Lunch systems at elementary schools in five countries. They were actually quite diverse.

The 'Active Learning: What About This?' Research Institute launched at DENTSU SOKEN INC. We will propose ideas about active learning from various angles. This column will introduce methods, concepts, and individuals that could be useful for making learning more active.

After transferring to a French elementary school, my first lunch period arrived. "I'll show you the way!" said the classmate who sat next to me, and we headed to the cafeteria together. What kind of school lunch would they serve? I was excited as we went, but the cafeteria was completely empty. I started eating anyway. As lunchtime drew to a close, there was no sign of anyone else coming. Did nobody eat lunch here? I wondered, but I couldn't speak French. I tried asking with gestures, "Why doesn't everyone come to eat?"

After some explanation and gestures, I learned that in French schools, most people go home to eat lunch with their families. "Huh, go home!?" I couldn't believe it. "Don't their parents work?" After a while, I understood that parents also have a longer lunch break and many go home to eat too.

Ah, I see. That's new. Honestly, the school food wasn't very tasty. They said I could bring my own lunch, but I was drawn to this very appealing option of "going home." I decided to try persuading my family right away. The persuasion worked, and a few days later, I started going home to eat lunch with my parents. Surprisingly, maybe because my parents weren't tired yet, the conversation and discussion about what happened at school never stopped. We'd have all sorts of discussions as a family, like, "That kid from that country said this, but what do you think?"

The system allowing students to bring lunch to school was also in place at the British elementary school I attended before. Everyone ate together in the cafeteria, but you could choose between the school lunch or bringing your own. What people ate was often quite varied.

What was interesting here was the variety of everyone's lunches. There was a girl from Canada eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, an Indian boy eating dishes I'd never seen before, a Japanese girl next to him eating rice balls wrapped in nori, and another girl eating the school lunch of chili beans and tomatoes. It was chaotic, with so many unfamiliar foods it felt fresh.

In class, everyone learns the same things together. But come lunchtime, you realize how different our eating habits really are. Still, we all eat together, chatting and laughing. The world really has all kinds of food.

Russian elementary schools are like Japan's, with everyone eating school lunches. But lunch starts with breakfast. After the second period, everyone eats together in the cafeteria. Breakfast usually consists of sweet porridge made from different grains each day, often with black bread. For kids who ate breakfast at home, this is their second breakfast. Then, after the fourth period, it's lunch. This includes soup, a main dish, and black bread. Black bread is essential with any meal in Russia.

Even if it tastes bad or you dislike it, you must finish everything served. You can't leave your seat until you're done. Somehow, this is also similar to Japan. But kids with picky eating habits usually learn a trick: getting the kids who eat well to finish their disliked food. What you need to master is negotiation skills.

American elementary schools are similar to the UK in that when taking attendance in the morning, you tell the teacher whether you're having "Hot" (school lunch) or "Cold" (packed lunch). The difference here is that everyone can see the pre-distributed lunch menu and only choose school lunch on days when their favorite food is served. Pizza, hot dogs, lasagna, tacos, etc., are popular, and the number of people choosing school lunch doubles on those days. On days with disliked foods or menus you particularly don't want, you can just bring lunch from home.

And here, no one forces you to eat things you dislike, nor is it a problem to leave food uneaten. A classmate told me this is because you (or your parents) paid for it, so how you handle what you paid for is your choice. However, manners like "Don't play with your food!" are strictly enforced.

What shocked me during American school lunchtime was how many kids weren't eating meat. In Russia, they say you won't grow if you don't eat meat, so not eating it isn't an option. In fact, the idea of not eating it doesn't even occur to you. But here, while not quite half the class, a significant number of kids don't eat meat.

When I asked why, they explained: "Oh, I'm Muslim, so pork is off-limits," "In Judaism, we can only eat certain meats, so I don't eat the meat at school lunch," "My family's vegetarian!"

Ah, so there are religious reasons and personal principles. Here, I learned for the first time that there's a "principle" of not eating meat. Because of what you believe, even if your body could handle it, you choose to completely avoid a certain food. This would later have a big impact on my life.

Another reason was allergies. There were kids in the class with allergies to eggs, milk, nuts, wheat flour, and more. So, when it comes to meals, if you don't offer various options, there will be people who can't eat.

An interesting aspect of Japanese school lunches is that the lunch duty students distribute and portion out the meals for everyone. Is it okay for children to do this? I felt quite uncomfortable about it at first, but once I tried doing it myself, I began to see things differently.

Eating in the classroom instead of a cafeteria was also a novel experience. However, Japanese school lunches have one major flaw. This applies to Russia too: they don't allow for diversity.

I became a vegetarian at age 12, which meant there was almost nothing I could eat in Japanese school lunches. Even the salad contained ham, the soup had meat-based broth, and the rice was often cooked with chicken. So, the only thing I could eat was milk. For nearly a year, on many days, I drank only milk. But being vegetarian was seen as "picky eating," treated the same as a child who dislikes carrots, and met with no understanding. My homeroom teacher believed that if I had no food, I'd eventually give in and eat meat. I wasn't allowed to bring a packed lunch. This was incredibly tough. But it was my conviction, so I stuck to it.

Looking at it this way, even something like "lunch" varies greatly by country in its methods and philosophies. Countries like Russia and Japan, where eating the same food together in the same place fosters a sense of unity. France, where family mealtime is valued more than eating with classmates. Countries like the UK and the US, which value diversity and flexibly accommodate individual religions, beliefs, and ideologies. Just spending one or two hours eating with classmates can teach you so much about the world.

Ideologies, world cuisines, living with allergies, why you shouldn't leave food on your plate, or if it's okay to do so. Perhaps occasionally trying different lunch methods in Japan too could become an opportunity for children to think about various forms of "diversity" through the act of "eating."