Why do children clean the school?
September 29, 17:36
Broom, dustpan, and elephant.
School cleaning that many have experienced once in elementary and junior high school.
Overseas, there are countries where specialized vendors do it, but why are children doing it in Japan?
Due to the spread of the new coronavirus, it is being discussed online.
(Network News Department Reporter Takeshi Memida Hiromi Akimoto Hokuto Takasugi)
Fierce debate over cleaning
"Why don't you really introduce a vacuum cleaner during school education cleaning time? The working hours of the day are so tight that there is no room for lunch and breaks."
Talk to a teacher in his 30s working at a junior high school in Kyushu
.
I was able to hear.
Mayuko
"There is an increase in work at school, but it does not decrease. Due to the influence of the new coronavirus, the work of disinfecting classrooms and toilets has increased after school, and teachers are becoming even more busy."
This faculty member seems to feel that "the only way to work more efficiently than now is to review the cleaning time" in the limited time.
In some schools due to the corona virus, there are movements to reduce or suspend cleaning by children, and many parents and others have told about the meaning and necessity of cleaning by children as a result of this tweet. Opinion has come out.
"Isn't
it okay with a
cleaning robot?"
"I wish I could hire a cleaning company ..."
"I want you to learn how to use brooms and dustpans once."
"By doing it
together, you
gain a
sense of responsibility and cooperation. The aim is to become independent. "
School cleaning Japan only?
Overseas?
Daily school cleaning that is common in Japan.
How is it overseas?
According to a 2017 report issued by the National Institute of Education Policy, of the eight countries at the time of the study, including Japan, the United States, and China, the countries where children are cleaning schools are Japan, China, and South Korea. It was three countries.
In other countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, staff specializing in guards and cleaning were used.
Of these, in Singapore, children's cleaning was introduced in all public elementary and junior high schools after that, with reference to Japan, in order to help them acquire the attitude to keep their surroundings clean.
I asked the Ministry of Education
In the first place, why are children cleaning elementary and junior high schools every day in Japan?
When I talked to the person in charge of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, I got an unexpected answer.
"Actually, there is no clear basis for daily cleaning."
There is no clear basis ...
When asked further, it seems that there is only a little description on the page explaining the "Course of Study", the standard of the school curriculum set by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
"Understand the significance of collaborating while being aware of your own role such as cleaning and other duty activities and engaging activities, and take the initiative in thinking about what is necessary to play a role as a member of society. ".
In other words, the purpose is not to clean the school, but to acquire sociality.
In addition, the person in charge said, "We do not require daily cleaning," and the course of study does not require that the school be cleaned on a daily basis.
Even the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology did not know when and how the cleaning by children began after the school was established in the Meiji era.
Is it rooted in Terakoya?
The mystery just deepens ...
According to Associate Professor Hiroki Yamamoto of Tokyo Denki University, who is familiar with school cleaning, the beginning may be related to Buddhist and Shinto training.
For example, in Buddhism, there is an anecdote of Shuritsugu, a disciple of Shaka-sama, who said that he cleaned up and gained enlightenment.
In particular, since it was incorporated into the training in Zen Buddhism, he points out that the idea of improving personality by cleaning may have taken root in the Japanese people.
It is said that during the Edo period, cleaning by children became widespread even at Terakoya, where reading and writing were taught.
In the Meiji era, when the school was first established, some schools were cleaned by faculty and staff, but there were many schools that let children do the cleaning because the cleaning was done at the Terakoya. It seems that it has become customary.
After the war, the Ministry of Education at that time indicated that "cleaning instruction and training in schools would be systematically implemented as part of hygiene education," and the subsequent course of study indicated that "cleaning and beautification inside and outside the classroom" was necessary. As I mentioned, unlike subjects, there is no specific rule to require children to clean every day.
Associate Professor Yamamoto says, "Child-centered school cleaning has been largely done at the discretion of the school due to the lack of manpower."
