Tuesday's Taiwan-ism {Taiwan Janitors}

As briefly mentioned previous HERE most schools in Taiwan don't employ janitors or grounds workers for their schools. Yet, most of the schools here in Taiwan are always immaculate. How is that you ask? Simple, we don't let children ever enter the school grounds! OK, ok, just kidding! The kids clean the school, and I love LOVE it!!

Twice a day (once first thing at 7:30am and then again before last period at 2:50pm) students are given 20 minutes to clean their assigned area of the school. The classes are split into smaller groups and are given their assignments that last the remainder of the school year. They are monitored somewhat while they are cleaning, but they do all the cleaning themselves: dusting, moping, sweeping, emptying trash cans, raking, scrubbing the stairways...all of it!

Some areas the children are assigned to include:

Their own classroom
Other classrooms in the school
Public bathrooms
Teacher bathrooms
School offices
Playground
Hallways
Side yards
School entrance 

Sadly in the US I feel as though many parents would complain and accuse the school of "corporal punishment" or make other extreme accusations towards the school. Here though it is looked at as part of their education. Children not only learn the "how's" of cleaning, but they also learn to have respect for their school environment and how to help out around their home. Children here know that if they make a mess of their school it will be them that has to clean it up later, thus helping to keep our campus beautiful. 

It was surely a strange sight at first, but I have come to love this idea as the year has progressed and appreciate the values that are being instilled in these young children!