Students in Japan clean their own classrooms and school toilets and the reason is incredible
Cleaning practices followed by students in Japan help build their character to develop them into model citizens.
Cleaning is seen as a chore by most of us -- it was a task we had to do so that mom gives permission to watch TV or go out and play. In Japan, however, cleaning one's own classroom and school is a part of their school education.
Students as young as first graders clean and maintain their classrooms, serve lunch to their classmates and even clean the toilets!
This is not a government mandate, but every school follows this national trend with little variations. In fact, this practice may be familiar to some in other parts of the world as it is shown in many anime series depicting Japanese school life.
While this practice might even be considered child abuse by many in the western world, in the eastern culture, it is recognised as a holistic practice that allows the child to grow up as a more responsible citizen.
Japanese students also view keeping their school clean as a part of their life and culture and don't detest the work. This is poles apart from the student culture in most Indian schools where students celebrate the destruction of school property as some perverse achievement.
"The ultimate goal of Japanese education is to foster the student's ability to become a fully integrated and productive member of Japanese society," it states in 'Looking into the Lives of Children', a book on Japanese education.
Why does Japan follow this cleaning practice?
Their motto is simple: if you are using a particular space, it is your duty and responsibility to ensure that you leave that space clean. It helps people to learn the importance of cleanliness -- an important life skill that millions haven't mastered around the world!
Just imagine how much most of us crib when the domestic help skips a day?
Moreover, if you know you have to clean frequently, you are less likely to litter the classroom.
Called Gakko Soji (school cleansing), the practice has its roots in Buddhist teachings which explain the importance of keeping our surroundings and body clean. Studies have also found how an unclean, disorderly room can affect the mind and not allow it to be calm.
Keeping the body clean also has a positive effect on your mind.
Since household chores are still looked down upon, introducing cleanliness in curriculum is still quite a difficult task in western countries even though a few schools have already implemented it.
What does the cleaning work in Japanese schools include?
The school children of Japan sweep and mop their classrooms, do dusting, clean hallways, staircases, doors and windows, and even the bathrooms in many schools. However, elementary school students do not have bathroom cleaning chores and are allocated these tasks when they are older.
Apart from that, they serve lunch prepared by the cooks to each other and clean up after lunchtime.
Many schools reportedly do not have janitors and when they do, it's for certain work that the students would be unable to perform -- such as repair work and deep cleaning areas students haven't been able to get to properly.
To ensure that their surroundings stay clean, Japanese schools also have indoor shoes, so you don't drag dirt from the outside. Moreover, the cleaning cloth that students use is brought regularly from home by them.
Teachers assist the students by forming a proper schedule that allocates certain tasks to each student. This way, no one is stuck cleaning bathrooms an unfair number of times.
Older students are often allocated tasks to perform with the junior classes so that the younger ones can have role models while the feelings of having a sibling are also explored by the students who are an only child.
How does this cleaning practice transform students into model citizens?
Encouraging a child to take care of his/her surroundings from a young age automatically 'programs' the child to respect their surroundings and environment, and always try to keep it clean.
It shows the child that a community problem is an individual problem. Cleaning the school is not just the job of the school -- it is also the concern of students.
Gakko Soji followed in Japanese schools turns cleanliness into a habit of responsibility one simply cannot shake. It also embeds the idea in children that no work -- not even cleaning bathrooms -- is menial.
The practice also boosts teamwork as students collaborate to get their work done and help each other throughout. This builds a mindset of being mindful about others and empathizing more -- a primary need of the world today. Students grow up to become citizens who are always on the lookout for the betterment and happiness of their fellow humans.
No wonder bikes aren't ever locked in Japan as they won't get stolen! People are quiet even in a crowded metro and no one needs to think before leaving their mobiles or laptops lying around in a public space.
The country cultivates the mentality of respect and responsibility from a very young age in its citizens, which allows them to become functional members of the society.
This video by UNESCO gives a great insight into an elementary classroom in Japan:
Read: How one man became so tired of rote-learning that he battled odds and started his own school