How's This for Zero Tolerance?

The Japanese have definitely got the Americans beaten on cruel and unusual punishment of schoolchildren:

[T]he boy was taken to the staff room of the school in Fukuoka City, southern Japan, after being caught asleep during a lesson. The 40-year-old male teacher handed the boy a box-cutter and paper and told him to write an apology in blood.

The teacher left the student, who then cut his finger and began to write an apology using his own blood.

Comments

[Julian Sanchez]

You know, for all we kvetch about the American school system, it's pretty certain that if this had happened here, the teacher would've been tossed so fast that his ass would crack the curb when he landed. The really amazing thing is that the guy appears to have been put right back in the classroom.

[Evan Williams]

Julian, that has little to do with the quality of our school system, and much to do with the accepted social mores of our country vs. those of Japan. I just wanted to stop you before you went too far in praising our schools.

[Kraorh]

This reminds me of that scene in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, when Ms. Umbridge has him write into the skin of his hand, "I will not tell lies." Insane to think that it would happen in real life, even in Japan.

[Syd Henderson]

I wonder what the punishment is for talking in class?

[Czar]

Whatever happened to the classic Japanese punishment of having to hold buckets full of water in the hallway?

[Andrew Lynch]

This story is soooooo cool. Thanks, Hanah!

[Skeptikos]

Homo sapiens

NOUN: The modern species of humans, the only extant species of the primate family Hominidae.
ETYMOLOGY: New Latin Hom sapins, species name : Latin hom, man + Latin sapins, wise, rational, present participle of sapere, to be wise.

http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entries/99/h0259900.html

I think we need a new name, after consulting with my old friend H. Duck, "absque capillus primate", or hairless ape.

[thoreau]

This type of punishment should be reserved for only the most serious crimes, like giving a ride home to an underage friend so he/she doesn't drive drunk!

[xray]

Also to giving a midol to a friend in school or sharing your asthma inhaler.

[fredH]

At least he wasn't ordered to commit ritual suicide, so I guess they've made some progress.

[JD]

Yikes. As a Japanese friend of mine commented the other day, if you don't let people have guns, they just get more creative with their violence.

[Ruthless]

And to think I used to be rattled by the phrase, "taught to the tune of a hickory stick," from the old song, "School Days... School Days."

[thoreau]

Hmm, the kid used a boxcutter knife to write the apology. Isn't that a zero-tolerance violation?

Time to cut his fingers and write another apology!

[Trey]

I have a vision of Bart Simpson writing on a black-board dripping in blood, "I will not pass out before I'm done" over and over again.

[blumph]

Larry A makes a good point... how come the Daily Brickbats never get blogged as well? They may just be a short article, but they're usually at least marginally comment-provoking.

[Count Vladimir]

I think this practice is perfectly acceptable and should be common. It vould save the vaste of ink pens.

[Larry A]

[Julian, that has little to do with the quality of our school system, and much to do with the accepted social mores of our country vs. those of Japan. I just wanted to stop you before you went too far in praising our schools.]

Amen.

What?s the big deal? At least the student was responding to teacher-controlled discipline that only cost him a little blood and humiliation. It?s not like another (armed) student assaulted him, burned his hair off, and the school administration expelled him to ?solve? the problem.

(See the Brickbat for 6/22.)