IGCSE FLE Narratives & Sample Responses

Argumentative Essay

Why Students Should Not Be Cleaning The School

Schools get dirty all the time. It's unavoidable, given that many young children are there for 6 hours every day. However, that doesn't mean that students should end up cleaning everything and doing it on a rotating basis. There are many reasons for this, and I shall be explaining why.

To start, the main purpose of school is to learn. It's what we come for and the reason why going is so important - to get educated and help society out. Those 6 hours we spend on school should not be spent on cleaning the building. I understand that cleaning is an important skill to know, but that can easily be taught at home compared to other subjects. Even if you don't do it during school time, you can't make kids stay even longer after school to clean up mess from hundreds of students and staff. It would make it more likely for them to absolutely detest all forms of cleaning, which is not something you would want instilled in a child.

For my second point, there are custodians. Yes, custodians are human and we should always try to make things easier for them, since they do so much. However, they are getting paid to clean the building. Students would not get any compensation for the work they have to do and it can take a real toll on them. Not to mention, custodians are adults and know how to efficiently and responsibly. Imagine giving 10-11 year olds a mop, some cleaning supplies and tell them to go clean the school. You end up with a bigger mess then when you started. You could also say that staff could supervise them, but they have to teach their lessons and they have a personal life that shouldn't be spent on watching students clean.

I understand the main counter-argument for this. It is a good skill that kids should learn and will cause them to become more responsible. While that is true, they don't have to clean the entire school for it. A better idea would be for students to just clean their seating area and their locker (if they have one). This way, it wouldn't take very long for them to clean and since they're using it every day, students are more likely to clean their area properly. Not to mention, teachers can help with this and it won't interfere with learning time or take out time after school. This will also instill responsibility because they have to be responsible for their own section since they have to use it every day. Why would this not work?

These are the main reasons on why students should not be cleaning the entire school. Schools get dirty all the time, but if every student does their part, the school will remain just as clean and pristine as it would if students had to clean the entire school, perhaps even more.