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Google in Images "Japanese school children clean their classrooms" and you'll find dozens of photos, not just of putting things away, but literally scrubbing th

Google in Images "Japanese school children clean their classrooms" and you'll find dozens of photos, not just of putting things away, but literally scrubbing the classroom floors. Even one photo of the guys cleaning the urinals. Maybe a prank shot. But may as well not be. The Japanese see cleanliness and orderliness as a primary virtue and leaving a place that they have used clean is taught and reinforced by peer behavior at a young enough age as to become second nature. The fans at Toulouse probably didn't even think about it.

edandersen 12y ago
Not a prank shot - they have actually managed to convince generations of kids to clean their school's toilets using chemicals and no special training. They mask it as "culture" but it's a cost saving measure, they could be getting lessons and an education during that time.
- deciplex 12y ago
  I don't think you can really separate it out like that. It is part of what You Just Do At School, definitely, but it is also conveniently a cost-saving measure, sure. That doesn't mean that if you tried to cut it out, that parents wouldn't complain about it. At any rate, having seen both, I assure you that there is infinitely more bullshit that American kids are doing at school instead of learning, compared to Japanese.
- evan_ 12y ago
  Learning how to clean is a pretty good lesson.
ekianjo 12y ago
> but literally scrubbing the classroom floors. Even one photo of the guys cleaning the urinals. Maybe a prank shot. But may as well not be. The kids have to. You know, it's imposed by the teachers.
- itazula 12y ago
  But I don't think the kids view it as an imposition. Kids (and even adults) enjoy working together on a common activity with a common goal.
  - ekianjo 12y ago
    > enjoy working together on a common activity with a common goal. You mean, just like people enjoy common work in jail ?
    - itazula 12y ago
      I was thinking more of startups. ;-)
jonalmeida 12y ago
What's really nice is that during the World Cup, after a game the Japanese fans were seen[1] cleaning up litter from the stadium. A great set of people! [1]: i.imgur.com/pTrgXWI.jpg
xanfred 12y ago
I did a year of Rotary exchange to a Japanese high school, and can confirm that we students did in fact clean the toilets. Our school had porcelain "squat" toilets, and they were quite disgusting to scrub. Yet everyone took their turn, with a minimum of complaint. It was normal.
margold 12y ago
While I agree with your general assessment, I want to point out that it cannot be concluded from your example: in Russia (at least when I was in elementary/high school in the 90s), children clean the classroom in much the same way as in Japan (scrub the floors etc), very hands-on. Yet Russia is pretty much opposite Japan in littering on the streets.

edandersen 12y ago

Not a prank shot - they have actually managed to convince generations of kids to clean their school's toilets using chemicals and no special training. They mask it as "culture" but it's a cost saving measure, they could be getting lessons and an education during that time.

deciplex 12y ago
I don't think you can really separate it out like that. It is part of what You Just Do At School, definitely, but it is also conveniently a cost-saving measure, sure. That doesn't mean that if you tried to cut it out, that parents wouldn't complain about it. At any rate, having seen both, I assure you that there is infinitely more bullshit that American kids are doing at school instead of learning, compared to Japanese.
evan_ 12y ago
Learning how to clean is a pretty good lesson.

ekianjo 12y ago

> but literally scrubbing the classroom floors. Even one photo of the guys cleaning the urinals. Maybe a prank shot. But may as well not be. The kids have to. You know, it's imposed by the teachers.

itazula 12y ago
But I don't think the kids view it as an imposition. Kids (and even adults) enjoy working together on a common activity with a common goal.
- ekianjo 12y ago
  > enjoy working together on a common activity with a common goal. You mean, just like people enjoy common work in jail ?
  - itazula 12y ago
    I was thinking more of startups. ;-)

jonalmeida 12y ago

What's really nice is that during the World Cup, after a game the Japanese fans were seen[1] cleaning up litter from the stadium. A great set of people! [1]: i.imgur.com/pTrgXWI.jpg

xanfred 12y ago

I did a year of Rotary exchange to a Japanese high school, and can confirm that we students did in fact clean the toilets. Our school had porcelain "squat" toilets, and they were quite disgusting to scrub. Yet everyone took their turn, with a minimum of complaint. It was normal.

margold 12y ago

While I agree with your general assessment, I want to point out that it cannot be concluded from your example: in Russia (at least when I was in elementary/high school in the 90s), children clean the classroom in much the same way as in Japan (scrub the floors etc), very hands-on. Yet Russia is pretty much opposite Japan in littering on the streets.