Japanese Schools: Really that Powerful?

[God of Conquest]

Right now I'm playing the Saki route in Snow Sakura. If you're not familiar with the story, basically I go to live with my cousin and we have a relationship. Kind of like the Nayuki route in Kanon, but with more sex.

Anyway, we just got found out by the vice principal of our school. Because of our inappropriate relationship, he suspended me and sent Saki to live with someone else.

Can schools in Japan really do shit like this? This is an absurd amount of power. Even to mention that sort of relationship, much less punish it, would definitely be seen as overstepping one's bounds in an American school.

[okami55]

I suppose a Vice Principal could do that but the student or his parents could just report him to the Superintendent or school board.

[Guest]

Well they are government re-education camps, they make you ready to become a servile citizen of the State who doesn't think too much or object too much.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/6146298/The-Seven-Lesson-Schoolteacher-John-Taylor-Gatto

Charlotte Iserbyt: The Miseducation of America http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEeq_SEhzRY&feature=g-all-u

[harry_kinomoto]

Thing is, Japan is (in)famous for its ultra-conservative outlook and intolerance for people who stand out. I was surprised when it was mentioned in another thread how the school also tries to enact this - sometimes with rather draconian consequences! Aaeru's statement on schools being "government re-education camps" I assume was pointed towards Western cultures, but it's quite sad that it seems to apply here as well...

A number simply believe [bullying] is teaching the children to not try to stand out, as society tends to geared more towards conformity than Western nation. Thus, there is a culture of fear towards standing out from the norms as that makes one a target of bullying, and since bullying is pervasive even outside of high school, teachers take the attitude that it's just prepping kids to deal with the real world or college. "It can't be helped" is a popular Japanese idiom and gets applied to these situations, where even teachers just accept it as status quo.

So I wouldn't be surprised if schools COULD do that somehow. Even if not with a direct eviction order, it feels like a statement from the school suggesting it will be taken seriously enough such that even if eviction doesn't ensue, something WILL be done about the "problem" in the end.

That being said, who gets the last word on what is actually done? I assume the parents would be the default - but what about in cases where the child is left alone, like, y'know with the parents away on some business trip (as always seems to be the case in VNs or anime)? Does anyone who's familiar with the system there know the answer??

[Saber]

I don't know the specifics of the system in itself, but I believe that it is the same case as many western countries in which the legal guardian (the parents or other guardians) are entitled to the final decision. I might have to ask some of my friends over in Japan though.