Director Yui (left) took an arrogant attitude at the parents’ meeting, answering the parent’s opinion with “Yes.”Principal Watanabe (right), who was accused of being irresponsible, did not show up until the entrance ceremony after the new semester due to anxiety.
“Seijo Gakuen” in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo is a prestigious private school established in 1917 that provides integrated education from kindergarten to university.
On March 22nd, in the auditorium of the school, an emergency emergency parent meeting was held for the 3rd grade class X of the elementary school, which is equivalent to an elementary school.
Mr. Yui Yui, who was the head of the entire school until March 31, was the head of the school until March 31. is.
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The agenda of the parents’ meeting is about the replacement of the mid-career teacher, Teacher A (male), who is in charge of Class X. Parents were astonished by the sudden announcement, as the same teacher is in charge of elementary schools from grades 3 to 6. A school official tells the story.
“On April 25th, 2022, a few students, including B from Class X, made a fuss before the start of the “Kaeri no Kai” and did not prepare for leaving school. I warned him, ‘If the teacher comes back and you’re kidding me, I’ll get angry.'”
When Teacher A returned to Class X, only B was unprepared, making noise and lying on the floor.
“Teacher A thought that this would delay the other children leaving school, so she pulled B’s legs out of the classroom and instructed him to return to the classroom when he was ready.” (Same as above)
At this time, B-kun is said to have suffered a scratch on his arm. After returning to the classroom after finishing preparations for leaving school, Mr. B said that he had a bandage put on him at the infirmary, but Mr. A did not actually see the wound.
Two weeks later, Mr. B’s mother, Ms. C, made an inquiry to the school nurse at the infirmary. Teacher A, who learned of her circumstances for the first time, admitted that she had acted inappropriately and called Ms. C to apologize.
“After that, Mr. B went to school as usual, and even on the excursion in June, Mr. A was happily interacting with Mr. A. One of the school’s doctors, Mr. C, submitted a medical certificate for B-kun’s PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) to the school.”
Tomonari Watanabe, the principal of the elementary school, fully accepted Mr. C’s claim that “My son developed PTSD due to teacher A’s corporal punishment.” He ordered Teacher A to submit a letter of apology and verbally issued a severe warning.
On July 11, Ms. C visited the school with her husband and protested to Teacher A and Principal Watanabe for more than 90 minutes.
“B is very confused.”
Mr. C continued to denounce Mr. A while questioning Mr. A, saying, “Am I wrong?”, “Don’t you think so?”
“Mr. C is famous among teachers as a monster parent. When meeting Mr. C, many teachers turn on the recording function of their smartphones in preparation for complaints, and there are many records of that, and it is in elementary schools. It remains.” (School official mentioned above)
And Mr. C, who is also a doctor, said, “I have heard (from a specialized institution) that Teacher A may have memory problems.” Principal Watanabe agreed without defending Teacher A.
“If the homeroom teacher who is entrusting their precious child is suffering from memory problems, (parents) cannot get rid of their uneasiness.”
Teacher A’s “corporal punishment” act was certified as “zero investigation”, but at the meeting of the department heads in the same month, Principal Watanabe’s explanation was vague, so the establishment of a harassment investigation committee within the school was postponed.
But things didn’t end there. Mr. C had two interviews with Chairman Yui (at that time, hereinafter the same).
“Ordinary guardians can’t meet with the president. I think it was possible because Mr. C was the school doctor.” (Guardian of Group X)
Mr. C persistently pressed Mr. Yui to replace Teacher A from Class X’s homeroom teacher.
“Chairman Yui, like Principal Watanabe, promised Mr. C to replace Mr. A without investigating Mr. A.”
Teacher A was asked to be transferred to an “educational research institute”, which was positioned as a “kick-out room” within the school, and to undergo humiliating training at another school. A broken teacher decided to retire at the end of March. Parents of Class X learned about it through their children around March 8th.
“I had heard from the children that Teacher A was angry with Mr. B, but the parents didn’t think it was a big deal, and no one knew that Mr. C was asking for a change of homeroom teacher. Teacher A calmly snuggled up to the children. Everyone in the class was looking forward to the stamps with their portraits stamped in their diaries.” (Parent of Group X)
In fact, two years ago at the school, one teacher quit.
“In the first grade class, there was a child who was making a lot of noise and walking around, and the class was in a state of disintegration. Mr. B was also in the class, and the homeroom teacher and the successor teacher were not able to teach well. Teacher A , trying desperately to rebuild the class.” (Same as above)
Parents who were unconvinced by Teacher A’s retirement requested that Chairman Yui take the podium at the opening four-hour parent meeting.
“However, the parents were enraged by President Yui’s explanation, and at one point almost all of them left. Nearly 100 people came in and demanded that Teacher A withdraw his resignation.”
Parents passed the microphone around and appealed to Chairman Yui.
“Was the ‘excessive act’ really equivalent to corporal punishment? Was there no problem on the child’s side?
“For us, the students and guardians of Class X, Teacher A is our teacher. I can’t keep quiet about being treated like this.”
“My children are panicking and crying because they are retiring.
There was warm applause for his remarks, but President Yui said, “Everyone’s applause is meaningless, isn’t it? It’s the opinion of some parents.”
On March 31, this magazine hit Chairman Yui directly at home.
“(Teacher A’s retirement) I think it’s appropriate. Please contact the school.”
Therefore, when I asked the school about the status of the investigation into Teacher A’s actions, the impact of Mr. C’s protests regarding his retirement, and who made the decision to retire, he replied, “I will refrain from talking about the children, parents, and staff of the school. I will have it.”
Lawyer Daisuke Mori, who is familiar with claim countermeasures, explains.
“I think Mr. C’s case is highly likely to be a monster parent. However, it seems that the school’s response seems to be the problem. How many times did Teacher A warn the children? I think it is necessary to make a comprehensive judgment, such as the time when the child did not follow it, whether another response could have been made, etc. Changing the homeroom teacher in a way that panders to the monster parent is the right of personnel affairs. I think it’s abusive, and there’s a high possibility that asking someone to move to the ‘ejection room’ falls under power harassment to force them to retire.”
I tried to interview teacher A through a person concerned, but there was a letter of refusal.
When I called Mr. C, he replied, “I can’t answer because I leave it to the lawyer, but when you write, please be sure to write fairly.”
The petition to withdraw teacher A’s retirement has spread from guardians to alumni of the school, and more than 400 signatures have been received.
( Weekly FLASH April 25, 2023 issue )
