A recent article in the NY Times describes the frenzied efforts of local students to prepare for the highly demanding admissions test of some very reputable high schools.  The article detailed the activities of several 11 year old students who spent their Christmas vacation at a Cram School.  American style cram schools are modeled after the Asian variety where students are given enormous amounts of information to digest.  Unfortunately in most cases, students are not given adequate time to internalize the information so what results is either short-term memorization or long-term regurgitation. After having taught several Asian exchange students and several European exchange students, I can tell you that the major difference between our classrooms is not in the approach to disseminating knowledge but rather in the discipline and dedication of the students.   As a rule, Asian and European students spend hours upon hours in study and preparation for every day of school.  All other activities and events are secondary compared to their school work.  They take themselves very seriously and pride themselves on a job well done.  I think we can learn a lesson from these students and their approach to education but I would hesitate to adopt the methodology behind the cram schools.