Shoji Sugita
Preface
August 7, 2002 Education Week reported on Cram schools (Juku) in Japan
by Kathaleen Kennedy
Manzo. It describes the main points of cram schools. I will describe
some parts of it at first and will
add some information of ordinary cram schools and preschools (Juku)
in Japan.
ⅠNichinoken juku on Education Week
Toting blue backpacks with reflective trim, they head for their
second shift of studying. They spend
up to three hours, three nights a week in a Spartan, hot, windowless
classroom in a converted
storefront aking additional lessons in mathematics, science, or
Japanese language and writing.
On Saturdays, they return for a test to gauge what they've learned
during the week.
The Nichinoken juku, or "cram school," is one of Japan's largest after- school programs. It serves
more than 37,000 elementary pupils in 84 locations throughout the
country. Such supplemental and
test-preparation programs have been popular in Japan for nearly
four decades as an academic leg
up for students striving to get into the top high schools and universities.
More recently, though,
they have catered to elementary children angling for a spot in
a private junior high school. Japan's
revised national course of study, which went into effect for elementary
and junior high school students
this past spring and will kick in for those in senior high next
year, has been reduced by as much as 30
percent to make room for more hands-on learning and student- guided
projects.
Education officials here hope the new approach to schooling will better equip students with the
problem-solving skills many educators say are essential in a knowledge-based economy. At the
same time, the entrance exams that determine admissions to secondary and postsecondary schools
have not changed Nichinoken has already seen a 6 percent increase in enrollments for the school
year, which began April 1, roughly double its average annual growth. The program for 3rd through 6th
graders costs up to $5,000 a year Last year, the nation's largest juku, Kumon Educational Institute
謡hich serves 1.5 million students in Japan and almost equal numbers overseas, including in the United
States 傭oasted nearly $500 million in sales.
Love-Hate Relationship
The Japanese public and academia, however, have a mixed view of the role of juku in education. For
many parents and students, it seems, they are a necessary part of life. The cram schools are marketed,
Ms. Russell said, in a way that plays on parents' fears that the public school curriculum will not help
their children reach their academic potential.
Those who advocate increased privatization of education claim the
juku are valued partners of the
school system and can help push students beyond the minimum standards
many schools settle for.
In a class here in Yokohama recently, 28 students sat in cramped
rows for a 70-minute lesson in
Japanese writing, a complex system of more than 2,000 commonly
used characters, each representing
a word, sound, or concept. The textbook, custom-made for Nichinoken
students, will take them through
increasingly difficult exercises that will likely exceed those
covered in their regular schools. The
students are lively and enthusiastic in answering the teacher's
questions. They appear to enjoy the
class.
After a dinner break catered by parents, the students return for
a second class in math or another
subject before starting for home around 8:30 p.m., some 12 hours
after their school day began.
While Mr. Takagi is pleased with the rise in business for his company,
he, too, worries
that the quality of the public education system could slip too
far. Thank you, Kathaleen
Kennedy Monzo
Ⅱ Some other ordinary cram schools
The Nichinoken juku is a special cram school. The school focuses
on students who want to go to
elite private junior high schools in urban areas and the tuition
would be 1.5 or 2 times higher than
ordinary cram schools. In many cases, the lessons studied in ordinary
cram schools provide an intellectual
challenge for the students bored with the standardized curriculum
of their regular schools. Or only
supplements for student's bad results. Therefore the costs are
not so expensive as the Nichoken's.
Sample 1 The Uwajima Juku ...... suburban area
1. Elementary school students Grade 1 - Grade 5
○ Subject ... 2 Kokugo ( Reading and Composition ) , Math
............. 1 lesson, 60 minutes
○ Tuition ......A set of 2 subjects.........................
Yen 6,000 a week
If only one subject .....................................Yen
4,000 a week
【Note】 1 dollar = 120 Yen
2. Elementary school students Grade 6
○ Subject .... 3 Kokugo, Math & English ........................
