塾
cram school; private after-hours school
Kanji 1370
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After a full school day, many Japanese kids head to "cram school" for intensive nighttime tutoring. In this essay, a variety of people chime in about why the Japanese do this, how it profoundly helps and hurts students, how it affects public education and society at large, and more. Copious comments from a former cram school head provide insights and a great language immersion.
Revision history:
Feb. 3, 2023: p. 12: Significantly revised the translation of the sentence that begins with "自分の子供だけ" and, in the sentence vocabulary, I changed the translation of 維持 from "preservation" to "maintaining."
Feb. 2, 2022:
- p. 2, Etymology Box: Updated the Henshall etymology and the Sears link.
- p. 13: Added a link to the Kanshudo games.
Oct. 24, 2014: Originally published.
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