Do you think that schools in the UK should make kids serve lunch and clean up afterwards like they do in Japan?
Posted by YetAnotherMia@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 254 comments
Just as an idea to encourage personal responsibility. I've been watching YouTube videos and kids in Japanese schools are responsible for serving classmates, cleaning up after themselves and cleaning their classrooms. Meals are served in classrooms rather than dinning halls but I'm sure it could be modified to the UK. Kids also clean classrooms after lessons have finished.
godziIIasweirdfriend@reddit
I worked in a few Japanese schools and I don't think it'd work in the UK. It puts extra pressure on teachers who're expected to manage it (during their break), creates an extra avenue for bullying and doesn't accomodate for student preferences, diatary restrictions or allergies. It also gets veerrrrry unhygenic sometimes. 5-11 year olds aren't the best at following food safety standards lol
InsecureInscapist@reddit
Yes. In the small independent primary school I worked at up untill recently this was how we did things and it was very good for helping children build and maintain practical skills and also take pride and ownership of their environment.
trenchgun91@reddit
Lunch times are already short enough that people barely have time to eat tbh, even ignoring possible safety issues.
UK school timetables are really tight afaik, certainly when I was in school (7 or 8 years ago now)
CooroSnowFox@reddit
It involves staying after school... and not many are excited about that for that stuff.
Japanese schools has after school clubs they do put the kids into, but the schools here aren't anywhere near capable of setting this up, let alone keeping the students cleaning the place.
muddleagedspred@reddit
Parents would complain if kids were expected to clean. I used to make kids caught chewing gum in my lessons spend a lunchtime scraping gum off the underside of the desks. Pretty standard stuff 15 years ago. Then a parent complained about a colleague doing the same thing and we weren't allowed to do it anymore.
poohly@reddit
This is why the younger generations are the way they are. No consequences for their actions, so they act as they please.
CrabAppleBapple@reddit
You sound like my nan. Did you have to prepare your own school lunches and do all the dishes afterwards? I bet you didn't.
mata_dan@reddit
Yeah exactly. Maybe not most of our nans' generation. But the generation between then and mid-late X were absolutely bonkers, they caused insane amounts of damage and violence going around as kids. They own up to it themselves and boast about it, just ask them.
CrabAppleBapple@reddit
My grandad quite often moans about kids these days, then goes on to recount stealing potatoes from farmers fields to cook on fires they made on waste ground or setting fire to paper bags under people's drainpipes.
Morganx27@reddit
See that just seems like good clean fun these days, it was probably really good for his mental health and social development
Goldf_sh4@reddit
Yes, this is why there are so many adults out there who throw rubbish in the streets.
guareber@reddit
Probably the same idiot parents that leave their disgusting trash in public transport because "it's someone's job to clean that up".
Goldf_sh4@reddit
It's lunchtime work.
TohokuJin@reddit
School lunch times are pretty short in Japan. They usually have 15 minutes prep/serving time, 20 minutes eating time and 5-10 minutes tidying up time. Then after that they have their after lunch break for about 20 minutes so if you take too long preparing or eating then you will run over into your free time. The rules differ between schools too but often kids aren't allowed to talk so they can focus on eating. The problem is in UK schools, lunch time is at the same time as play time. If they were seperate, the kids could learn some responsibilities during the meal time and then enjoy some free time after.
ceelo_purple@reddit
You can't say 'lunchtimes are pretty short in Japan' and go on to describe how they get three times longer in the dining hall than British kids do.
It's not that the British kids don't have lunchtime and playtime separately scheduled, it's that the lunchtime part for each kid is often 15 minutes total: including the time spent queueing and tidying up their dirty plates away, because there's only a 45 minute gap between lessons to get everyone fed, watered, toileted and exercised and there are four times as many kids as seats in the dining hall.
My hunch is that it's a combination of longer school days and a higher proportion of modern purpose built school buildings that remove a lot of the practical barriers to doing this.
newfor2023@reddit
Depending on the lesson we could take half an hour just to get served food at all. Further away you were queue got longer. Some days I'd not bother cos it would be iffy getting served before you had time to eat it. Started getting a few toasties at second break on most days. Could go play football instead.
Good point about the number of seats tho. When we had any whole school thing we were crammed into the sports hall cos it was far larger. Still crammed in tho and it was 4 times larger and you were sat jammed in lines. Not with tables and ability to walk around them.
EvilSandWitch@reddit
Yep. There is no room as it is. In primary school children are expected to keep their classrooms tidy. They obviously don’t clean them, as you can’t expect a primary school child to use cleaning chemicals, but they do put everything away and tidy up.
Lunches, however, there’s just not time or space. Generally children eat in shifts and need to be in and out quite quickly. The school day would also need to be extended to give time.
Goldf_sh4@reddit
It does really take long once the children are in a good routine.
rumade@reddit
I wish we could find solutions to extend the day. It's no good for working parents who do 9 to 5, and rushing through meals/lack of a proper break isn't good for the kids either
Adjective_Noun-420@reddit
Literally every school in my area (London) has a 1hr lunch for primary and a 50min lunch for secondary; plenty of time imo
Apprehensive-Cat-500@reddit
We have a 1 hour lunch break (primary school) but due to the size of the space and the number of children, they have a maximum of 10 minutes to eat and get back outside.
Having time to clean up wouldn't be feasible.
Rynewulf@reddit
So London not only gets the money and the infrastructure, but the lunch time too? Thats way more than for schools elsewhere (Jokes aside, I'm guessing there are more children per school so more time is needed to get lunch done)
trenchgun91@reddit
I wish I had the same when I was in school lol
We had 40 minutes iirc
AnonymousRedditor39@reddit
Literally. My mum has worked as a dinner lady for over 16 years and trust me when I say having kids clean up would not work.
samo7230@reddit
I don’t think it should be as regimented but kids should clear their tables and put away trays etc in the canteen and also clean after themselves in class
Sorry_Error3797@reddit
Schools already can't deal with bullying.
Now imagine giving the bullies the responsibility of giving out food.
CooroSnowFox@reddit
It's culture inside and outside schools that make that stuff work, in the UK, it'd be screwed pretty quickly
the-illogical-logic@reddit
The reason why it would be unlikely to work in the UK is not because the kids won't do it but because many teachers likely wouldn't.
In Japan the teachers lead by example and do it as well. (In most cases anyway)
Long_Repair_8779@reddit
Yeah even as adults, tbh we aren’t very responsible on a personal level. For example in Zurich I was surprised to see no barriers at the stations, and no inspectors either. People just paid on the app and went about their day. Apparently they occasionally have inspectors come on but not often because basically everyone just pays. It’s a much nicer way to live
AbsurdAmoeba@reddit
There are no barriers on most of the dlr, and the majority of people do still pay - some don’t but they’re not the norm.
Lightertecha@reddit
I would guess a lot of the people using the Docklands Light Railway also use other public transport in London where there are ticket barriers, so they have have to pay anyway, whether it's part of the daily cap or weekly/monthly passes etc.
