Tue 18.06.24 | 06:15 am | By
Moritz Hohmann
There are places that people prefer to avoid. For example, school toilets. The first German school toilet summit on Tuesday is now campaigning for more cleanliness. A Berlin school class has developed its own concept for this – with success . By Moritz Hohmann
It stinks, wet paper sticks to the walls and mirrors, the cubicles are dirty – everyday life in many German school toilets. The ones who suffer are usually the ones who caused the problem, namely the students. The first German school toilet summit on Tuesday is now tackling the long-standing problem, bringing together the responsible and affected groups of people and debating solutions.
The poor toilet hygiene in many schools has consequences: a majority of students try to avoid going to the toilet, and more than a quarter eat and drink less as a result. This is the conclusion of a study by the German Toilet Organization, in collaboration with the Institute for Hygiene and Public Health at the University of Bonn. According to the study, around 60 percent of German school principals also report that not all of the sanitary facilities in their institution are fully functional.
Music video promotes clean toilets
For almost 20 years, the German Toilet Organization has been committed to sustainable and safe sanitation and water supplies. This is why it has now announced the third nationwide competition “Toilets Make Schools”, the winners of which will be chosen at the summit on Tuesday.
Around 160 schools took part, including the Paul Simmel elementary school in Berlin-Tempelhof. They applied with their concept and music video [paul-simmel-grundschule.de] “Word on it! Clean heroes”: Five singing “clean heroes” are ambassadors for clean school toilets. Their idea: All 540 students watch the music video and then sign an agreement class by class. In it, the children promise, for example, to always flush the toilet, report vandalism and not have water fights.
“Daily stench makes us all sick, fresh air again – whoever prevents it is a scoundrel,” sings lead singer Mira in the song, after the school’s caretaker complains about the situation at the beginning of the video. The “clean heroes” with the appropriate cape and a large “S” on their chest, for example, point out soap when someone washes their hands with just water.
Children hope that their concept will prevail in the long term
Teym, one of the young protagonists, is confident that their concept will prevail: “We want to get people at school to stop dirtying the toilets. We hope it works.” The jury was convinced by their idea: The school received a special prize: On a “hygiene day” a doctor will come to the school and talk to the kids about how important cleanliness in the toilets is – also for their health.
Jan de Laffolie, head of pediatric gastroenterology at the Justus Liebig University in Giessen, has researched the topic. “When children avoid school toilets, they hold back their stool. This hardens, the large intestine stores it and expands.” This can lead to chronic constipation, in which the intestine is overwhelmed by the large amount of stool. “This is one of the most common causes of chronic abdominal pain in children,” says de Laffolie. The risk of infections that can be transmitted through toilets, however, is overestimated in Germany.
With its action, the Paul Simmel Elementary School is also in line with the findings of the German Toilet Organization. The organization recommends structural participation by students and schools. It is about developing a positive group dynamic instead of punishing only a few guilty parties, because a “large majority of students suffer from the behavior of a few and the lack of action by those responsible,” says the managing director of the German Toilet Organization, Thilo Panzerbieter.
This is no longer the case at the Paul Simmel Elementary School: the toilet situation has improved significantly. The concept seems to be working: the toilets are clean – hopefully they will remain so in the future.
Broadcast: rbb24 Inforadio, 18.06.2024, 09:10 a.m.
Article by Moritz Hohmann
Newsessentials Blog 
Posted on June 18, 2024
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