In early June, Dagbladet wrote about the 12-year-old boy who had a sad end to the school year at Kjørbekkhøgda school in Skien.
On Thursday 2 June, the seventh grade was to graduate from school, and the 12-year-old had been looking forward to receiving a diploma.
“Step Clown”
The disappointment was therefore great when the boy was called up on stage to receive a nonsense diploma entitled “The Clown of the Step”.
– He tried to keep the mask on, and should not show that he was sorry. But we noticed it, the boy’s father told Dagbladet.
STEP CLOWN: The 12-year-old received a diploma with “step clown”, even though according to his father he does not fit that description at all. Photo: Private
sea view
There were three others of foreign origin from the same stage who also received a diploma with “Step Clown”. Dagbladet has seen their diplomas.
A girl with a foreign background received a diploma with “The Step Sheep”.
– Worst you can say
The father reacted strongly to what he believes was racism:
– In our culture, the worst thing you can say to someone. Why do only the three foreigners get customs names? Some got the pianist of the year, the football player of the year and the smartest of the year. Why was it not a customs name for everyone?
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The father could tell about tough days after the incident, where the 12-year-old has been down as a result of the incident.
That same evening, when he was going to bed, he said: “Dad, do you think I will forget this day? I get embarrassed when others laugh at me in front of the family.
Following the incident, the boy has refused to return to school. The family’s GP has issued a doctor’s statement so the 12-year-old will not have to show up for the rest of the school year.
Receives refs from the state administrator
The principal at the school has lain down after the incident, which he describes as a miss that does not represent what Kjørbekkhøgda stands for as a multicultural school.
– We are of course sorry for this. We apologize, as we apologized to the family the same day – and the day after, he told Dagbladet.
Alarms about weekend drinking
Following the incident, the father chose to report the school to the state administrator in Vestfold and Telemark. Now the state administrator criticizes Kjørbekkhøgda school’s follow-up of the case.
sea view
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In its response to the State Administrator, the school has made it clear that they intend to apologize to the 12-year-old as soon as the boy is back at school. This does not mean that the state administrator holds:
– The way the measures are formulated, all the measures depend on the 12-year-old returning to school. The boy does not want this, and both the guardian and the doctor think that this is not in his best interests, they write.
– Have not heard the child
In a decision made on 15 June, the state administrator concludes that the school has violated its duty to do something to ensure that the student is well.
– The school has not investigated the case sufficiently. The school has not put in place suitable and sufficient measures. The school has not heard the child until the measures have been implemented. The school has not assessed the child’s best interests to a sufficient degree.
As the student finishes school at Kjørbekkhøgda school for the summer holidays, the school does not receive any order points.
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The 12-year-old’s family will thank the state administrator for the decision.
– That’s a good thing. Many people do not know where to go if something happens to their children. Even though this was painful and heavy for us, more people now know what the state administrator can do, the boy’s father tells Dagbladet.
However, he does not believe that the decision is enough, and calls for measures at the school so that it does not happen again.
– If we knew about the possibility of submitting a 9A form, we could have done something sooner. Now we know that a child who goes to school in Norway has the right to complain at school and tell their own opinion, he says.
– Someone listened
The father says that the 12-year-old felt as if one should be lifted off his shoulders when he came out of the state administrator’s office, where the boy had been allowed to tell his own experience of the case.
– Someone was listening, he says.
Death near by toothache: – Scary
On social media, there have been very divided opinions about the case.
In a comment written by debate leader Heidi Erikssen at local newspapers Vardenshe asks whether adults who read the case should sit in front of the screen and consider whether a 12-year-old should have the right to feel violated or not.
“It may well be that the diploma was not meant to hurt, but it was obviously perceived that way. The “clown of the class or step” is not a positive characteristic. And a 12-year-old has become so sad that he has stayed home in the last weeks of the school year “, she writes.
– Racism and bullying
The boy’s father thinks many do not know what is behind the case, and asks people not to prejudge without knowing the details.
– It was simply racism and bullying for us, he says.
In recent weeks, the boy’s family has spent time getting him in a better mood. They have recently been two days in Oslo and visited the places the 12-year-old likes.
– He has also been a bit in training. I hope it gets better and better. He is a very strong boy, but a 12-year-old should not experience anything like that. We as parents will stand with him in the future, says the father.
– Do I want to forget this day, Dad?
He would also like to thank those who have shown support for the family after the previous article.
– There are many who have contacted us after the case was in the newspaper. There are also many famous people who support us, he says.
The principal at Kjørbekkhøgda school, Jostein Bendiksen, has had the opportunity to comment on this article.
– We have apologized to the family, and work seriously and well with all agencies and everyone involved. At the same time, we want to look ahead and ensure that no one will experience something like this again, he says to Dagbladet.
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