Personal_Lab_484@reddit
Alongside an insanely aggressive system of people checking tickets. I have never been asked to prove I paid before I used the DLR where it happens every 10 or so journeys.
CooroSnowFox@reddit
I think it's just how unstable the whole system is and how the few will always make it difficult to make anything work without exploiting it...
el-destroya@reddit
I do wonder how much of TFL having the barriers for the tube as they do, on the mainlines but not DLR for example, is because a) the oyster card is iconic in and of itself b) there are so many tourists using the tube every single day, can you really expect millions of people to download an app and understand how to use it? The ticketing system has existed for a long time and honestly it's quite nice to have an option that doesn't rely on a smartphone, absolute worst case you can talk to a person and you're sorted.
Long_Repair_8779@reddit
Idk if the Oyster card being iconic is much of a reason tbh, I’d say most people are just using their phones or bank cards anyway now, the oysters days are numbered for sure, and probably the next evolution of tech will be some kind of antenna that autoscans some kind of unique id as you go through the barrier without the need for tapping etc.
The tourist factor is true, but obtaining an Oyster card is as much of a pain as anything else (waiting in what was ALWAYS a long queue). If our app infrastructure was better it would run like Switzerland’s anyway, with only one app and provider for all public transport in the country that you download when you first arrive.
… but that would be dreaming
msully89@reddit
I bet the fares were reasonably priced though. Went to Germany a few months ago and a 30 min train ride was €2.20. Very reasonable. Similar distances in the uk you're looking at a tenner or more. Or course people will try to dodge the fare when it's a rip off.
nickytheginger@reddit
This is why we have so many barriers and inspectors. I get that travel providers have to charge, but I had to pay 6.50 for a ten minute journey last week. Its ridiculous. Not to mention the price discrepancies between online and on site tickets.
Long_Repair_8779@reddit
Everything’s expensive in Switzerland, but even then I thought £4.50 for a 24h public transport pass within the city was quite reasonable, Zurich is smaller than London but I just looked it up and a zone 1-3 day pass is £8.50. And TFL is meant to be not for profit?? Oh and also the day pass is only valid for that day, the Swiss one is a full 24 hours. Yeah you’re right though, probably half the reason we don’t have much respect in the UK is because quite (very) often we have the piss taken by big organisations and trying to dodge a fare when possible is about all we can do to fight back
catchcatchhorrortaxi@reddit
That’s sort of the point though - that’s behaviour that can be influenced at formative stages. Wouldn’t fix it entirely and the effect would probably be small at first and take a while for the benefit to be realised, but it’s a valid idea imo.
PassiveTheme@reddit
There's no barriers for the metro in Manchester either. I haven't been to Zurich so I don't know how busy the trains are, but I can't imagine there are quite as many people as in London.
PartyPoison98@reddit
No barriers but the enforcement from inspectors is a lot tougher.
Long_Repair_8779@reddit
I’m surprised by that tbh. I grew up in Newcastle and for many years there weren’t barriers however there would often be inspectors. There are now barriers and inspectors. Can honestly say as a youth we spent a lot of time avoiding those inspectors, there was even a fb page called ‘checkie watch’ dedicated to spotting them so you can avoid. I imagined Manchester would be very much the same type of behaviour on the whole tbh
PassiveTheme@reddit
Yeah, "metties" get on and check for tickets, and there would always be a rush of people trying to get off before they boarded. I haven't lived in Manchester for a while now, but I still visit regularly and haven't seen a metty in years. I'm sure they're still around, maybe I've just been lucky (although I always buy a ticket anyway - I want to help fund good public transport in my home town).
wilkc01@reddit
It's similar in Copenhagen too. Just came back from there and no barriers but there are inspectors on the metro asking to see your ticket but obviously they can't check everyone. It's all about trusting you're a decent person and will buy a ticket to ride the metro
sgehig@reddit
Most of my colleagues don't even wash their own mugs.
PracticalBobcat7730@reddit
It does work in nurseries. In ours the kids help set and clear the table
newfor2023@reddit
Then they are doing better than almost every work kitchen I've ever been in.
Goldf_sh4@reddit
I worked in a UK school that did it. It worked well.
MillicentColdstone@reddit
In my primary school y5 and y6 had to fold tables and wipe tables, there were also some of us that had to scrape the dinner trays and sweep the floor (we also used the hall for PE).
TravellingAmandine@reddit
Yes, but children (and staff) should also wear indoor shoes and the school should provide a healthy and nutritionally balanced lunch, like they do in Japan, instead of the ultra processed crap we eat here.
Patient-Lab-7668@reddit
Yes absolutely. Maybe not all the aspects of it. Or maybe all of them. But definitely kids need to be more responsible for their surroundings.
Legitimate_Finger_69@reddit
A lot of the emphasis in Japan is about manners as well - not starting before everyone else is ready, everyone helping to serve the meal. The moment schools started serving meals on plastic trays because a plate and a bowl are too much work was the point school lunches stopped being a meal and started being a way to give kids some calories in the most efficient and souless way possible.
Options at my kids primary school today - Quorn nuggets or hot dog served with grapes and a pre wrapped slice of cake designed to last several years on a shelf. Not even one of the five a day.
pm_me_boobs_pictures@reddit
They also have a qualified nutritionist I every school who plans the meals and teaches the kids about healthy eating. This is also coupled with government legislation that all food is very made and prepared on site.
Legitimate_Finger_69@reddit
Is this by any chance one of the many things academies can opt out of? Because anything that costs money they've opted out of in favour of one by their preferred nutritionist Mr Kipling.
Ghools_Fold@reddit
Maybe surprisingly I'd put money on most schools run by a decent academy as having better food than most Local Authority managed ones.
I don't think many schools can run to Mr Kipling finest anyway, to be honest.
Legitimate_Finger_69@reddit
I suppose academies are variable and have a captive market, as most parents send their kids to the nearest school. Ours is rubbish, kids taught in portakabins and what they optimistically describe as chalets (sheds with windows). Nearby LA good school is oversubscribed because they've built a thousand new houses and no school.
Ghools_Fold@reddit
Oh that's unfortunate. We've got some pretty good ones round here, Sheffield, and they offer better support to their schools than our LA. I guess it does vary hugely.
It's a pity we've got to the position where we're relying on private enterprises to educate kids rather than local authorities who should be capable and actually answerable to us. However I think the LAs are so stretched that's it's currently usually better to outsource it to professionals. We shouldn't have got to this point, though.
Legitimate_Finger_69@reddit
I find it weird schools should have CEOs.
Maddest thing to me is we are leasing all these schools on 125 year leases usually at peppercorn rent. So we are effectively giving away land and all the buildings. It's like reverse PFI but instead of a private company building it and charging the state exorbitant rent, we're building it and then renting it for £1/year.
pm_me_boobs_pictures@reddit
In Japan. In the UK they don't need to do shit
-Xero@reddit
Grapes are not fruit?
