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Cram schools (also known as crammers) are specialized schools that train their students to meet particular goals, most commonly to pass the entrance examinations of high schools or universities. A school (from Greek σχολεῖον - scholeion) is an Institution designed to allow and encourage Students (or "pupils" The word student is etymologically derived through Middle English from the Latin second-type conjugation Verb "studēre" An entrance examination is an Examination that many educational institutions use to select students for admission High school is the name used in some parts of the world (in particular Scotland, North America and Australia) to describe an institution A university is an institution of Higher education and Research, which grants Academic degrees in a variety of subjects The English name is derived from the slang term "cramming," meaning to study hard or to study a large amount of material in a short period of time. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Slang is the use of highly informal Words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's Dialect or Language. Cram schools are more common in non-English speaking countries, especially in Asian countries.

Contents

Education

Cram schools are usually privately owned. They are prevalent in East Asia, where rote-memorization education plays a greater part in adolescent life. Education encompasses both the Teaching and Learning of Knowledge, proper conduct, and technical competency In fact, there are so many cram schools in Japan, mainland China, Taiwan, South Korea, and Hong Kong, that they have become a de facto parallel educational system, and high school students may need to attend cram schools after regular school to master certain important courses, like English, mathematics or natural sciences. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Mainland China, Continental China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term synonymous with the area that is under the jurisdiction Taiwan ( Taiwanese: Tâi-oân/Tāi-oân (historically 大灣/台員/大員/台圓/大圓/台窩灣 is an Island in East Asia. South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often referred to as Korea ( Korean: 대한민국 tɛː Hong Kong ( officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a territory located on China 's south coast on the Pearl River Delta, and borders English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of Literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U Mathematics is the body of Knowledge and Academic discipline that studies such concepts as Quantity, Structure, Space and In Science, the term natural science refers to a naturalistic approach to the study of the Universe, which is understood as obeying rules or law of

Cram schools usually specialize in a particular subject or subjects. Cram schools that prepare students for high school and university entrance examinations are also frequently specialized to particular schools, and the staff may have access to previous years' examinations. Special cram schools that prepare students who have failed their entrance examinations (known as ronin in colloquial Japanese) to take them the following year are also common. A was a Samurai with no lord or master during the Feudal period (1185–1868 of Japan. Such students may spend up to eighteen hours a day studying to retake their tests. Students who attend regular after-school cram schools may study four hours or more.

As the name suggests, the aim of a cram school is to impart as much information to its students as possible in the shortest period of time. The goal is to enable the students to "parrot," that is, to unthinkingly repeat, information that is deemed necessary for particular examinations. Cram schools are sometimes criticized, along with the countries in which they are prevalent, for the lack of training their students receive in critical thinking and analysis.

Alternative names

They go by various names such as:

By country

China

Cram schools are popular in China due to the importance of standardized exams, such as:

Hong Kong

Main article: Cram schools in Hong Kong

Cram schools in Hong Kong are called tutorial schools. Cram schools in Hong Kong are referred to as Tutorial schools ( Jyutping: bou2 zaap6 se5 Hong Kong ( officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a territory located on China 's south coast on the Pearl River Delta, and borders These cram schools put focus on the two major public examinations in Hong Kong, namely HKCEE and HKALE, and teach students on techniques on answering questions in the examinations. The Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE 香港中學會考 is a standardized examination which most local students sit for at the end of their 5-year secondary education The Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination ( HKALE, 香港高級程度會考 or more commonly known as the A-level, conducted by the Hong Kong Examinations and They also provide students tips on which topics may appear on the coming examination (called "question tipping"), and provide students some sample questions that are similar to those that appear in the examinations. Some cram school teachers in Hong Kong have become idolized and attract many students to take their lessons. These teachers are called "King of tutors (補習天王)".

India

Like in other Asian countries education plays a very great role in the lives of the young. And given the intense competition that young Indians experience because of the country's huge population, the need for a degree takes on a whole new perspective. Numerous cram schools—referred to as tutorials in India—have sprung up all over the nation. Like elsewhere here too these tutorials have become a parallel education system with the aim of getting their "clients" through various competitive exams. These exams are necessary to get into not only fields like engineering, medicine and law but also into India's civil services.

