School cleaning

Unlike America, where the schools hire people specifically to clean the schools, the students have the responsibility here in Japan. As soon as lunch recess is over, there are 20 minutes devoted to cleaning the entire school- including the classrooms, the gym, the teacher's office, and the bathrooms. While the students may have less motivation than someone who is paid to do the job, I think the idea is to make them appreciate where they are by keeping it clean. As one of the teachers told me today, they clean the gym without complaining because they want it to be clean when they use it.