Horfield@reddit
Also the fruit with the most sugar in it.
cinematic_novel@reddit
And least fiber. I see them almost like candy
turtleship_2006@reddit
Funnily enough there's a brand/line of grapes called "cotton candy"
ConfectionHelpful471@reddit
It’s an old Japanese variety that has been commercially branded as cotton candy grapes. Despite the flavour and branding it is a non genetically modified variety of grape
Goldf_sh4@reddit
They're high in vitamins, water and fibre, low in fat and calories.
cinematic_novel@reddit
Big Grape in operation there
Goldf_sh4@reddit
You got me.
sayleanenlarge@reddit
Don't know why you're being downvoted. They are one of the worst fruit for their sugar, and some of them are really bad because they've been bred to be even sweeter- the cotton candy ones.
mr_iwi@reddit
I downboted them for "fiber" and "candy" because I think they are lost.
cinematic_novel@reddit
It was probably the "almost like candy" part, which can be seen as excessive because candy can be almost 100% sugar. Grapes are nowhere near that. But they are sweet, and shaped like candy which is why I made the comparison
Legitimate_Finger_69@reddit
A "portion" is about six small grapes.
Dimac99@reddit
I am quite certain what you are describing at your kid's school cannot possibly meet nutritional guidelines. I would be requesting a copy of the menu and then contacting my MP.
Legitimate_Finger_69@reddit
Just looked at the menu for next week.
Monday: chicken curry and rice Tuesday: Sausage and mash. Wednesday: Roast chicken and roast potato Thursday: Beef Bolognese with pasta Friday: Quorn nuggets or fish fingers and chips
All served with one vegetable/fruit and pudding.
Dimac99@reddit
In the main that actually sounds decent enough, but clearly six grapes is not a healthy portion of fruit/veg and not teaching kids anything about creating a balanced plate. Given the state of school catering across the nation, it's probably on a par with many others and that's quite sad really. How hard or expensive can it possibly be to add some colour and nutrition with some (properly prepared) carrots and broccoli?
Virtual-Guitar-9814@reddit
cake???
Goldf_sh4@reddit
I really do hate those jail-style trays.
theModge@reddit
That does sound grim. Part of choosing my daughter's school was the menu... (she starts September, the food isn't amazing but it's recognisable meals?
MissFlipFlop@reddit
It only works in Japan because that level of respect is taught at home. As it's a parenting issue rather than a school issue.
It would work here but would need societal change to actually make a difference.
Dlogan143@reddit
The Japanese cultural view of civic duty and civic responsibility is very strong and mutual respect is very important to them. Remember when their football fans stayed behind to clean the stadiums during the World Cup. It’s just not something I can see working well in most countries though including the UK. You can imagine a small number of people insisting their kids don’t do this sort of thing because it’s demeaning or something then the whole thing has to get stopped because it offends people or some other nonsense but Im all for it, genuinely think it’s a great idea.
georgiebb@reddit
Parents at my school kicked off and started harassing the head teacher using a tragedy she'd had in her private life against her because they were told to sit with their kids and watch them read a book a couple of times a week. It was actually terrifying how aggressive they got. They were angry that a school expected their children to READ. Can't i imagine how insane they would go if their children were asked to clean
Dlogan143@reddit
Yeah this is precisely the sort of thing I’m talking about sadly
916CALLTURK@reddit
lol the rubbish thing is all PR
Any-Tangerine-8659@reddit
People keep pointing to Japan as if they are the only country that do this but this definitely happens in South Korea as well
CooroSnowFox@reddit
Maybe at some schools but you have to treat it right and not just drop the kids into it... but it's really one that could easily be ditched because enough of the kids just don't care.
EasilyExiledDinosaur@reddit
We getting it for free like In Japan? Sure. Doubt Westminster is coughing up Any money for that.
Gingy2210@reddit
A primary school I worked at 10 years had children lunchtime supervisors. Just 4 from Y6. The children had lunch first, put on an apron and helped in the dinner hall. Wiping tables, encouraging the little ones to try new foods, sweeping up after service. It wasn't hard work, the children enjoyed the responsibility and looked forward to their turn.
Plot-3A@reddit
Cleaning yes, food service no.
CooroSnowFox@reddit
You need a culture shift to even get the kids to care enough to give a shit about the place.
The buildings and rooms are rotting constantly so it's not like cleaning a table would make any difference, forcing them wouldn't work out as well.
LuDdErS68@reddit
It's about much more than just cleaning up, though.
CooroSnowFox@reddit
But it's equally to doing it for a job and there probably isn't much pride in doing that unless you are good and finds something decent coming out of it. Forcibly doing it with some of the people who were in my year, it would have been a disaster and meant nothing for anyone.
Guess who would get the duty to scrap all the chewing gum from under the tables and look forward to doing that... Also no one would be allowed to do the Science rooms...
I did cleaning for work, and the way I'm wire,d it just didn't do anything for me and was just a hassle.
LuDdErS68@reddit
I agree that it just would take a huge effort to get UK school kids to do it, but wouldn't it be worth it if the behaviour of our young people got better in terms of their respect for others and property, etc?
bittybrains@reddit
A more decentralized approach would work better. After eating, kids have to clean the table they were sat at.
If they stick their gum on the table, there should be a good chance they have to clean up their own mess, or take shit from their friends who had to clean it for them.
newfor2023@reddit
Whose going to monitor that? That's at least one extra staff member just to do so. Who will probably miss most of it. No funding. End of idea.
Plus there would be a rush to get various exemptions to having to do it. Which then also needs work done on it. Plus all the complaints from parents to deal with.
Narrow_Experience_34@reddit
Is this really a question? Absolutely! Instead of throwing rubbish out in the streets "giving jobs to others", clean up so other can have a nice experience too.
Ok-Ambassador4679@reddit
I'd go one step further and say kids also have to clean their classrooms in the morning to learn how to respect their spaces.
nickytheginger@reddit
Yes. At one of my primary schools we did a lot of the cleaning anyway. It used to piss off the kids we had to end fun classes early to clean as it seemed like our cleaners were getting paid to hoover. Turned out they weren't even doing that, just emptied the bins and gave everything a wipe. Not to mention the other corners they cut that lead to a few firings.
llksg@reddit
Yep, my kids nursery does it and it’s absolutely lovely. There are lots of other elements in their nursery that I’d focussed on both personal responsibility as well as being a member of their community. It’s so lovely! Not the reason we originally chose the nursery but a huge reason about why I feel so happy about her being there
Appropriate-Bad-9379@reddit
We had to do this at my grammar school ( late sixties/early seventies)U.K.
GenerallyDull@reddit
Our culture is not as cohesive as Japan.
All that would happen is that the good kids would - as with everything else - have to clean up after the bottom quintile.
hoodha@reddit
Japan, the place where it's citizens are perhaps even more miserable than the British. No thanks.
Joshawott27@reddit
I think that it would be very difficult to manage with hygiene standards, allergies etc. Even if the kids aren’t preparing the food themselves, there’s still too many ways it could go wrong that could harm a child or draw negative attention to the school.
polymath_uk@reddit
I did this at junior school in the late 1980s. Somehow we muddled through and nobody got poisoned lol.
Joshawott27@reddit
Food standards and child safeguarding policies have changed a lot in 40 years. It wouldn’t be worth the risk.
