Do you know that?/You know what? Do you know that?/You know what? Nowadays, in many parts of the country, cram schools play the leading role in high school campuses. There are more than 8.7 million candidates for the national college entrance examination this year, including more than 5 million freshmen. What about the rest?
What is hidden behind the prosperity of cram school market?
Some provinces and cities issued an ultimatum to cram schools: no more soft hands!
A cram school, as its name implies, is to enable those students who have failed in their studies or adults who have no chance to receive formal education to reach the passing level through supplementary study in the class. For example, cultural cram schools in the 1950s and 1960s, such as students who failed an exam, were crammed for a period of time and then retaken the exam. For example, primary and middle school students want to learn more talents after class and take part in a special class ... In short, the word "mending" reminds people of patching holes in clothes. Although it can cover your body, it can't compare with new clothes after all.
After ten years of catastrophe, everything is ready, and various cram schools have sprung up in the society. Those who have missed the opportunity to learn and are unwilling, ride bicycles after work, cross the street and drill lanes, and sit in the classroom to absorb the nutrition of knowledge hungrily. I have attended several cram schools and got a stack of certificates of completion in English, economy, trade and painting. But no matter which class you attend, the person who runs the class and the person who signs up know that cram school can't be compared with formal education. Just "make-up" is better than nothing.
However, in recent years, the identity of "cram school" has become confusing. Around the cram school for college entrance examination, all kinds of strange phenomena have happened: I didn't go to college to repeat, but I also repeated when I was admitted to college.
Candidates with high scores develop the habit of tutoring, aiming at Tsinghua Peking University. There is even a phenomenon that "800 people go online, 400 people repeat their studies, and almost all new graduates don't leave". Some key middle schools have thousands of cram schools for college entrance examination, which has exceeded the number of senior three students this year;
In order to build their own "brand" and compete for good students, the cram school is fiercely competitive and refurbished: the high-scoring re-reading fee is free, and some schools even give "wages" to high-scoring students;
The school has discharged the strongest teachers for cram schools, but the teachers in ordinary high schools have been weakened. ...
In short, the status of cram schools is getting higher and higher, and the role is getting bigger and bigger-"patching" covers "clothes".
History cram school has a long history.
It can be said that "cram school" is a unique phenomenon in contemporary high school education in China, which is always a bit subtle and embarrassing.
When the college entrance examination system was just restored, hundreds of thousands of older candidates of the "Cultural Revolution" entered the door of their ideal palace through the accelerated examination mechanism of "cram schools" like mushrooms after rain, which also delivered a large number of talents for China's reform and opening up in time. For this generation, "cram school" is a passionate and unforgettable memory of their youth.
However, since the early 1980s, the identity of cram schools has become ambiguous. I don't know when it got a meaningful nickname-"Senior Four".
However, until the end of 1990s, the situation of cram schools was relatively simple: teachers were not necessarily full-time, and students naturally failed. Even if there was mobility, it was a regional microcirculation. The class capacity is 60-70 students, and the total number of students is at most half that of senior three. Most of the management is relatively loose, which obviously has an adult flavor. The most important thing is that its college entrance examination results are difficult to compete with the current senior three. Almost all the top students are in the third year of senior high school, and it is rarely heard that students from cram schools have been admitted to Tsinghua Peking University. Therefore, the cram school at that time basically played the role of supplement and adjustment, belonging to the state of grading.
At the beginning of this century, the cram school rushed out from behind the third year of high school without any preparation, and it became popular almost overnight, and its problems and harm also became prominent-
Status quo-what's the matter, cram school?
In the 200 1 college entrance examination, Xiao Jia, a senior three science class in a middle school in the north, got an excellent score of 633, aiming at Peking University, and only filled in a balanced volunteer from the Central University of Finance and Economics. However, after the admission score was announced, the joy of Xiao Jia and his family vanished, because he was only one point away from Weiming Lake. Then go to the Central University of Finance and Economics. It happened that some rules of the stock market were vividly displayed in the enrollment of colleges and universities in that year: Xiao Jia missed one point in Peking University and two points in Central University of Finance and Economics. ...