1 lesson, 60 minutes
○ Tuition ...... A set of 3 subjects.......................Yen 9,000 a week
If only one subject.....................................Yen
4,000 a week
3. Junior high school students Grade 1- Grade 3 (like Grade 7 - Grade 9 in the U.S.)
○ Subject ... 5 English, Math, Kokugo ( Reading ,Composition
and a little literature ),
Science, Social-study.............................1
lesson, 75 minutes
○ Tuition .... A set of 5 subjects.........................Yen
12,000 2 weeks
A set of 2 subjects........................... Yen 6,500 2 weeks
4. Senior high school students Grade 1 - Grade 3 (like Grade 10 - Grade 12 in the U.S.)
○ Subject.. 1 Math only ○ Tuition .....Yen 6,500 2
weeks
【Note】 All course, Admission fee........ , Yen 10,000 - Yen 15,000
Sample 2. The Uwajima Juku ...... suburban area
1. Elementary school students Grade 1 - Grade 5
○ Subject ... 2 Kokugo ( Reading and Composition ) , Math
............. 1 lesson, 60 minutes
○ Tuition ......A set of 2 subjects......................... Yen 6,000 a week
If only one subject .....................................Yen
4,000 a week
【Note】 1 dollar = 120 Yen
2. Elementary school students Grade 6
○ Subject .... 3 Kokugo, Math & English ........................ 1 lesson, 60 minutes
○ Tuition ...... A set of 3 subjects.......................Yen
9,000 a week
If only one subject.....................................Yen
4,000 a week
3. Junior high students Grade 1- Grade 3 (like Grade 7 - Grade 9 in the U.S.)
○ Subject ... 5 English, Math, Kokugo ( Reading ,Composition
and a little literature ), Science
、Social-study.............................1
lesson, 75 minutes
○ Tuition .... A set of 5 subjects.........................Yen
12,000 2 weeks
A set of 2 subjects...........................
Yen 6,500 2 weeks
4. Senior high students Grade 1 - Grade 3 (like Grade 10 - Grade 12 in the U.S.)
○ Subject.. 1 Math only
○ Tuition .....Yen 6,500 2 weeks
【Note】 Full course, Admission fee........ , Yen 10,000 - Yen 15,000
Ⅲ Average tuition of elemetary & junior students for a family in
Japan
Year 2000,
Ministry of General Affairs
In Toyama City ( middle-scale city )........Yen 20, 160 a month
Kanazawa City ( the same scale ) .... Yen 18, 670 a month
Fukui City ( the same scale) ...............Yen 12,000 a month
【comment】 Parents in Toyama City are traditionaly more eager
to educate their children.
Metropolitan area ..................................Yen 21,640
a month
Osaka City...............................................Yen
26,040 a month.
ⅳ Preschools ( Yobiko ) in Japan
Yobiko or Preschools are popular in Japan at present. They were
originally created for ronin, "masterless
samurai", students who have failed an examination for the
main Universities, but want to try the following
year after graduationg from their senior high schools again. As
for Yobiko, there are many types and
courses as described below, and recenty they are not only for ronin.
Many senior high students would
attend there in the evening two or three days a week and also on
Saturdays, sometimes in Summer holidays
and some other long holidays. This is a result of recent reforms
in the education system of public schools.
As for the tuition of Yobiko, a student usually spends more than 100,000 yen a month and in
some urban areas more than 200,000 yen.
Examples of course in Yobiko
○ Tokyo University ( scientific department ) course ○ Tokyo
University ( liberal arts ) course
○ Kyoto University, Osaka University & some other famouse
universities.... the same
○ National Governental University ( scientific department
) general course and liberal arts general
courses, as well.
○ Waseda University ( scientific department ) course and liberal
arts courses, as well. Keio University
courses, the same.
○ Private University ( scientific departmens ) general courses
and general liberal arts courses, as well.
○ Challenge courses for senior high school grade 2 and 3
○ Challenge to Math only course and some other subjects.
○ Department of Medicine only course
At the end
Traditionaly the public school system has been powerful and effective
to educate students in Japan,
Even children of very poor families have been able to be educated
well. The middle- social class has
become bigger and stronger and has made Japan one of the most healthy
and powerful country in the
world. If the situation change and cram schools and Yobikos become
more prosperous, the power of
Japan might be less and less in the future.
2002. 11. 2 記