Get them to help clear up after PE and such instead (which some schools already do).
polymath_uk@reddit
Lol. It might not be worth the risk of trangressing the policy because that would involve more paperwork, but thebrisk to the kids is zero. Unless standards have really dropped but my 9 and 11 yo could still do this without issue.
Joshawott27@reddit
I remember when I was at school in the early 2000s and the deputy head teacher caught me and my friends playing on the bus bays, which were on school property but visible from the street. He came over to us and told us to stop, not because “you might get hit by a car”, but because of what the public might think of the school if they saw us.
There’s a very serious risk with any allergen exposure, but the paperwork and reputational damage would undoubtedly be a concern lol.
mata_dan@reddit
Kids in my year were told off for heading to their after school job in uniform xD The rules state they must wear it all the way until they get home!
chasingkaty@reddit
There’s a discipline and sense of duty the Japanese have that unfortunately isn’t matched and would make doing that impossible.
sausagemouse@reddit
Not necessarily if kids start doing it from reception
BillyDTourist@reddit
Yes because everything starts from reception and this other thing called society doesn't exist :)
sausagemouse@reddit
I didn't imply that did I?
chasingkaty@reddit
But it has to be constantly reinforced at home and there’s only so much teachers can (or should) do.
CooroSnowFox@reddit
I don't think the teachers are really there these days to make sure it is effectively used... they're rushed off in several area's and not checking up on kids doing the cleaning up.
rebo_arc@reddit
It already happens in some schools, for instance in Michaela Community School kids serve each other food lead lunch discussions and clean up afterwards.
Reasonable-Delay4740@reddit
The removal of food from learning in general is a massive problem.
I have a private school and I’ve often lamented that if I allowed a single crumb into the school I know cockroaches would quickly follow.
For another project I might start again with food front and centre. But I’d have to gamify keeping things clean.
LordMogroth@reddit
Yes, and turn the chaos into an amusing TV show on ITV.
Automatic-Sea-6058@reddit
I was grew up boarding school in Eastern Europe similar Japan’s lunch school. Share share team is cleaning, learning how to cooking, ate healthy vegetables and fruits. Never takeaway or fast foods. This is different England school lunch.
WealthMain2987@reddit
Absolutely because it provides kids an experience to learn responsibility to their surroundings. But it won't work but their parents will have a field day moaning
tomgrouch@reddit
I worked at an outdoor activity centre in the UK and we expected kids to clean up after meals. They had to wash up, wipe down tables, sweep floors etc
One of our main principles was teaching kids to enjoy the outdoors responsibly and leave things better than they found it. That applied to all areas of the camp.
It wasn't really practical to involve them in the cooking, the kitchen was too small, but I would have if I could
It teaches kids responsibility and that things only get clean if they clean it.
MrMonkeyman79@reddit
They tried it at my daughters school and it was an unmitigated disaster. Older kids were supposed to serve up and clean up for the younger ones but it just meant that the older ones had no time to eat their own lunch, and in the mean ti.e the littler ones weren't learning how to clean up themselves.
They can learn all this by getting their own food and clearing up after themselves.
Derries_bluestack@reddit
Unfortunately, I don't think it would be safe. In schools with bullying and poor behaviour, they'd likely poison each other and purposefully give kids with allergies the wrong food.
Virtual-Guitar-9814@reddit
CandyKoRn85@reddit
Bullying happens in Japanese schools too but it’s not the same. Over there if you don’t pull your weight or let others down it’s a big deal, like you’ve brought shame on your family and probably want to jump in front of a train big deal.
I just want people to know that the Japanese culture hasn’t come about in a vacuum and they have their own very serious issues due to it. No country is perfect.
Forte69@reddit
Japan is a prime example of the grass is always greener.
Lots of great stuff, lots of terrible stuff. The country has some deep-rooted and frankly disturbing problems, but it’s very charming on the surface.
Virtual-Guitar-9814@reddit
to get to their level of society, they had to endure an incredibly brutal feudal system which led to an regimented society.
in the last 1000 years over here, its been non stop whining and gradual reform.
Virtual-Guitar-9814@reddit
lol our judo club tried making the kids clean the mats, as they do in japan. loads of (chav) parents quit.
good riddence to them!
autobulb@reddit
I don't remember where I heard it but apparently there's a saying that in Japanese elementary schools you learn how to be a member of (Japanese) society more than you learn the other stuff. If you ever spend time in Japan and have a chance to meet Japanese kids you can see how true it is. They are still kids and can be silly, annoying, and a pain sometimes, but more often than not they are incredibly polite and very mature for their age. It's very impressive.
It's not just because they clean up at school though. It's a fundamental difference in the way the society is, and requires effort from the families, the communities, schools, etc. It also has a downside too in that the group is more important than the individual which is the complete opposite of the "western" way of thinking. This gets to be a problem at university years and beyond where many kids have no individual personality and they just do whatever is dictated to them and "correct" in society. The corporations love it though because every year you get a fresh batch of recent graduates that want nothing else but to get into a good company and will follow every rule given to them.
CrabAppleBapple@reddit
'The nail that sticks up, gets hammered down'.
volster@reddit
I was "lucky" enough to be sent to a prep school.
While obviously there was a kitchen staff who did the actual cooking - The dining hall had long tables which would have a (13 year old) prefect sat at each end.
Food would be delivered through the kitchen doors on trollies which the 2 of you sat closest to the ends were assigned to get fetch along with a stack of plates. The prefect would dish up the food and it would be passed down the table.
Afterwards we got to tidy things back up and cycle the crockery through the dishwasher, before stacking away the tables and benches and giving the hall a sweep.
At break times there was tea and buiscits, which again was prepared in giant metal kettles but there was a rota and you got to spend your break dishing them out entirely unsupervised - "take two and go". Likewise, gathering the mugs back up and putting them into the dishwasher was something we got to do.
As such, while it's obviously got a Japanese flavour to it; What they're doing in the video really just dosn't seem all that alien to me vs my own memories of school at a similar age.
Some parts such as the 8-9 year olds being allowed to cart around a scalding teapot twice the size of their head might not fly today (mind you, this was in the 90's rather than the 60's-70's!)
However overall, it's certainly doable and it did have a posative effect in terms of instilling both a sense of community and personal responsability at the time.
clarkey_jet@reddit
Yes! Children should learn about shared responsibility. As a culture we’re too individualistic and negligent. Schools should also have more extra curricular activities. My wife is from a humble background in Japan but the average state school there sounds like what only private education offers here. If we have kids, we’ll seriously consider moving to Japan.
No_Masterpiece_3897@reddit
It works in Japan because of the culture, the adults were raised with it, there is a social expectation of being responsible. I don't to be pessimistic, but in the UK this would flat line within a week. There isn't the same attitude here, getting the kids to do it would be a challenge, and near impossible because the parents would be resistant to it. I'm all for teaching kids social responsibility but I'd agree with not wanting the kids to do it because odds are, it'd be treated as a green light to justify getting rid of paid staff if parts of the job could be outsourced to unpaid kids.
