t any need to.
Treat her like any other kid in the classroom. Don’t single her out or excessively interact with her. But you may be surprised how simple casual compliments on her classwork can motivate her over the course of a year.
Praising their teachers can also motivate them to be kinder and work harder for the students.
*”Hey, daredare-english-sensei, have you… noticed student-san’s injuries? Is it something I should ignore?”*
If the teacher says it is something you should ignore, that probably (hopefully) means that the school is already trying to deal with it and you don’t need to get involved.
Alternatively the teacher might ask what you mean, in which case they probably haven’t noticed.
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This should bring up the idea without really rocking the boat because it gives the teacher the power to control where the conversation goes. They can disclose the information to you or pretend that it’s nothing.
My two cents.
Be prepared to fully explain why you are concerned. This means being transparent about your brother. Then ask what happens if a student turns up to school with similar injures. After you report it to the home room teacher and possibly the nurse, follow up and ask them about it again.
It’s probably a good idea to bring it up with the HRT. I’m not sure what the “scratches” look like or what this student looks like. It could be stretch marks or even an animal scratch from a cat or something.