Some of the more prominent tutorials are:

Ireland

"Grind schools", as they are known in the Republic of Ireland, prepare students for the Leaving Certificate examination. Ireland ( Irish: Éire, ˈeːrʲə is a country in north-western Europe. The Leaving Certificate ( Ardteistiméireacht) commonly referred to as the Leaving Cert (Irish Ardteist) is the final course in the Irish Competition for university places (the "points race") has intensified with recent years: students wishing to study medicine, law or veterinary science in particular must achieve five or six "A" grades to be accepted. Medicine is the art and science of healing It encompasses a range of Health care practices evolved to maintain and restore Human Health by the Law is a system of rules enforced through a set of Institutions used as an instrument to underpin civil obedience politics economics and society Veterinary medicine the application of medical, diagnostic, and therapeutic principles to companion, domestic, exotic, wildlife Some grind schools, such as The Institute of Education, teach full-time. Many others offer weekend or night-time classes for students in subjects in which they struggle.

Japan

Main article: Juku

Korea

Main article: Hagwon

It is common for Korean school-children to attend one or more institutes after their elementary school-day is finished. Gakushū juku (学習塾 Cram schools are special private schools (primarily in Japan) that offer lessons conducted after regular school hours and A hagwon is a for-profit private Cram school prevalent in South Korea. Some types of institutes include math, science, art, and English. English-language institutes are particularly popular.

Many native English-speakers are hired to teach at English-language institutes in Korea, referred to as English hagwons. The requirements for such a teaching position include a 4-year university degree, citizenship in an English-speaking country, and the ability to sign a contract for one year. In return, the institute often provides the instructor with round-trip airfare from his or her country of origin and a rent-free apartment for the duration of the instructor's contract. Upon the completion of this contract, employers are also required to award each teacher a severance pay equal to one month's salary. [1] This is awarded to all employees in Korea, not just foreign teachers.

Because of the importance of the university entrance examination in determining one's career prospects, students are under intense pressure to study long hours. The high school years, especially, are a time when students have little chance to do much except study. The Korean saying "Sleep five hours and fail, sleep four hours and pass" is taken seriously; for three years students typically begin school at 6 a. m. and finish at midnight; some students finish at 10 p. m. and go to hagwons until midnight or 1 a. m. . Students can forgo the 6 p. m. to midnight classes and self-study sessions but only with permission from both their parents and their homeroom teacher, and few bother to ask. The schedule lasts seven days a week and is rigorous even during periods of nominal vacation. It is not uncommon during exam periods to see students sleeping during class from exhaustion. Students are encouraged to conceive of themselves as being in fierce competition with their friends and peers.

Korean high school students suffer from high rates of depression and suicide; suicide rates spike around times of major exams. In 2005 students gathered in Seoul for a candlelight vigil in memory of friends who had committed suicide and to protest for shorter school hours and an end to the haircut policy. A significant number of them wore masks and asked reporters not to take photographs out of fear of being punished by their teachers; many schools warned their students not to attend.

Taiwan

Cram schools in Taiwan are called buxiban and are not necessarily cram schools in the traditional sense. Almost any kind of extracurricular academic lesson could be termed buxiban, such as music, art, math, and science, even if students do not attend these classes specifically in order to pass an examination. It's a traditional belief that parents should send their children to all kinds of cram schools in order to compete against other talented children. Therefore, most children in Taiwan have a schedule packed with all sorts of cram school lessons. But when they study English, often with a "Native Speaker Teacher", they are actually studying at a private language school. Furthermore, since this study is ongoing, they are not "cramming" in the traditional sense of the word, and therefore, these language schools should not be called Cram Schools.

Turkey

The "dershane" system is the Turkish counterpart of cram schools. Students, typically in week-ends (in many instances, also after the school hours, especially in the last year), are drilled on various aspects of ÖSS, the unified "Student Selection Exam". ÖSS or Ögrenci Seçme Sınavı (Student Selection Exam is the University Entrance Exam in Turkey administered by ÖSYM.