The attitude towards food is also very different here. There's less respect for food. Lunch is almost treated like an inconvenience to the school day now. Lunch used to be an hour, time for the kids to eat at a sensible pace, and play a bit. Now it's 40 minutes in a lot of places. Which sounds a fair amount till you think about everything around them actually getting the food and eating. Theres an attitude of food as fuel, rather than a meal to be enjoyed socially. There isn't time for extra things.
BrightonTeacher@reddit
Teachers and schools do not need more to do.
This will not solve the problems that the British youth face. That begins at home and with aspects like cost of living.
Trying to implement this in many schools would be hell.
Goldf_sh4@reddit
Why not?
dinkidoo7693@reddit
Kid should be taught to cook proper meals at school. Not a few fairy cakes or a swiss roll with no nutritional value.
Low_Stress_9180@reddit
Trouble is that it is tied to society Japan is a communalist society vs western individualistic society.
Key_Upstairs9694@reddit
In the UK the contracted lunch company would refuse to pay the kids but demand payment from the school / LEA anyway.
TachiH@reddit
Worked in schools for over 10 years. I wouldnt eat anything prepared by a UK kid. Even during COVID the number of kids who dont wash their hands before eating is gross.
j458italia@reddit
Do you stay late after work to help the cleaners tidy up the office every day? Because I don't, and I'm willing to bet most of the people saying this is a good idea don't either
throwaway82112142@reddit
I think cleaning, yes absolutely. I’m a secondary school teacher and the young people leave the canteen in a disgusting stage every single day. Staff need to harass kids to even put their rubbish in the bin otherwise they just get up and leave it all at the table for the poor dinner staff to sort out. I’ve had pupils tell me it’s the cleaners responsibility to bin their mess. I’d like to see more responsibility and empathy.
warp_driver@reddit
And what makes you think they wouldn't just half ass the cleaning?
throwaway82112142@reddit
I mean, they might well. But do we just throw in the towel completely and allow them all to treat their school and other people in an unpleasant manner - completely unchecked - because some would half ass it?
warp_driver@reddit
My point is that the means of enforcing cleaning is the same you already have to currently to stop them from making a mess now. If that doesn't work, you won't be able to make them clean either.
DumCrescoSpero@reddit
Good luck getting British kids to do that.
Independent-Ad-3385@reddit
My kids primary school always had the classes take turns to clean the dinner hall (which was also the sports hall). It's the reason they hated doing PE after lunch. Food debris everywhere.
fibonaccisprials@reddit
It's a great vision, sadly Japan has a completely different culture the UK has far too many complex cultures all entwined. Japan is very respectful in terms of communication verbally and in body language. I would like to see this in the UK but sadly we are built differently and some are not wired up correctly
JoeDaStudd@reddit
In my primary school (a good 25 years ago) the food was given out in bowls/dishes per table and the students had to split them and serve them out to the table.\ Normally the eldest two pupils on the table would take up the roles.
Cecil182@reddit
No I think they should teach kids about shit like mortgages, jobs, taxes, incomes actual stuff they need as an adult. Yes the adults should teach their kids this but they don't... Why the hell do I know about a king 400 years ago or a religion I give no care for (tell a lie after school I started to look into religions I find the stories interesting and form patterns across all)..but I had no clue what to expect from the real world...
Glittering_Habit_161@reddit
No since school would have to finish after 4 instead of 3 and what about After school clubs?
LicenceToShill@reddit
Some schools have children plating up food for the other children. Like two older children sit at the head of the table and distribute the food provided to them in serving dishes. Its pretty obvious way for social skills and responsibility. I've seen it in old fashioned private schools mainly. Traditional private schools have a lot of things that work and are compatible culturally etc. I think it gets overlooked
Interesting_Try8375@reddit
Mine did, not everything but some of it
sayleanenlarge@reddit
We had that in primary school, not dishing up, but we had to clean up and sponge the tables. I hated it because we didn't have gloves and you'd have to touch other people's dropped food.
ConnectPreference166@reddit
We did that at my secondary school. All of us had to wipe our tables off after eating and cleaned our plates into the bin. Then the sixth form students served food with the dinner ladies.
ColdShadowKaz@reddit
Yes I think it’s a great idea though they say the jobs of the dinner ladies and the cleaners would go, they wouldn’t those jobs would just change to more instructional roles like teaching the kids to clean and serve up the food.
Appropriate_Dig_252@reddit
Absolutely. There's a lot of kids at my work and none of them clean up after themselves. Also they eat like pigs.
McLeod3577@reddit
Yes but let's start with something easier. no phone calls on trains.
Switchermaroo@reddit
I swear every British person is like “do you think we should make everything worse for everyone out of spite”
Recsq@reddit
Nah, that's only the great unwashed
CooroSnowFox@reddit
Because it's something that failed decades ago and trying to put it back together with cellotape would instantly fix everything that went wrong.
Bigheartedmusketeer@reddit
Not the serving but deffo the cleaning.
bucket_of_frogs@reddit
I agree with most people here saying it’d be a great thing as a way to teach kids responsibility and respect etc, but I’ve read examples on Reddit from Japanese people and foreign teachers in Japan that in practice, it’s not as great as it sounds. Kids are terrible at cleaning and need to be constantly supervised.
Also buildings in Japan are designed with a much shorter lifespan than here in the UK so it doesn’t take long for the general state of the school to get pretty scruffy while only being superficially “clean”. Japanese property is treated as disposable, houses are bought and sold for the land value and it’s more normal to demolish a newly bought home and build a new one and the same mentality applies to schools and other public buildings.
So the reality is that the kids half arse the cleaning and quickly learn how to go through the motions without getting into trouble just like kids everywhere and Japanese schools aren’t as clean up close as they appear in the media.
BoleynRose@reddit
The Primary School my daughter will be joining doesn't do this but does pride itself on its lunchtimes. The children all sit at tables with white table cloths and use china plates/bowls and proper cutlery. They also pour their own drinks from glass jugs, I believe. The Head is a big believer that if you give children things to be respectful of then they will be.
I definitely think we can give children more opportunities to develop their social etiquette. They need the chance to learn and practice.
According_Sundae_917@reddit
Their whole culture makes this possible. Trying this in UK with no real cultural foundations of respect is like a sticking plaster over a wound. I love the idea but we need to think of the bigger picture of a culture of respect first - which we absolutely should do
Public-Guidance-9560@reddit
I'm fairly sure we used to do this. We used to sit on tables of 6 and it would be two year6 students serving the table (usually of younger students). I think year 5s got to do this job as well, but younger than that didn't.
Then at the end we'd have to collect up the plates, scrape left overs into a tin and pile the plates on the end for the dinner ladies.
So not full-on standing behind a set of bain maries serving food. But just just sitting there and waiting for someone else to do it.
Oogly11-throwaway@reddit
Clean up for sure. Probably not serve as I know back in my school days, there were a few bully types for surr who would have been delighted at the opportunity to spit in stuff.
Qyro@reddit
Do kids in school now not clean up after themselves? I remember it was a rotational duty when I was at school.
