A group of Taiwanese elementary school students came to visit our school today. They wanted to play music for us and see how Americans learn in school.  Because our students learn some Mandarin, they were able to communicate – a  little bit – with each other. It was a wonderful cultural exchange.

One thing we learned is that these Taiwanese students dedicate some time in their week – every week- to clean their school!

Other schools clean up after themselves too. Here is an article about Japanese schools that dedicate time to housekeeping.

“The practice, which starts when students are in first grade and continues right through high school, involves floor dusting, furniture moving and cleaning the hallways.”

Mic.com

The rationale makes sense: if students are personally obligated to keeping their school clean, they will treat it with more respect all day, every day.

I wish our public schools did this. I see students scuff walls with their shoes and our custodians complain that students urinate on the floors on purpose!