Meet the students

My Kumon Journey – by year 11 student
"I started Kumon when I was in primary school, due to my love of maths, and the fact that my mum was fed up with writing out sums for me to do at home! It originally started out as something for me to do at home as well as my schoolwork, however after a few years the challenge of it was more interesting to me; and I felt a great sense of achievement when completing a level.

"I feel when I started Kumon that I was working at a high standard in maths already, but after studying it for a while I was given increasing confidence as I was ahead of the work at school and could understand the new topics which we would cover.

"The independent learning skills that Kumon develops enabled me to have a more methodical approach to all of my work at school, and still apply to me now when learning anything new as I am more likely to attempt to solve the problem by myself rather than immediately turning for help.

"When I completed the program I had been studying Kumon for around 8 years, so it had become a part of my life, which I was always used to doing, and making time for. I admit that sometimes I did find that doing work every day was a lot to manage but I knew it was going to pay off in the long run when I felt that sense of achievement of completing the next level.

"After reaching a certain stage in the program where I was a great deal ahead of my school work, it was no longer the achievement of being ahead that encouraged me to carry on; but instead the challenge of being able to first graduate from Kumon, and then complete it.

"After I had initially graduated from Kumon, and completed level L, I knew I was going to have to continue until I had completed level O, as I hate to leave anything unfinished. It didn't even cross my mind that the work would be harder or that it may take up more of my time, as because I had been studying Kumon for so long I knew that I would be able to gradually study the levels at a pace that I felt comfortable with and I would have the support if I needed it. For me, to have not continued it would have been like there was something missing in my week.

"There were many times when I was doing simply one or two pages of a level a day as I did not have the time for any more, but I knew that it was all counting towards my completion of the program and this kept me motivated.

"Kumon has made me a more independent learner, and as I mentioned before has encouraged me to attempt anything first before turning to help, and in my opinion this is a skill which I will use in not just maths, but any situation in a work or everyday environment."

A parent on Kumon
"Our son Scott started Kumon back in June 2010. Shahida warned us that we would have a honeymoon period, with Scott keen to complete his work. I must say we don't have too may upsets, but there are times when he doesn't want to sit down and do the work – there is always something better on telly!

"As I said, we have taken both subjects maths and English – we have found that completing Maths before school and English after Scott returns, works best for us, although there are times when we are too late to complete the Maths in the morning due to Scott not getting out of bed quickly enough!

"The reason we took up Kumon was that I felt Scott had fallen behind at School. I had heard of Kumon through TV advertisements and the internet. I believe that without the programme Scott would have slipped even further behind and I am sure Kumon has given him confidence in both his maths and English in the short time we have been on the programme. I am sure this confidence will grow even further as Scott advances on the course.

 

"I do believe the programme is a commitment of both child and parent. We need to encourage our children to do well and support them every step of the way. Thanks also needs to go to Shahida and her team for the hard work they do behind the scenes and the encouragement and support they show the students.

 

"I only have one regret - I wish we had started Kumon sooner."