Durzo_Blintt@reddit
Of course it would be good. But our society is a shit hole so fuck it.
Flea-Surgeon@reddit
They'd just laugh, call you the latest insult, and tell you to fuck off here.
SiteRelEnby@reddit
How to get a halfarsed job and a schoolwide food poisoning outbreak.
scenecunt@reddit
We used to do that when i was younger in the 90s. Each table would have 2 kids from the top year and they would dish up for the other 8-10 kids in the table. They were then responsible for collecting the plates and taking them back to the kitchen. It worked well and everyone was always excited about being in the top year so they could be a server.
hanniahisbananaz@reddit
What happened to society since? Kids are just downright disrespectful these days.
Lack of consequences? Lack of enforcement of rules?
People are so dirty and disgusting in this country. Making kids tidy up after themselves might slowly install a sense of civic responsibility.
PetersMapProject@reddit
The idea sounds lovely, until you factor in the realities of getting the kids who are serving to wash their hands to an acceptable standard, portion control and - most critically - allergen cross contamination.
As for cleaning the classroom - which subject do you think should be removed from curriculum to make time for cleaning?
TohokuJin@reddit
Japanese school days are longer than UK schools so there is time for cleaning. A usual Japanese timetable has school starting at 8am, followed by period 1-4 starting from about 8.30. Each lesson is 45 minutes at primary school or 50 minutes at Junior high school. Lunch is around 12 followed by a 20 minute after lunch break at around 1, then cleaning is usually 15 or 20 minutes after lunch. The kids clean each classroom in groups and have plenty of time to mop, wipe tables and take out the bins. The 5 and 6 period are in the afternoon from about 13:45 - 15:30. Younger year groups usually have 5 periods a day and the older kids have 6 periods a day at elementary school.
TrumpGrabbedMyCat@reddit
Which subject do you think they removed in Japan?
https://worldpopulationreview.com/country-rankings/education-rankings-by-country
MovTheGopnik@reddit
Mine did! What usually happened though was that people would escape and so there would only be a few of us in the end.
GladAbbreviations981@reddit
Yes but im worried they would start food fights by slinging beans and spuds in the first year.
Tigertotz_411@reddit
The culture is too different. While many aspects of life in Japan are admirable, it requires a lot of personal sacrifice.
Its a matter of perspective whether it is better or worse.
Working very very long hours to get the job done, however hard, is one.
i-am-a-passenger@reddit
Schools making kids do anything would be an improvement. Parents are happy to raise absolute cunts, our only hope is school.
CooroSnowFox@reddit
You have to ease them into doing stuff and give them reasons to follow along with what they're told to do.
Not just for some respect or whatever because not every kid gives a shit.
i-am-a-passenger@reddit
Yep “giving them a reason” to follow along or give a shit is helpful.
CooroSnowFox@reddit
Most advice for kids from certain generations is just to be happy/grateful...
but you need to work with them and at least give them something that encourages them and not just doing it because "I did it when I was a kid and nothing bad happened to me" type thinking.
i-am-a-passenger@reddit
I don’t think I have ever heard anyone advise kids that the best approach to education is being happy/grateful myself tbh.
muddleagedspred@reddit
F*ck yes!
I teach secondary and have done for many years.
I hated with a passion my break duty in the canteen. I genuinely thought, when I was assigned the canteen for the third year running, that I was being punished. Apparently, it was because I had good behaviour management skills...this should give you a clue as to what the canteen is like.
The kids are disgusting. They leave their rubbish everywhere, despite there being bins all over the room. They leave half-eaten food on the tables and just walk away, and if challenged will still refuse to put stuff in the bin because "there's a cleaner though." They throw food, tread dropped food into the floor, and treat canteen staff with disdain.
For those of you who spend time making your kids a packed lunch - I see around 50% of those sandwiches thrown straight into the bin without even being unwrapped.
Obviously, this isn't all kids. But, if you think your child behaves the same way at home as they do when they're with a gaggle of mates, you're deluded.
MesocricetusAuratus@reddit
I don't think British kids take knives to school hoping to serve a good quality lunch.
Infinite_Crow_3706@reddit
Great idea. We would see a generation of polite kids
RedPlasticDog@reddit
It’s just the parents and grandparents we need to deal with then
CooroSnowFox@reddit
The ones who set kids on this path because the schools aren't able to keep up with how things change. "it worked for me, so will work for them" doesn't take a lot into account with how the world has changed.
elenawing@reddit
My child’s primary school makes sure everyone takes responsibility for their mess and their cutlery etc. lots of tubs full of soapy water all with pictures of what goes where.
They are expected to leave where they ate clean (with help ofc for the younger ones who might not know how to clean up properly) and they actively help each other out.
I can imagine if they were given free reign to serve food to each other, it would be anarchy
LittleSadRufus@reddit
At my daughter's primary school, older kids take it in turns to help the kitchen staff dole out the food. She's very proud when it's her turn.
EuphoricGrapefruit32@reddit
It's a lovely idea, but I think a lot of this country's kids would call Childline if they were asked to serve the others, or their parents' would kick off about it. I remember seeing that kids in Singapore clean the their school and streets outside the school and stuff, which is great.
vbanksy@reddit
Many schools already do some of this. I know an academy trust in inner Leeds where so many kids are pupil premium (eligible for free school lunch) that the whole school does sit down lunch. Someone does the cutlery, someone pours water, someone serves.
CooroSnowFox@reddit
In the UK, if you were to do that... one or two kids could just half arse or mess about and it would piss other kids off and you're not always going to be likely to do the "you're ruining it for everyone" for the situation to never get fixed.
Cultural_Tank_6947@reddit
That's a reflection of wider Japanese society than necessary something that happens in schools. I'm obviously no expert on Japanese culture to confidently state whether the schools did it first and broader society followed (or vice versa).
However go also look at videos of adults cleaning up rubbish at sporting events to get an idea of how widespread it is.
I can't see it working in the UK. Not without wider improvements in civic responsibility.
PapaJrer@reddit
Sounds like a chicken and egg situation.
dipsy-lala@reddit
kids over here would do such a bad job that it would be a pointless exercise, classroom would probably come off dirtier and one of the kids would have drank the disinfectant
CooroSnowFox@reddit
I wouldn't trust any of the pricks I shared a classroom with to serve my food... I'll leave it to the dinnerladies to do that.
quite_acceptable_man@reddit
That was my thought. Guaranteed that some nasty little prick will find a way to tamper with someone's food. Not sure how SEND is dealt with in Japan, but certainly in my kids' school, any kid with an 'ism' can get away with anything.
Clodagh1250@reddit
Love the idea, but no doubt some adults will see profitable loopholes in the system very quickly
drifty241@reddit
With respect, all of the adults weighing in on this are very out of touch. There is no single solution for making children more respectful. Most behavioural issues are not perpuated by the education system but by parents not discouraging bad behaviour.
What the uk actually needs a comprehensive education bill that addresses a variety of issues instead of just ‘make kids do work to teach them respect’.
