13 Comments

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  proxy at 08:38 AM JST - 31st May

  It's a shame that Japan, a rich country where "education is important" has crappy universities.

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  kstar at 11:28 AM JST - 31st May

  I don't understand why anyone who dreams of Harvard (or has the ability to) would need these cram schools. Extracurricular activities account for a large part of whether a person is offered admissions or not. I assume these "elite" cram schools take away from that time. Any smart Japanese student would figure this out, unenrol themselves, buy an SAT book, study for a few months until they are confident they can beat the Harvard average and then start beefing up their extraccuriculars. Otherwise they have no chance.

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  Youdontknow at 12:44 PM JST - 31st May

  If the lazy little oiks did their homework and learned to think for themselves in the first place, they wouldn't need institutions like these in the first place.

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  Alphaape at 02:27 PM JST - 31st May

  I am soon to be married and we plan on having kids. They could get the same amount of exposure if there was a program that allowed the top students at the schools on the military bases to interact with these kids. Not all of the American teenagers are here running amok, and some do go on to top colleges. I think what the Japanese students will learn that it is a combination of work and extracurricular activites (not necessarily the mandatory gym and other classes on Saturdays that Japanese students do) is what gets them into places like Harvard. That along with decent SAT scores. I would bet you $100, that the 15 yr. old boy that won the award for his anti-smoking efforts, if he had decent grades and a moderate understanding of English, would have a much better chance of getting into an American Univ. of the Harvard caliber than the 2 students that go here. Why? Because the 15yr old has shown that he can apply what he has been taught to real worl applications, than just go into a classroom and spit out answers for a test. That is still important, but I think they are looking for more well rounded individuals, and not so much group thinkers.

  Also, if you have enough cash, you will be able to get in anyway.

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  capone at 04:00 PM JST - 31st May

  if you're dumb enough to need cram school, and extra-dumb enough to pay that kind of extortionate rate to do so, you're definitely too dumb to get into Harvard

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  Alphaape at 05:03 PM JST - 31st May

  capone, classic summarization!

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  European1 at 05:45 PM JST - 31st May

  next money maker in this country. From kindergartens to University pay, pay, pay,pay!!! No free education country! Ridiculous! Not cram but cramp :)

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  Alphaape at 06:22 PM JST - 31st May

  Hey, I thought that it was the goal of the "good Japanese families" to get their kids into schools that will lead them on the path to get accepted at Tokyo Univ. Even if the kid were to go to a foreign school such as Harvad, Yale, or Oxford wouldn't they be not as accepted in the Japanese Office society? Look what happened to Princess Masako, a very fine Ivy League education, but all of it came to a halt when she "did the right thing" and married into the royal family.

  Does this mean that Japan Inc, will now start to slowly open up to outsiders? That is Japanese outsiders who have been educated overseas. If not, then this would be a waste of money, unless they decided to live abroad.

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  realist at 03:30 AM JST - 1st June

  Classes at this "super cram school" which is overpriced, will be 150 minutes long! The mind boggles! This shows that the people running it have absolutely no idea about education. The optimum amount of time students can cope with is around 45 minutes, Japanese universities have classes that last for 90 minutes, and that is one of the main reasons why the education system in Japan is a failure. What nonsense! Whats so great about Harvard, anyway?

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  USNinJapan2 at 09:23 AM JST - 1st June

  realist

  Whats so great about Harvard, anyway?

  The prestige that automatically comes with having graduated from one of the Ivy Leagues, the fact that you can almost write your own ticket, and not having to be worried about someone (particularly an employer) not automatically appreciating your education. Oh, and the looks on people's faces when they ask you where you went to school and you drop the "H bomb"...

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  blvtzpk at 10:14 AM JST - 1st June

  First lesson: 'eLite'. Got it? Give it a try again. No, not 'eRite', 'eLite'. Watch my mouth: 'eLite'. No, try again. Close, but once more. 'eLite' - give it another try. Hmmm. Oh well. OK, thanks. You can pick up your refund at the front desk. NEXT!!!

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  borscht at 01:28 PM JST - 1st June

  Cramming more facts into minds is not education. Teaching problem solving and thinking is. One of my former employers primarily hired people who either paid their own way through college or had more than one part-time job. Why? Because, he said, that is where people learn to think and solve problems. College is where you learn ... facts(?) maybe.

  Harvard is Harvard because they try to take the students who not only are smart but can also think, solve problems, and have shown the ability to apply that knowledge (i.e. that kid who got his city to ban smoking).

  On the positive side, if these kids don't get into Harvard (because they spent their entire three years of high school in a cram school), they can always get into Tokyo University.

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  electric2004 at 08:48 PM JST - 1st June

  Solving problems ... yes. Sometimes I wonder if my little ones (3 years old) and 9 month old are getting too intelligent too fast.

  Especially for my 3 year old, I first show him an example how to do - let's say with Lego - and then he tries on his own and does not want Papa to interfere or help - until it is too difficult and he asks for help again.

  Sometimes, Mama does not like his inventions. For example using a step to open the upper part of the refrigerator, finding the hidden chocolate, taking it out, eating it, and putting the empty wrapping into the trash and the step back to the original place.

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