A month later, the computer recruited by the province inexplicably sent Xiao Jia to a local university thousands of miles away. Can he be satisfied? Therefore, he resolutely chose a cram school, and because his alma mater did not run a high-scoring cram school, he ran all the way to the provincial capital and became a trump card for a private school to impact the college entrance examination next year.
It was from that year on that "repeat with high marks" became an eye-catching highlight of cram schools all over the country. In many provinces and cities, only a few hundred students with scores above 600 repeat every year. Indeed, in recent years, cram schools have quietly changed, showing the following obvious trends and characteristics.
First, the structure of students has undergone a "qualitative" change, that is, there has been a "reaching line". This is divided into two situations: one is similar to Xiao Jia, and the score is among the key universities; The other is that the college entrance examination barely reaches the line, and it is very likely to make up for one year in key universities. In ordinary county middle schools, these students do not exceed 30%, but their influence is far-reaching, which directly promotes the prosperity of the cram school market, even subverts the traditional concept of "those who fail to make up lessons" and causes a series of serious changes in running high schools.
Second, it has become the growth point of college entrance examination in many schools, with great flexibility and vitality and a decisive strategic position. In general county middle schools, the success rate of cram schools is usually around 40%, while this year's senior three is generally only around 20%. The cram schools in most schools show an obvious upward trend, and a very small number of "college entrance examination candidates" have expanded rapidly, with more than a dozen cram schools and thousands of students, exceeding the number of senior three students this year. The class capacity is even more amazing. In large classes with more than 100 students, teachers need to wear "breast wheat" when giving lectures.
Third, it is a veritable "old four". Many schools' cram schools are basically arranged according to an independent grade, and even enjoy many privileges and concessions. The most prominent thing is that the teachers in cram schools are usually the luxury lineup of this school, but this year, especially the first year of high school, they have been obviously marginalized and almost become the training base for young teachers to "practice their hands".
Fourth, it has further widened the "gap" between schools and intensified the polarization between the rich and the poor. It is worth noting that cram schools seem to be more prosperous at the county level and the competition is fierce. In order to compete for good students, most schools do not hesitate to lower the free line. For students who look like babies, some schools even use the trick of "monthly salary"! At the same time, the "big college entrance examination students" are not in a hurry. There are often several "reaching classes" or even "top classes"-more than 600 points are concentrated in one class every year. What is even more enviable is that people generally do not need to take the initiative to "attack" enrollment. And those students from the surrounding areas even hundreds of miles away will come here and pay at least 2000 yuan. This is strength! Generally speaking, there are very few "entrance examination candidates", for example, among dozens of schools in ten counties, there are at most one or two.
Fifth, the proportion of cram school students admitted to Tsinghua and Peking University is increasing, and cram schools have become "Hidden Dragon Crouching Tiger".
Sixth, in management and employment, cram schools are more innovative and flexible. Even when enrolling students and starting school, they try their best to prevent students from running on each other. What's more, on the afternoon of June 8, before the bell rang at the last entrance of the college entrance examination, a striking billboard was erected at the school gate, which was "out of date". Before the tired candidates could catch their breath, their hearts were covered with a faint shadow. ...
As soon as the results of the college entrance examination came out, the enrollment wars in various places were in full swing, and the battlefield went deep into the candidates' homes.
At the beginning of July 2004, a small village in the north was quite restless for several days. It turned out that there was a student who was only three points short of the college entrance examination, but it seemed even more glorious than being admitted to Tsinghua Peking University. I saw a van parked on the muddy ground in front of the hospital today, a motorcycle parked tomorrow and a Santana parked the day after tomorrow. More dramatically, the enrollment staff of two brother schools actually met on this narrow path, and the play was obviously mixed with gunpowder. ...
Parents are a simple and honest plowman, flattered, but also quite confused: "What's wrong with the school now?"
