Re: Disturbing Questions about Yamaku
Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2013 10:27 pm
Fyn, I think you're overestimating the severity of the students' medical status. If there was any real danger to any of their health, they would still be in hospital. Given that they have all been released from professional care at some point (or were never in need of it in the first place, for people such as Lilly or Shizune), one must understand that this means their health is no longer a concern. Yes, they still have their conditions, and yes, some of them require certain medical treatments such as pills, but no, they are not in danger.
Allow me to give you an example. About a year ago, my father was diagnosed with Hemachromatosis; that is, an excess of iron absorption by the blood. He was in hospital for a short time while he had blood drawn out to lower the iron concentration, but was released once his levels returned to normal. Now he needs to watch his diet, to ensure he doesn't eat too much high-iron food, and get a check up to test his iron levels every so often, but other than that he requires no further medical attention. My dad is a grown man, and he can look after himself. This is the philosophy at work at Yamaku.
As I mentioned, if any of them were in any real danger they would still be in hospital. As it stands, they are past a treatment stage and onto a maintenance stage, so to speak. Do you expect a fully grown adult with Long-QT Syndrome to have to be under constant medical watch? Or someone who is blind, deaf-mute, or an amputee? The answer here should be no. The purpose of Yamaku Academy is twofold; firstly, to provide a normal highschool education, and secondly, to prepare medically-challenged students for life as an indepedant adult. To constantly helicopter students as you expect would be counter-productive to these purposes. Once again, they are not in any immediate danger.
The issue runs a little deeper with Hanako, and possibly other unmentioned students, because psychological afflictions are not so easily cured. However, at no point does the VN suggest that Hanako is on suicide-watch at all. Yes, she has a therapist, but being under psychiatric care does not equate to being under suicide watch. My mum sees a therapist every so often (biweekly, I think). She is about as far from suicidal as you can get. She suffers from severe anxiety, much the same as Hanako does (sans the horrific burns and related traumatic event). She does not need constant surveillance either, because she is an independant adult and is not in any immediate danger.
Remember, Yamaku is first and foremost a school. Not a hospital. They admit students, not patients. The only difference is that the nursing staff is somewhat larger than a traditional highschool, and certain leniencies are taken into consideration.
Oh, and for what it's worth, disabled schools aren't nearly as uncommon as your anecdote suggests, especially in a country as densely populated as Japan. For instance, I know of a college for the deaf a short train ride from my university. It admits students from kindergarten to 12th grade. As a non-attendee, I can't speak for how the school runs, but I know there are around 80-100 students in attendance. And this is just deaf students. I find it entirely plausible that a school catering to a much larger and much less specific student body could and would exist.
That should cover everything you've taken issue with thus far. I'm all for intelligent discussions, but it seems to me that you're stirring the pot for no reason other than to stir the pot. You said yourself this was a pointless conversation; if so, why start it? I hate to throw the word around, but my troll-sense is tingling. Prove it wrong, Fyn, prove it wrong.
Allow me to give you an example. About a year ago, my father was diagnosed with Hemachromatosis; that is, an excess of iron absorption by the blood. He was in hospital for a short time while he had blood drawn out to lower the iron concentration, but was released once his levels returned to normal. Now he needs to watch his diet, to ensure he doesn't eat too much high-iron food, and get a check up to test his iron levels every so often, but other than that he requires no further medical attention. My dad is a grown man, and he can look after himself. This is the philosophy at work at Yamaku.
As I mentioned, if any of them were in any real danger they would still be in hospital. As it stands, they are past a treatment stage and onto a maintenance stage, so to speak. Do you expect a fully grown adult with Long-QT Syndrome to have to be under constant medical watch? Or someone who is blind, deaf-mute, or an amputee? The answer here should be no. The purpose of Yamaku Academy is twofold; firstly, to provide a normal highschool education, and secondly, to prepare medically-challenged students for life as an indepedant adult. To constantly helicopter students as you expect would be counter-productive to these purposes. Once again, they are not in any immediate danger.
The issue runs a little deeper with Hanako, and possibly other unmentioned students, because psychological afflictions are not so easily cured. However, at no point does the VN suggest that Hanako is on suicide-watch at all. Yes, she has a therapist, but being under psychiatric care does not equate to being under suicide watch. My mum sees a therapist every so often (biweekly, I think). She is about as far from suicidal as you can get. She suffers from severe anxiety, much the same as Hanako does (sans the horrific burns and related traumatic event). She does not need constant surveillance either, because she is an independant adult and is not in any immediate danger.
Remember, Yamaku is first and foremost a school. Not a hospital. They admit students, not patients. The only difference is that the nursing staff is somewhat larger than a traditional highschool, and certain leniencies are taken into consideration.
Oh, and for what it's worth, disabled schools aren't nearly as uncommon as your anecdote suggests, especially in a country as densely populated as Japan. For instance, I know of a college for the deaf a short train ride from my university. It admits students from kindergarten to 12th grade. As a non-attendee, I can't speak for how the school runs, but I know there are around 80-100 students in attendance. And this is just deaf students. I find it entirely plausible that a school catering to a much larger and much less specific student body could and would exist.
That should cover everything you've taken issue with thus far. I'm all for intelligent discussions, but it seems to me that you're stirring the pot for no reason other than to stir the pot. You said yourself this was a pointless conversation; if so, why start it? I hate to throw the word around, but my troll-sense is tingling. Prove it wrong, Fyn, prove it wrong.
And the invisible box is discovered in Hanako's route. All you gotta do is 
