Reply to What’s a cram school?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My own opinion is that the phrase "cram school" typically refers to a tutoring program that is utilized by first generation immigrant families and are mainly advertised by word of mouth within particular immigrant communites (a plus is one that comes to mind that is popular with east asians).

Kids do these programs not just as test prep for the county magnat programs but also as an extracurricular activity. because it is popular with the parents of their social circles (and a better use of money than sports).

I would not characterize the franchise type places (Kumon, Mathnasium, Russian School of Math, etc.) as "cram schools".[/quote]

Your racism is showing, Karen.

Kumon is the typical "cram school" because you do repetitive math worksheets.  There is not much "teaching" in these schools and they do not explain concepts.  Same for Mathnasium.   Russian school of Math is a group of Russians teaching Math.  Most advanced Math students like AOPS (Art of Problem Solving) Academy.  Then there are several individuals that tutor and prep students for all kinds of Math competitons.

IMHO an enrichment school is more akin to the summer programs at Dr. Li, that teaches geography, history, Math, science and English writing that is not covered in MCPS.  Similarly, APlus teaches a "magnet" level Math and English curriculum (different than MCPS), which tests in students  who are GT.  They also have an English creative writing component that is pretty great.  Of course, these two schools were also pretty great in SAT and ACT types of prep courses that is very similar to the SAT prep courses taught in Montgomery College (community college).  Their so called magnet admissions test prep do repetitive worksheets for COGAT and SAT.  If you have an average student who does not know the content, these prep will not get your child in these programs.  Your money is better spent in hiring a private tutor (or teach yourself) and fill in any knowledge gap.

C2 is one of the best tutoring centers (value for money)  for students who are struggling or who want to do well in their classes in area private and public schools.  They do well to fill in the gaps in knowledge and also cover the curriculums that the teachers do not cover. Especially useful for AP exams because sometimes  teachers in schools are not able to do justice to the curriculum.

I prefer teaching my kids myself as much as possible and using online resources. However, if I had to spend money, I would spend it on a tutor who can work one on one with my kid and teach they concepts, instead of a school like Kumon that only makes kids do hundreds of worksheets. [/quote]

C2 and Doc Li are among the best examples of a cram school. I don't really like the term cram school nor am I against enrichment but let's just be honest about this.[/quote]

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