Causes-continuous cutting and chaotic management
A. students and parents: no, just make up for another year!
Students and their parents are the direct promoters of the prosperity of cram school market. In recent years, cram schools have been included in the normal study plan in many families, and the inferiority complex of going to cram schools has obviously weakened. There are many reasons:
Brand education makes key universities, especially Tsinghua and Peking University, the "ultimate" goals of many outstanding students. At the same time, the choice of popular majors and the city where the school is located, even including the school spirit and atmosphere, have become the reference factors for people to decide which university to go to. The cram school provides an easy choice for this increasingly strong social demand. The rapid development of colleges and universities in recent years is also a reason why the cram school market in senior high school continues to heat up. People are no longer in a hurry to enter any university, but shop around and "make up" if they can't get in.
At the same time, the fierce and even vicious competition between schools makes the cost of cram schools for gifted students in many places extremely low, and some are almost "zero cost", which is quite attractive to a considerable number of students who intend to "go" and feels that cram schools are cost-effective. It is particularly worth mentioning that the gradual "quality improvement" of cram schools has also formed a silent attraction for students and parents. "It's a pity that such an excellent teacher can't listen to other people's classes and don't go to cram schools this year." Many students said.
In short, the present cram school has taken on too many responsibilities and missions.
Of course, many students are not relaxed and under great pressure when they make the decision of "cramming for the Buddha's feet". Probably related to this, there is a "trend" now. The rest of the year was just enough for the "two books" of fresh candidates. Parents expressed their support: "Why waste one more year in the cram school? Anyway, I have to take the postgraduate entrance examination in the future. The key to the road is to go by yourself. "
B. school: it's even worse to leave the cram school for the college entrance examination!
But the prosperity of the cram school market should be said to be the result of the school's own training. To some extent, it can even be said that the school is the biggest winner and a "win-win"-a strong enrollment rate and vivid economic effects. In addition, cram school is the ultimate shortcut to build famous brands.
First of all, the school is intentionally or unintentionally guiding and stimulating this kind of "consumption". The headmaster of a high school in a county hit the nail on the head: "No matter how to fight for capital in the third year of high school, it is difficult to make a big breakthrough, but it is better than other good schools." It is better to pay close attention to cram schools and concentrate on teachers, which will be effective in one year. As long as the college entrance examination is good, the whole school is alive now, and there will be good students in the first year of high school enrollment, and more money will be collected. Anyway, the society only recognizes that you did well in the exam, and you are not sure whether you will work overtime this year or not. "The results of cram schools are included in the enrollment rate of the college entrance examination. It was originally a vague or loophole in the evaluation of the college entrance examination, but now it has become an inexhaustible motive force for schools to set up cram schools, and it is also the crux of the difficulty in banning cram schools.
Another unique function of the cram school is to optimize the source of students and reshuffle the cards. As long as the "interaction" between the enrollment rate and the economic effect of the school enters a virtuous circle, the era of being a "banker" or a "big college entrance examination" will come.
In the final analysis, the enrollment rate is a potentially huge economic benefit.
Ironically, the nameless status of cram schools has just formed a vacuum zone for the government to standardize running schools, and has become a "private land" with the most active market factors, providing a broad world for its rapid growth.
For many "middle school students", cram schools bring an unspeakable embarrassment: no, no! Just do it, okay? Substitute teachers should give subsidies and college entrance examination rewards. Almost one-third of the top students should be free, and the top students should be paid. If the wool is on the sheep, it can only "maliciously" eat the back two-thirds, and how much less is paid 1 minute, and the price is clearly marked. But also takes up the limited resources of high-quality teachers. But what if we don't do it? The enrollment rate may drop immediately, parents are dissatisfied, society does not recognize it, competitors take the opportunity to expand their territory, and survival may immediately become a problem. Therefore, everyone can only bite their teeth and hold on! And once the competition becomes fierce, it would be too glorious to care about the means. ...
C.teacher: it's interesting to go to cram school. ...
Teachers are "migrant workers" in cram schools and also vested interests. You can get college entrance examination prizes ranging from 1000 yuan to tens of thousands of yuan in one year. Is it unattractive for a teacher? Moreover, cram schools are easy to achieve results and can quickly introduce "famous teachers". When filling in the "resume", "attending the cram school for many years in senior three" became the most weighty sentence. Yes, going to cram school means being reused, even a symbol of strength and honor. Most importantly, the teacher is the concrete operator of the whole cram school operation, especially the class teacher, who plays an extraordinary role.