It seems that the practice that spread in terakoya and other places has continued until today.
Silent!
Rumba too!
??
When I was in elementary school, some people might say that they threw a rag at the time of cleaning and got angry with their friends, but as I proceeded with the interview, I heard that there was an unfamiliar habit of "silent cleaning."
When I looked it up, at Eiheiji Junior High School in Eiheiji Town, Fukui Prefecture, we perform "silent cleaning" without speaking during the cleaning time.
This is because it is positioned as an important custom for respecting gratitude.
Private language is strictly prohibited during the 15-minute cleaning time in which all students participate.
Wipe the entire school with a dry rag.
It started more than 30 years ago when it was introduced to rebuild a rough school, and it is said that students say that they are "calm".
Eiheiji Junior High School staff
"The purpose is not to clean silently, but only 15 minutes a day, so the purpose is to face yourself with a quiet heart and feel gratitude and comfort. "
In addition, "silent cleaning" is widespread in elementary and junior high schools in Nagano Prefecture.
On the other hand, some schools have taken the lead in efficient cleaning.
In Katsurao Village, Fukushima Prefecture, the number of children has decreased significantly due to the nuclear accident, and reducing the burden of cleaning classrooms has become an issue.
For this reason, cleaning robots are used at elementary and junior high schools in the village.
However, children are cleaning the classrooms they use so that they can understand the significance of cleaning.
Precautions for corona sickness
School cleaning has continued.
What is worrisome is how to clean the corona virus.
What should I be careful about?
The Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology created a hygiene management manual for schools in May to deal with the new coronavirus.
Nobuhiko Okabe, director of the Kawasaki City Institute of Health and Safety, who was involved in the creation, assumed that cleaning at school by children was not prevalent in the area and that there were no infected people in the school. "It is important to keep what you are careful about in your regular cleaning," he said.
Cleaning is done jointly by the children, so
1 Ventilate well.
2 Put on a mask.
3 After cleaning, be sure to wash your hands with soap.
I want you to keep these three points.
It is said that children are not recommended to use disinfectants for cleaning because they may inhale the disinfectants.
Director Okabe
"If an infected person appears at school, disinfection will be required, so I would like you to work with the health center to deal with it."
Is the purpose / aim ambiguous?
Experts have also expressed various opinions about school cleaning by children.
"I think it's a mysterious practice,"
says Masatoshi Senoo, a school business improvement advisor and educational researcher, who is wondering about cleaning the school.
"The fact that there is little trash in the city, such as the sight of Japanese supporters picking up trash after a soccer match, is praised by foreigners, may be an effect of cleaning guidance. Even so, children are forced to clean every day. Do I need to let you? "
Furthermore, Mr. Senoo points out that the purpose and aim of cleaning are ambiguous.
"If your goal is to clean, you can use a vacuum cleaner instead of a broom and dustpan, or you can hire a contractor. If your goal is to educate your children's minds, it's doubtful that you'll do it every day, home economics and morals classes. I think it should be done as part of the above. It is doubtful that we will continue to do so without verification of how effective cleaning is every day. "
Agree as an educational activity
Associate Professor Yamamoto of Tokyo Denki University said, "It is necessary to introduce the latest cleaning technology, but I agree with cleaning as an educational activity in which children think about the division of roles and clean their surroundings." I'm talking.
It is not necessary to carry out or stop cleaning nationwide, it is important for each school to discuss and plan according to the situation, and additional financial expenditure should be made if necessary.
On the other hand, Associate Professor Yamamoto says that it should be utilized as necessary for cleaning by contractors as in other countries, but it is against outsourcing entirely.
Associate Professor Yamamoto
"Children may have the idea that cleaning is something that someone does. By knowing the difficulty of cleaning through their own experiences, they can think about things from the standpoint of the person doing the cleaning. I think it will be
What do you think about cleaning the school by children?