学年ビリのギャルが1年で偏差値を40上げて慶應大学に現役合格した話 [Gakunen Biri no Gyaru ga 1-nen de Hensachi wo 40 agete Keiou Daigaku ni Geneki Goukaku shita Hanashi]

by Nobutaka Tsubota, 坪田 信貴

「死ぬ気で頑張るって、以外といいもんでした」　一人の塾講師との出会いが、偏差値３０の金髪ギャルとその家族の運命を変えた—坪田先生とさやかちゃんの1年半にわたる苦闘と慶應義塾大学現役合格までの奇跡をつづった、笑いと涙の実話が待望の文庫化。

Genres: Japanese Literature

318 pages, Paperback

First published December 26, 2013

About the author

Nobutaka Tsubota (坪田信貴) is the founder and homeroom teacher of the renowned Japanese cram school "Seiran Gijuku," and chairman of the Oura Gakuen educational foundation, is not only a teacher but also an entrepreneur, having founded several companies, including an IT company.

He has worked across Japan and the United States, boasting English proficiency comparable to that of a native speaker, achieving a perfect TOEIC score of 990. He has personally mentored over 1,000 students, incorporating psychological theory into his unique learning method, which has been highly praised for significantly improving students' academic ability in a short period of time. Many of his students are considered exceptional cases by others.

Reviews

[Claudia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up for 3 reasons: I really need to practice my reading; The premise sounded interesting enough; There'll be a movie (release date: 2015, May 1st).

The story is told quickly. Sayaka is a 17-year-old Gyaru with bleached hair, short skirts and lots of make-up. Her 学力偏差値 (average score at standardized school tests) is 30 (out of 100), she's worst in her class. To make her mother happy she starts visiting a cram school and notices herself that her level is so low (her English is on elementary 4 level) something has to be done. Over the course of the next year and a half her level improves so far she gets into Keio University, the oldest school for higher education in the country.

So far, so obvious, the ending is in the title.

However, the story of Sayaka's circumstances, her family and the change occuring in her, is nothing short of extraordinary. You really get a feeling for how her special personality, the support of especially her mother and her cram school teacher, and her astonishingly hard work have made this possible. In a letter to the reader, Sayaka urges us to not think that she was special to begin with - everyone can do what she's done. It's really one of these books that make you want to get off your arse and get things done. :)

[Teleri Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this book when I was in 6th grade when it was very popular and I recently watched the movie of it so I wanted to reread it. It is about a girl that went to a good private middle school/high school where she can just get into the college, and she starts to mix with the wring crowd and starts to fail in school. She is a good child and sister, but she is not doing well in school. But one day her teacher calls her a failure and that she won’t even get into their college, and she decides to study hard with this amazing coach and eventually gets into Keio University. This book is really motivating and it is fun to read because the coach and she have a really nice relationship and have a lot of fun. I recommend this book to anyone who needs to be motivated, especially in school.

[wststreet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up because it seemed not too difficult to read for my level, but still difficult enough to be a challenge.
There are some chapters where learning methods are explained, I ended up skipping a few because they were too complicated to read and not that relevant for me anyway.

[Nami · Rating 5 out of 5]

この本を読み、不可能だと思い、諦めかけていた事も自分や自分を支えてくれた人を信じて最後まで頑張り続ければ可能に変えられるという事が分かった。

[Rintaro · Rating 5 out of 5]

とても勉強になりました。

[Cassie G · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious and inspiring for students, teachers, and those of us who are both!