CooroSnowFox@reddit
Yeah, it's a problem thats been around for decades and the people who would go "this would teach them respect" are half of the cause to why it's so off the rails these days, they don't want to admit it and just put some blue tack up to keep it altogether.
ForeignWeb8992@reddit
Scene yesterday walking by a park: toddler throws fruit juice plastic bottle in the flower bed, mother shouts that she doesn't like that, then proceeds to walk away without picking it up....
Laylelo@reddit
Many parents would go absolutely nuts if you did this in schools. They complain about the smallest thing, this would be a nightmare.
However, I’d love to see us take a leaf out of the French book where they teach their children about food and nutrition and take pride in feeding them proper three course meals at school that are often local and organic. I would love this country to take our food and children’s health more seriously.
CooroSnowFox@reddit
If there was more about dealing with this stuff within school, but then the money and resources aren't there for it to make any difference.
Like life lessons was a random 30 minute registration period once every few weeks and not really pushed much into making it stick.
Laylelo@reddit
Yep, I agree - you need the resources. We just don’t have the will to do it.
pinkyandthebrain-ama@reddit
In principle, yes. In practice, no.
The UK has gone a bit too far in human rights ideals that would make it an absolute nightmare/totally impractical.
Firstly, the kids have no discipline. Parents are quick to blame the schools for their kids bad behaviour (while taking no responsibility for their own actions). The teachers have no power to discipline the kids for being sued for talking to them too sternly (while the kids can physically punch a teacher and not get expelled, I've seen it happen). Lastly, getting the kids to 'work' could get them potentially hurt (such as scolding or dropping something) and could, you guessed it, open them up to being sued once again.
CooroSnowFox@reddit
Its a problem that has been kicked down the road multiple times over decades and is probably something that is only brought out to make people care but is never taken seriously
Knowing the shit pit of a school I went to... but Seniors, it would last a week or two.
Maybe Infants and Juniors...
Extreme_Chicken_5351@reddit
If you do that tbe poor dinner lady's will have their hour cut as the kids have done the tidying, on the other hand us parent can make our kids do so at home can't leave everything down to school to teach our kids
tmstms@reddit
Would not happen here. It would just go horribly wrong.
zone6isgreener@reddit
Of course it wouldn't, that's hyperbole.
This inverse British exceptionalism is a cancer.
tmstms@reddit
What's exceptionalist about it? I'm not comparing us to other countries, but if I did, I'd say that the Far East has extremely high rates of child obedience.
I think we are a fantastic country with the best people in the world. Doesn't mean I think our children would be willing to cook and serve school dinners on a national basis.
Anxious-Molasses9456@reddit
Its the first step in a dystopian world where everyone pretends to be happy on the outside
So Japan, the concept of your work face and true face is a genuine thing there and why the mandatory after work drinks is mandatory
Kaiisim@reddit
How would you make them do that?
spicyzsurviving@reddit
how do you make kids do anything in school? it would be 'part of being there'. the same way that kids know to go to their classes, change for PE, do their work etc.
Timely_Egg_6827@reddit
Might work at primary but not as secondary because kitchens tend to be industralised to shift lots of people fast. And the day is pretty full with actual learning. Also liability big if allergies.
AccomplishedHold8399@reddit
I studied in Ukraine. All school students were responsible for cleaning classrooms and we also helped the canteen staff to serve food and drinks, especially for pupils from elementary grades ( in Ukraine it’s common to have all grades studying in the same building. There was a schedule for each team to join cleaning communal areas as the school garden etc. We had cleaners clean the loo, and corridors, but as I mentioned, we were quite involved into light physical activity 😃
Robynsxx@reddit
I don’t trust UK kids to not spread massive germs
AddictedToRugs@reddit
Now look at the kind of soulless drones many Japanese adults are.
CooroSnowFox@reddit
Yeah, the expectations would be a whole lot worse and people disappearing off the system (Hikkiomori) just because it's too much... which is something that somehow hasn't hit harder elsewhere.
frikadela01@reddit
When I was in high school (late 90s) each class would take turns to clean up the indoor social areas at the end of each break. It was known as been on "binner duty". Despite knowing we actually had to clean it all up the areas still ended up an absolute shit tip.
voluotuousaardvark@reddit
At primary school we would occasionally do a "fod-plod" of the school field after lunchbreak.
It was only as an adult i learned this is an MOD thing and the school, at the time, was made up mostly of MODbrats, was also early 90s.
It was only ever in good weather and I remember it being fun lining up and picking up the very little bits of litter or leaves etc.
acameron78@reddit
I'm a Governor of a couple of schools in London and our kids serve other kids. They all get a lot out of it.
RoyofBungay@reddit
I taught in Chinese Universities for 5 years. Most classes had a homeroom where students could return to after classes. Each class had a monitor who was responsible for cleaning the classroom and the 6 or so blackboards on the wall. Being the monitor had a degree of prestige and also looked good for their academic record.
CooroSnowFox@reddit
I don't think having that on your academic record would mean much outside of school in the UK
RoyofBungay@reddit
Being a monitor was considered prestigious back in the day in the UK. By the sounds of it these days being a monitor is a shorthand for being a nark.
CooroSnowFox@reddit
Yeah, it's being seen as a suck up if you were to do that... one of the least popular kids, no matter how you dress it up. Maybe in the private schools, but then equally, you probably got it because your dad works high up in the school.
Major-Bookkeeper8974@reddit
I was in primary school back in the 1990s...
When I started (probably for the first couple of years of my school life) the school still had the tradition of year 6s serving food to the younger kids.
We'd be on a table in the dinning hall, probably about 8 children per table I reckon since my memory tells me they were square with two chairs per side. Each table had two year 6 kids that went up, collected the food and came back to literally dish it out onto empty plates that were infront of us younger ones.
It was a tradition the school had held since it was built in the mid 1800s. But it got phased out.
By the time I was in year 3 or 4 we went to the model of going up with a tray and being served by the dinner ladies, but I also remember the dinning hall being remodelled and half of it was used for the new computer lab... so I don't know if that altered things?
I can't comment on whether it was a good thing or a bad thing. I never had to do the serving as I didn't reach year 6 before the phase out. But the idea doesn't seem totally alien to me. 🤷🏼♂️
But primary schools were different back then. I mean I also remember Golden book and Black book. Every Friday assembly kids got to stand up and be praised for good behaviour as their teachers had put them in Golden Book (a literal book covered in what I can only assume was shiny gold wrapping paper or something).
Black book however, if your name was in that book you were standing up in assembly and the whole school was being told how naughty you'd been that week! After that public humiliation you lost your playtime! 😱
Tony-2112@reddit
When I was at primary school 1970’s UK this is how it was done. Tables of eight with two servers from top class, they had to collect the food for all of us from the kitchen hatch and dish it out.