D. society: what if children don't go to cram school?
If a school wants to cancel the cram school, the local government may not be willing at first: what if the children are not allowed to go to the cram school? Indeed, in the eyes of the local government, the status of the cram school is not what it used to be, and "doing well in the exam" has become a respectable achievement recognized by everyone; What's more, if the cram school is run well, it can not only retain the outflow of local students, but also attract the surrounding students, which has a positive effect on stimulating the local economy and moderately buffering social employment.
Ordinary people will also say, "cram schools provide children with more choices." National policies are encouraging. According to media reports, people in their sixties can go to college. "Obviously, from a certain perspective, the cram school has become a' community' of various interests, even involving local interests. An authoritative person said: "It is normal for the society to have the need to repeat classes, and the existence of cram schools is also reasonable;" "What is abnormal is that the huge cram school market is largely caused by human factors. The cram school should be operated by social forces on the premise of not crowding out the resources of recent graduates. "
Harm-cram school, do not cancel!
"The government can only provide three years of high school education. One more tutor means one less freshman. This is unfair to students who should enjoy high school education. Some parents will say, I also pay! However, high school education is a public interest, and a lot of investment is still borne by the state. Moreover, high school education itself is a scarce resource and extremely limited. You are crowding out resources that others should enjoy, and they are high-quality resources. " A senior leader of the education administration department pointed out. The existence of cram schools is a departure from the national three-year policy of ordinary high schools and an "illegal building" in the field of public high school education. This is one of its hazards.
Secondly, the rapid expansion of cram schools has led to the imbalance of the "ecosystem" in the whole senior high school teaching field, the shift of teaching focus, the usurpation of the role of the host, and the reversal of priorities, which has seriously affected the teaching quality of fresh graduates, and will inevitably lead to a vicious circle of "not relying on cram schools this year", prompting the education cycle to be extended unconsciously. Isn't this the strange circle of high school education?
Third, give psychological hints to students and parents too early to increase their dependence on cram schools. At the same time, it is unfair that tutors and freshmen are obviously not on the same starting line in terms of prescription, but they enjoy the same qualifications in the college entrance examination. Moreover, it seems that bad money drives out good money, and everyone is used to it. Moreover, how much stamina can college students have as a whole, even if they have brands?
Fourth, "Senior Four" is not an education in a strict sense, but an exam-oriented training. How can I become a part of a regular school? Take Chinese classroom review as an example. In the first round, we have to "digest" more than 500 thousand words of review materials, not counting monthly exams and weekly exercises. Then the same "training" questions are overwhelming, and you have no choice but to struggle in the vast sea of questions and mechanically chew the "old" knowledge extracted.
Three years ago, a girl came to a neighboring county with confidence to take the "College Entrance Examination". But two months later, I ran away in tears. She said, "I really can't eat that pain": I get up at five o'clock every morning, rest late at night, and only take one day off a month. Once when she was studying by herself, she suddenly had a headache. The deskmate helped her back to the dormitory and fell asleep in bed. When they arrived in the classroom again, their desks had been taken away by the class teacher ... I don't know where they got the review materials. The same knowledge points and other materials trained 100, which might have been 200, which made people dizzy. The most unbearable thing is that everyone seldom talks all day long. Everyone's desk is piled with more than a foot of data. When you accidentally push open the classroom door loudly, dozens of glasses-wearing heads will immediately stick out from behind the pile of books ... "If I insist, I will be nervous." She said. Intriguingly, while accusing the girl of "no perseverance" in good faith, the hometown people praised the practice of cram school as "strict". Is this the sorrow or joy of education? Obviously, cram schools have pushed exam-oriented education to the extreme.
Fifth, the "bubble quality" brought by the cram school has affected the image and inter-school relations of the school, which runs counter to the central Scientific Outlook on Development. For example, do everything possible to retain senior students, so-called good students should make three major contributions to the school; For example, disorderly competition and unscrupulous means, the so-called "there must be a brave man under the four rewards", aggravated the pollution of the pure land of education.
