"Elementary School Homeroom Teacher Places Air Freshener in Classroom... Parents Complain It Lowers Children's Self-Esteem"

"Better Than Saying It Smells" Netizens Point Out
"Self-Esteem Has Nothing to Do with Deodorant" Criticism Also Raised

A parent of an elementary school student wrote a complaint about their homeroom teacher, sparking mixed reactions among netizens. Identifying themselves as a parent, Mr. A asked for opinions on an online community on the 12th, saying, "The homeroom teacher of the upper elementary grades brought deodorant spray into the classroom. What do you think about this?" In the post, Mr. A expressed frustration, saying, "They said to spray it whenever the kids sweat, especially the boys. It feels like it unnecessarily lowers the kids' self-esteem."

A post expressing dissatisfaction with a homeroom teacher by a parent of an elementary school student has been posted on an online community, receiving heavy criticism from netizens. The photo is unrelated to the specific content of the article.
[Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@]

In response, netizens commented, "Shouldn't you be thankful? Why would self-esteem drop? It's a change in perspective," "It's amazing to connect something the teacher thoughtfully prepared with self-esteem," "If deodorant spray lowers self-esteem, then their self-esteem must already be at rock bottom," "Seems like they don't really understand the definition of self-esteem," "Have you thought about what kind of adult your son will become if you raise him like that?" "My son would be offended. The teacher has good sense," "This is how people make teachers and public officials miserable," "Hearing that you smell bad is what really shatters self-esteem," "Try making sure your son showers and wears clean clothes before sending him off," and so on.

One netizen pointed out, "Deodorant spray and self-esteem have nothing to do with each other. Don’t you know about the hormonal smell, sweat smell, foot odor, and stale smell of upper-grade kids? When 20 to 30 kids are in one classroom, it gives you a headache. The smell is really bad. It’s hard to breathe," emphasizing gratitude toward the teacher who prepared the deodorant spray. On the other hand, some netizens commented, "The child might be sensitive and just asking, so why such a reaction?" and "The atmosphere where simply asking out of concern for the child makes you a criminal is the bigger problem."

Meanwhile, last year, there were multiple cases of teachers taking extreme measures due to malicious complaints from parents and excessive work burdens. According to a mental health survey conducted by the Korean Teachers and Education Workers Union (KTU) targeting 3,505 teachers nationwide from kindergarten to high school, 24.9% of active teachers showed mild depressive symptoms, and 38.3% showed severe depressive symptoms. Furthermore, the prevalence of depressive symptoms among teachers was about four times higher than that of the general population, with a higher rate of severe depressive symptoms among female teachers (40.1%) compared to male teachers (28.9%). In particular, the severity increased with the number of phone consultations with parents (10 or more calls; 60.8% severe depressive symptoms), visits for consultations (10 or more visits; 50.7%), and experiences of verbal and physical violence.