Here is a documentary. I still haven't figure out the exact year but it Looks older to me. It's a documentary about the Primary School teacher Kanamori in Japan who seems to be successful at teaching empathy and happiness. The docu is called "Children full of Life".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tLB1lU-H0M
The Approach is a Little Project oriented. The children are sharing diaries, activities and so on. What makes me sceptical is that they are crying a lot and rapidly. They are 4th graders, however, the seem to become a Little bit too sensitive. They get taught to talk freely about their concerns no matter what Topic, Person or hierarchy.
Did you hear about the teacher or the methods?