Sixth, a large number of top students choose to repeat their studies, which seriously affects the normal enrollment order of colleges and universities. The number of repeat students in many provinces and cities is calculated in units of "ten thousand". It is said that one county has made outstanding achievements in the college entrance examination in recent years. What is the reason? When 800 people arrived at the line, almost 400 people repeated their studies, and almost all the freshmen of that year did not leave.
Seventh, the fierce competition, impetuous atmosphere and heavy workload make teachers tired of coping, and they really have no time to settle down and study their business, thus creating a group of pseudo-"famous teachers" who are skilled in exam-taking skills, lack of professional quality and lack of development potential. At the same time, the obvious commercial taste of cram schools has affected the relationship between teachers and students. Some students openly amused and said, "If we bring a top student, our teacher's college entrance examination award will be 1000 yuan." The teachers were filled with emotion: "In the past, students were very grateful to their teachers when they were admitted to universities, but now they are much more indifferent." The relationship between teachers and students is actually distorted.
Eighth, it affects the expansion of high school scale and the popularization of high school education, even at the expense of ignoring the whole high school students. It is the abnormal and disorderly development of high school education, and it is a typical short-sighted educational behavior of quenching thirst by drinking poison and seeking quick success.
A senior educator analyzed: "In the past, the harm of cram schools was not obvious. With the expansion in recent years, the problems have been exposed, the consequences are too serious, and the repeated waste caused is even more amazing. If we don't take measures, where can we talk about the healthy development of our high school education? "
This is why many provinces and cities in China have made up their minds to cancel cram schools. Among them, Shanxi's measures are very powerful and have achieved good results.
The way out-combination of blocking and dredging, smooth transition
Cancellation of cram school is a sensitive issue, which will become a social problem if it is not handled well.
This spring, the Shanxi Provincial Department of Education issued the "Notice on Further Standardizing the Education Management of Ordinary Senior High Schools", which stipulates that it will be implemented in batches in two years from 2005, and by 2007, all public high schools in the province will stop offering cram schools. At the same time, it puts forward punishment measures such as demonstrating the bottom line system of senior high schools, reducing or canceling enrollment plans, and requires governments at all levels to classify the results of the current year and previous college entrance examinations in order to reduce the enthusiasm of making up lessons.
Public high schools are not allowed to run cram schools, so what about a large number of students who need to repeat their studies? Shanxi's thinking is that the government is responsible, implement it step by step, and gradually transition to social forces and private high schools. That is, comprehensive management, combination of dredging and blocking, reasonable guidance and healthy development.
However, Rome was not built in a day, and the problem of cram school is so complicated, can it be cancelled? This kind of doubt and worry is widespread. On July 13, 2005, the leaders of Shanxi Provincial Department of Education gave a special lecture at the opening ceremony of concentrated training for senior high school teachers in Luliang City. Someone handed a piece of paper on the spot and asked what the attitude of the province was towards the cram school. When the answer was "resolutely cancel, never be soft", an unexpected scene appeared: more than 3,000 teachers in the gymnasium suddenly burst into thunderous applause ... 12 days later, the provincial working group went to various places and conducted a week-long special inspection. The result is beyond the imagination of the working group. He Hanyao, the leader of the second group and former director of the General Education Department of the Provincial Education Department, said with emotion: "A lot of work has been done and many effective measures have been taken. It seems that the prospect of canceling repetition is optimistic. "
In fact, many places in Shanxi stopped cram schools a few years ago, which is worth thinking about and learning from.
-Yangquan mode "has a deep understanding, an early start, hard measures and good results", and experts spoke highly of Yangquan's practice. The city's population is only 6.5438+0.3 million, but this "tiny place" has been the top of Shanxi's high school education for more than ten years. The schools are evenly matched and "balanced", and ordinary people do not consider choosing schools when going to school. In 2002, after some internal "struggle", the city was determined to operate as a "senior", and three high schools in the city took the lead in stopping cram schools; Now the city 15 high schools, in addition to Pingding No.2 Middle School and Yuquan Middle School, "cram school" has become a historical term. This year's college entrance examination, the city's position in the province is still unshakable. Taiyuan, a city with a population of nearly 3 million, also stopped the cram school in public high schools a few years ago, and it was entirely undertaken by private schools and social forces, which also formed a benign "ecological environment" in the region.
