Blog Post 4/20: China's Cram Schools

          In "China's Cram Schools," written by Brook Larmer, the article exposes the harsh competition to get into university. Students must cram their way into passing the test, so they attend the expensive and highly-praise cram high school Maotanchang. Maotanchang is known for being very strict and helping students succeed. The strict rules and the harsh competition set on students is devastating and unhealthy. It offers injustice in the student’s part.

For example, the strict rules at Maotanchang high school, “located in the Anhui province, two hours from the nearest city, the school prides itself on eliminating the distractions of modern life. Cellphones and laptops are forbidden. The dorms, where about half the students live, have no electrical outlets. Dating is banned. In town, where the rest of the students live, mostly with their mothers in tiny partitioned rooms, the local government has shut down all forms of entertainment. This may be the only town in China with no video arcade, billiards hall, or Internet cafe.”  This is unfair because these students have moved, probably a long way with or without their family. They don’t have much contact with them and they can’t really have a social life in school. There were also reports of students committing suicide. This demonstrates how unhealthy the rules and restrictions are at the high school. Many of these kids are the only hope for their family making it past the farms, “Cao, tanked the exam. Cao’s family was heartbroken. His father had worked 12-hour days, 50 weeks a year, building high rises in eastern China to pay Maotanchang fees. His family couldn’t afford to repeat the year… He would end up on a construction site, just like his father.” This is unfair, because many families work hard and long to try and get their children a better life.

In the end, it isn’t the school’s fault. They're trying to help the students succeed and get into a good university, and they normally do. It’s just unfortunate for those who don't work well under pressure and can’t afford to do well anymore. The harsh competition is brutal.