Centers Supplement Students’ Learning During an Already Difficult Year for Education As schooling across the country moved to virtual classes, so did Kumon Learning Centers that offer math and reading programs for students pre-kindergarten through high school. “With COVID, we had to take Kumon into online mode and my faith and belief in Kumon deepened tremendously,” said Ferooza Eswaran, instructor at the Centennial-Foxfield location. “Since Kumon students have always had to ‘work from home’ in that they do homework every day, they hit the ground running when schools went online and they were to work from home. What’s unique is the fact that the students work with good ol’ pencil and paper, but just our interaction moved online.” The Proven Kumon Method to Help Children Succeed For more than 60 years, Kumon’s after-school academic enrichment program has helped children achieve success worldCentennial-Foxfield wide. Kumon Kumon strives to instill in children the desire to achieve and the motivation to learn on their own. Instead of taking notes, memorizing facts, and being fed information from teachers or a tutor, children actively develop critical, self-learning skills through carefully designed worksheets. Kumon worksheets cover everything from counting to calculus, and phonemics to Shakespeare. Kumon was founded in 1954 in Japan by a father and gifted math teacher, named Toru Kumon, who wanted his son, Takeshi, to develop a love for learning. He also wanted him to be thoroughly prepared for rigorous high school and college entrance exams in his future. Each day, Toru gave Takeshi short, incremental assignments to complete, allowing his son to master each concept complete-
ly before learning a new skill. The method was so successful that by sixth grade, Takeshi was solving calculus problems.
demics is highly valued by all Asian Americans and they also are not shy of making the children work hard and they realize the value and rewards of conWhy Local Asian Americans sistent hard work. BuildLakewood-Bear Creek Opened ing a good work ethic is a Kumon Kumon Learning Centers priceless byproduct of this For Joey Le and Qui Nguyprogram and we know the valen, the husband and wife opened ue of that.” a Kumon Learning Center in Lakewood The Kumon method provides students on December 1, 2019 because the Ku- with the tools necessary to develop their mon philosophy aligned with their be- problem solving skills and become indeliefs in education and community sup- pendent learners. With individualized inport. struction, students are given the oppor“Kumon teaches students to be inde- tunity to progress at their own pace. pendent self-learners, builds their confidence and strengthens the fundamental Adapting to COVID-19 foundational skills,” said Nguyen. In Lakewood, Nguyen said, “This past In Centennial, Eswaran officially year has been tough with all the changopened her location off Parker Road in es and uncertainties of COVID; however, September 2011 after exploring possibil- with the help of our families, we have ities to open dating back to 2005. been able to adjust well. We have been Eswaran said, “As a microbiologist taking the information provided by the and educator, I had been working in HR CDC and accommodating our instrucfor seven years and started feeling that tion methods to keep everyone safe. We something was amiss. A good friend of transitioned to remote learning during mine was operating a Kumon and en- the stay at home order and, eventually, couraged me to do the same.” we were able to reopen our center with Being an educator all her life, Eswaran a limited capacity.” loves to see the difference Kumon can Eswaran said, “Many families lost make in a child’s life. “For me, Kumon is jobs and incomes these past months. not a business. I have built relationships I was able to help these families by not that will last a lifetime and I am so hap- charging tuition. I tried my best to not let py and proud to say that I am in touch their economic situation interfere with with not just current students and their their academic progress.” parents, but families who were with For more information: me years ago,” she said. LAKEWOOD Asian American Families Believe in Kumon According to Eswaran: “Asian Americans are definitely the higher percentage of Ferooza Eswaran with her my students. Most first student at the Centennialgeneration immigrants— Foxfield Kumon Asian Americans included— value education and find value in a program like Kumon.” “I think culturally, excellence in aca-
BEAR CREEK 3200 S. Wadsworth Blvd. Unit D Lakewood, CO 80227 Email: lakewoodbear creek_co@ikumon.com
CENTENNIAL FOXFIELD 6262 S Parker Rd #100 Centennial, CO 80016 Email: feroozaeswaran @ikumon.com
Kumon Learning Centers | asian avenue magazine
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