-"Taihang" mode There are 13 public high schools in Changzhi City, and Taihang Middle School directly under the Provincial Department of Education has no obvious advantage among them. In the college entrance examination in 2002, 60 out of 300 freshmen passed the college entrance examination, while 300 tutors passed 160, which made the school turn over in the whole city. But just this fall, the school resolutely stopped the cram school. Different from the "Yangquan model", the school is fighting alone, which requires more courage! After all, it costs nearly 2 million a year. It is gratifying that the enrollment rate of college entrance examination has soared in recent years. ...
—— Xiaoyi Mode This summer, xiaoyi city Education Bureau made unified arrangements for the city's cram schools and approved the number of places and classes in four public high schools; For the private sector, it is mainly to "review" teachers. Once it is found that you have hired even a public teacher, the prepayment of 50 thousand yuan will become a fine. As a result, several private cram schools went to surrounding counties and cities. The most troublesome thing is so easily solved.
-Jinzhong model "government comes forward, unified management, very different, grasping points and areas". Specifically, it is to implement the declaration system. According to the requirement of "no more than 25% of the number of senior three students this year" compiled by the province in 2005, it is approved that the city's 18 public high schools can enroll 56 remedial classes this year, with a total number of 2690 students (the number of remedial classes in the past was about 12000), and the school roll management will be implemented. If there are violations, the relevant departments can investigate and confiscate their illegal income. On this basis, counties can have their own practices. For example, all public schools in Jiexiu will be completely closed this year, and the Education Bureau will entrust the private university "Wentong College" to operate centrally with the help of private offices. Xiyang County was entrusted to the Education Technology Service Center. The folk power in Qixian county is weak. In order to ensure the quality of teaching, the Education Bureau organized the "Qi County College Entrance Examination Review Center" and gradually made a transition to social forces. Yuncheng Salt Lake District and other places have also taken a similar approach.
Many education experts suggested: "A more scientific quality evaluation system for college entrance examination should be established. At the very least, it is necessary to separate the previous students from the current students, including the college entrance examination registration and the college entrance examination assessment plan of the higher authorities, which must have a good guiding role. "
Of course, there are still many problems worthy of attention and vigilance. For example, how to ensure the teaching quality in this field after the public withdraws from the cram school market? For example, how to cultivate the strength of private and social cram schools as soon as possible?
Zhao Ping, director of Yangquan Education Bureau, said: "After the cram school is introduced to the society, this income should have a reasonable flow. After all, funds are still a factor that restricts the development of our education. Running a cram school has low cost and strong monopoly. A piece of chalk and a message can get you into college. There is a small bench that costs 1000 a year and eats too much. Once it flows into the hands of some people who have problems running schools, it will form huge profits. Therefore, after the withdrawal of public schools in this market, they cannot let themselves go. " It is based on this understanding that the city has formed a climate of private tutoring institutions, which are standardized in operation and flourish, and the government has played an important role in it.
What a big "supplement"
The alienation of cram schools and the repetition of a large number of high marks can not but be said to be a reaction to the extreme of exam-oriented education and a freak of high school education. "One-sided pursuit of enrollment rate" is not only catching up, but also catching up to a higher level: from entering a higher school to upgrading to a first-class university, to a first-class focus, and then to the focus of Tsinghua Peking University-millions of people desperately climb to the top of the pyramid.
Nowadays, the disadvantages of running cram school for college entrance examination in key middle schools are obvious. No matter for the country or individuals, cram schools waste educational resources every year, precious high-quality high school resources are squeezed out, and the normal high school education order and even the enrollment order of colleges and universities are disturbed, leading to a vicious circle, year after year. As experts say, the prosperity of cram school market is at the expense of lowering the quality of high school education, which is the abnormal and disorderly development of high school education.
It's time to make up your mind. The experience of canceling and standardizing the cram school for college entrance examination in Shanxi and other places is worth learning and referring.
Let the cram school return to its proper position, and let "make up" revert to "make up".