It was hell, some real bullies ended up just abusing the younger kids
Scarred_fish@reddit
There are schools that don't???
spicyzsurviving@reddit
not cooking, but cleaning up after themselves, yes. we had to clear our tables and return trays and separate dirty cutlery/ litter/ leftover food, but our lunchtimes were not long enough, nor was there the sort of space/organisation to allow everyone to fully wash the dishes themselves. for big schools with a lot of pupils, that's logistically a bit tricky. I do think there should be at least some contribution by the pupils, even if its returning trays and sorting the contents into the correct place (e.g., bin, dirty cutlery tray) and wiping down the table.
many schools don't have dedicated 'lunch halls' though, and many pupils have packed lunches.
teaching children to cook for themselves (not one another) in dedicated food tech / home ec classes should happen in schools anyway, it's an important skill that far too many of my peers at uni (mostly the boys, sorry to play into that stereotype, but it's true) didn't have.
CooroSnowFox@reddit
although it's not going to be for a few generations even if you did start teaching them to do so now... and even then it's not like half of them would give a shit about it if you tried.
KayC720@reddit
We did the clean up in primary school, I don’t think it did anything for me
IDoMeanWell@reddit
At my kids school they have a rota where each lunchtime two year 4 kids man the salad bar (so the dinner staff dish out the meals and then the kids bring their trays to the salad bar and the salad bar kids give them whatever bits of salad they want) and two year 6 kids do "scraping" - so all kids bring their used trays and plates over to the "scraping area" and put their trays in one pile, cutlery in a tub and then their plates go to the "scrapers" who - guess what? - scrape the plates before passing them into the kitchen staff to wash. The kids love the responsibility (despite some of them finding the scraping a bit gross 🤢)
polymath_uk@reddit
We did this when I was in junior school in the late 1980s. It's not a new idea.
YetAnotherMia@reddit (OP)
Oh how did it work out?
polymath_uk@reddit
It was fine. I can remember one kid (his name was Tom Newton) getting told off for dripping gravy from a serving spoon onto the floor. Otherwise it worked out well.
Violet351@reddit
I don’t think the serving would be allowed. A local village that has been doing a club for older people on their own had to close after more than 40 years because the council said they had to do some training thing and it would cost too much to put everyone through it. Kids aren’t great at washing their hands so I don’t think they should be doing it
Educational-Track-62@reddit
I’m a teacher and my school allow students to eat in specific classrooms during winter months due to large student numbers and only one canteen.
They absolutely do not respect and tidy up after themselves even though they are supposed to. Even the nicest students treat it like a personal dumping ground! Regularly had lessons where we find sauce and bits of food on chairs, floors and walls! This is a really good school too generally so I can’t imagine some of the tougher places.
Think it’s not the same culture of respect here.
CooroSnowFox@reddit
You need to have a culture shift and even then you'd get the same level of shit thrown towards kids if they were following all of these duties that involves cleaning up the school...
TheRimz@reddit
Cleaning 100% but not service
TheGeordieGal@reddit
Cleaning, yes.
I volunteer with kids and they seem (and we’re talking aged 10+) to have very little concept of cleaning up after themselves. It took 2 of them 10 mins to clean 5 bowls a few weeks ago. They didn’t know what they needed to clean a table and left dirty spots covered in crumbs. A vacuum seemed to be a foreign concept to most of them as well. They all seem so used to parents or others cleaning up after them that they just don’t know how to do a proper job of it with more than minimal effort.
I won’t talk about how some seemed to get more water in the floor (which they walked off and left) than they had in the sink when cleaning a pot (so badly I could wipe more dirt off with my finger after they said it was impossible to clean and they couldn’t get more dirt off).
BackgroundGate3@reddit
This was how it was done to a certain extent at my UK primary school in the late 60s/early 70s. We sat at tables of 8 and the two oldest children served the younger ones. There were lunch supervisors who brought the heavy trays of food across to the tables and took the empty ones away and adults did the washing up, but at the end of each course the kids cleared the plates and at the end of lunch it was the kids who cleared the tables, wiped them down and lifted the chairs onto the tables, then swept the floor. I thought all schools were the same then. It was only when I got to senior school that I experienced the canteen system.
HenryFromYorkshire@reddit
When I was in primary school in the 80s, we had tables of 6 for lunch. The food would be brought to the table and then the servers (usually the oldest two children on each table) would serve it out. There were very few problems with this, and you stayed at the same table throughout each year and got to know your lunch group well.
After everyone finished eating, there were 6-8 children from the older years that were selected to wipe tables, fold them and put the tables and chairs away. Each child got a few penny sweets after each time they did this. You did it for a week, then a new group was rotated in.
It worked so well, and taught a sense of responsibility. Younger children would see the older ones doing these things well, and would follow that when they were older. It was extremely rare that there were any problems, but if there was, the teachers would deal with it swiftly.
I was a primary school teacher for many years, and found that most children are kind and helpful to other children.
Few-Interaction-1302@reddit
No leave kids alone ffs it’s shit enough as it is
Malaika_2025@reddit
Naaah, I wouldn't want my kid to do it. There is stuff at school and my kid is not a part of it unless paid.
Zoe_cheekyy@reddit
Honestly, it's not a bad idea. Teaching kids responsibility, teamwork, and respect for shared spaces early on can only be a good thing. The Japanese model isn’t about punishment it’s about community and ownership. Of course, it would need to be adapted for the UK, but there's something valuable in the principle: less "someone else will clean it" and more "we all pitch in." Might even cut down on lunchroom chaos!
clarerose85@reddit
I mean the absolute most you could get them to do these days without kicking off and refusing would be to empty their tray into a bin and rinse it under a tap ready to be cleaned properly. It would cause that much disruption and anger that it’s not even worth trying.
GhostRiders@reddit
Schools used to have kids help serve dinner to younger kids in the UK.
When I was in primary school in the early 80's they used to have two kids from the last year on each table and they would help the younger kids with their dinners.
Once finished each table had to clear all the plates, glasses, knives and forks etc.
It stopped when we went from using proper plates to trays.
Any-Mycologist8868@reddit
The Japanese culture is directly downstream of the Japanese people. I'm skeptical about retro fitting it onto British children as they are far less conscientious.
I do love this element of their culture tho, and it's proof real diversity does not include insane levels of mass migration.
zone6isgreener@reddit
I'd suggest that cleaning the classrooms and school corridors from primary school up would pay dividends. It would take ten years to bed it, but the one thing we know when it comes to social attitudes that the state banging the drum for a belief at all levels changes minds.
himit@reddit
Yep, and it'd work fine. Nursery kids etc all tidy up after play sessions, so you just need to implement it from a young age.
Ok-Rate1104@reddit
No only because in Japan they are allowed a reasonable amount of time to have lunch and in most uk schools unless they are v small isn't the case..
my-comp-tips@reddit
Think it's a great idea, probably would not be allowed due to health amd safety. My daughters 10 years old, and I'm doing my best to teach her some common sense and some life skills. Not the teachers fault, but there are so many silly rules at school.
the_merry_pom@reddit
They just don’t behave the same here and we don’t treat them the same either. Totally different culture.
In addition to this, the staff that service schools and are paid so poorly they have to top up their incomes with universal credit would have to be taken into consideration.
Nice idea though.
imtiramisu2025@reddit
I don't see how it could be a bad thing but i imagine very hard to implement.
anotherangryperson@reddit
Sounds a very good idea.
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