A category of high school called "Fen Lisesi" (Sciences High School) is also widely considered as cram schools in Turkey. In the beginning, these schools had been found to promote scientific education particularly in the primary sciences like Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics. However the unified university entrance test exam system (OSS) structure transformed these school into intense test tutoring centers where students are trained for 4 years on taking the OSS test. ÖSS or Ögrenci Seçme Sınavı (Student Selection Exam is the University Entrance Exam in Turkey administered by ÖSYM. Widely criticized in Turkey for inability to provide a well-rounded universal education or the primary sciences to students, the "Fen Lisesi" system have produced consistently the best OSS test scorers years after years, especially in Sciences and Mathematics weighted point groups.

United Kingdom

England and Wales

Crammers in England and Wales are almost entirely concerned with enabling pupils to re-take their A-level and GCSE exams, to better their grades and in many cases, to get into university. The A-level, short for Advanced Level, is a General Certificate of Education qualification in England, Northern Ireland and Wales, The General Certificate of Secondary Education ( GCSE) is the name of an academic qualification awarded in a specified subject generally taken in a number of subjects by Some offer boarding facilities. All are expensive, compared even to a public school such as Eton which also provides many extra-curricular activities. An independent school in the United Kingdom is a school relying upon private sources for all of its funding predominantly in the form of school fees Eton College, or just Eton, is a world-famous British Independent school for boys founded in 1440 by King Henry VI. Extracurricular activities are activities performed by Students that fall outside the realm of the normal Curriculum of school or university education The English crammer, on the other hand, achieves results through focus on academic work. Few, if any, organise any sports activities, for example. Reflecting the new industrial giants in the world, much of the clientèle of the English crammer today is Russian and Chinese. Sample crammers include:

United States

The phrase "cram school" is considered pejorative in the United States, so similar businesses are called "tutoring services" or "test preparation centers. Words and phrases are pejorative if they imply disapproval or contempt " Some well-known businesses of this type are Barron's, Kaplan, Peterson's, and Sylvan Learning. Barron's Educational Series, Inc is an American test preparation company founded in 1941 as a publisher of materials to help students to prepare for college Kaplan Inc is a For-profit corporation headquartered in New York City, and was founded in 1938 by Stanley Kaplan Peterson’s, founded in 1966, is an American company offering personalized solutions for education and career achievement Sylvan Learning (formerly Sylvan Learning Center) is a chain of franchised and corporate tutoring centers which provide personalized tutoring in Reading Generally, such supplementary instruction is only used in the United States as a way to assist students who have learning disabilities or are struggling academically in a particular subject. They are also used by some upperclassmen in high schools to prepare for the SAT, ACT, and/or Advanced Placement exams. The SAT Reasoning Test (formerly Scholastic Aptitude Test and Scholastic Assessment Test) is a standardized test for College admissions in the The ACT is a standardized achievement Examination for college admissions in the United States produced by ACT Inc The Advanced Placement Program is a program that offers college level courses at High schools across the United States and Canada. Unlike their Asian counterparts, however, these schools tend to stray from rote memorization and more towards vocabulary drills and practicing essay composition. College graduates will sometimes attend such classes to prepare for entrance exams necessary for graduate level education (i. e. LSAT, MCAT, GRE). LSAT may refer to Law School Admission Test Lightweight Small Arms Technologies, a US weapon program The Medical College Admission Test, commonly known as the MCAT, is a computer-based Standardized examination for prospective Medical students

Review courses for the CPA examination (e. The Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination (Uniform CPA Exam is the examination administered to most people who become Certified Public Accountants in the United g. , Becker Conviser, part of DeVry University) and the bar examination (e. DeVry University and DeVry Institute of Technology are divisions of Devry Inc A bar examination is an examination to determine whether a candidate is qualified to practice Law in a given Jurisdiction. g. , BarBri) are universally taken by undergraduate and graduate students in accountancy and law. BarBri is a company in the United States that offers the most widely used Bar exam preparation course in the country Accountancy or accounting is the measurement statement or provision of assurance about financial information primarily used by Lenders managers, Law is a system of rules enforced through a set of Institutions used as an instrument to underpin civil obedience politics economics and society

References

  1. ^ Finding the ESL Position that is Right For You., retrieved Jan 28, 2007

External links

Time (trademarked in capitals as TIME) is a weekly American Newsmagazine, similar to Newsweek and
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