Potential 2019 (Issue 1) - Kumon India by Kumon Asia & Oceania

Australia • Brunei • Cambodia • India • Indonesia • Malaysia • Myanmar • New Zealand • Philippines • Singapore • Sri Lanka • Thailand • Vietnam

JAN – JUN 2019

MY LIFE,

MY DREAM Antara Alai Puroo Duggal

KUMON

FEATURE “Just-right” Level: How Kumon finds the right level for every student

PARENTING TIPS 3 ways to improve mental calculation

Editor’s Note

ON THE COVER JAN - JUN PUROO DUGGAL Dear Readers, On behalf of the entire team of Kumon India & Sri Lanka, we take this opportunity to wish you a Happy 2019. As 2019 ushers in a new year promising new experiences, we are pleased to present you the 12th edition of Potential packed with student cases and their Kumon experience. In this edition, we are proud to feature the inspiring story of Puroo, who is on a journey towards great achievements. Puroo is studying six years ahead of his school grade and is on a quest of becoming the ultimate Kumon Maths Completer. He is also a committed Robotics enthusiast, an avid reader, and a keyboardist. Another excellent story is that of Antara, who continues to amaze her teachers with her logical reasoning and time management skills. She shares how Kumon has helped her excel in maths and English. In the Local News section, we share how parents can encourage their children to read and how reading has learning, emotional and social benefits. Once again, we would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to all of you for showing immense trust in the Kumon method.

Contents MY LIFE, MY DREAM

Growing with Kumon Antara Alai

An Innovative Mind at Work Puroo Duggal

FEATURES

Regional article “Just-right” Level: How Kumon finds the right level for every student

Instructors’ quotes

REGULARS

Local news Reading has learning, emotional and social benefits

Parenting tips 3 ways to improve mental calculation

Happy Reading! Instructions Team - Kumon India & Sri Lanka

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My life, my dream

GROWING WITH KUMON

t first glance, 8 year old Antara looks like any other student. But unlike many students of her age who are still learning multiplication and division in school, she is mastering factorisations in mathematics and summarising paragraphs in English. She is not only a topper in her school but also a gold medalist in National Science Talent Search Exam and Unified International English Olympiad. Antara’s parents enrolled her in Kumon when she was 5 year old. Every teacher who works with her is amazed with her logical reasoning and independent working method. She has no fear to participate in any activity like elocution, dance, and quiz. Her improved focus span and concentration has helped in creating master paintings. She participates in art shows and at such a young age is appreciated by the audience. For Antara, Kumon is an opportunity that has helped her excel in maths and English. Working on Kumon worksheets on her own has taught her to persevere and thrive on new challenges. She shared how Kumon guided her to gain self-confidence and

most important, she learnt how to manage her time effectively. Being in Kumon, Antara feels she can understand the school syllabus better and faster than her peers. She has acquired the ability to analyse and solve maths problems faster and accurately. She is also an avid reader and selects books ahead of her age recommendation and enjoys the challenge of comprehending them.

Antara Alai, 8 Current Kumon Level: Maths, Level J English, Level GII Starting Level: Maths, Level 3A1 English, Level 4A1

According to Antara’s mother, Kumon develops the solid foundation for students that help them not only academically but holistically. She believes cultivating good reading habit and acquiring fast mental calculation ability starts from a young age and Antara has developed great love for reading and enhanced her calculation ability since she joined Kumon 3 years back. She believes children should not be pressurised to excel but should be driven to face challenges. She knows that the objective of Kumon is to instill in students the skills and mindset for self-learning. As parents, it’s important to praise children’s specific efforts as well as their achievements. This will help children become selfmotivated and independent selflearners.

My life, my dream

Puroo Duggal, 10 Current Kumon Level: Maths, Level L Starting Level: Maths, Level A

AN INNOVATIVE MIND AT WORK

ith a clear vision and a creative mind, 10 year old Puroo Duggal is on a journey towards great achievements. A current Kumon student, Puroo is studying six years ahead of his school grade and is on a quest of becoming the ultimate Kumon Maths Completer. He is also a committed Robotics enthusiast, an avid reader, and a Keyboardist. When Puroo was about to start grade 1, he developed an interest for addition and subtraction. He started getting inquisitive. A friend of Puroo’s parents recommended Kumon and it was then when they gave wings to his curiosity by enrolling him into the programme. Today, his parents admit that Kumon not only helped their son with his studies but it also turned the shy, introvert kid into a self-sufficient & confident individual. Puroo’s Kumon instructor also expressed her admiration for his work skills and neatness. She shared how Puroo progressed from one level to another smoothly. “I want Puroo to complete the programme. I will continue working at his pace, but at times I will not hesitate to push the envelope in a way where he is motivated and enjoys what he does.” His instructor added.

In a candid conversation with Puroo, he shared about his Kumon journey, interests, aspirations for the future and more. 1. How did you feel when you were told you are going for Kumon classes? My mother tricked me into joining Kumon classes by telling me that we were going to a birthday party (Laughs). Once I started taking the classes, I really enjoyed it and I still do. 2. How was your first day experience in Kumon? As I started Kumon with level A, it was easy and I could do the sheets without any difficulty. 3. What is your favorite subject? Why? Other than maths and English, I enjoy science as it has many interesting topics. My favorite is ‘The State of Matter’. 4. How has your journey with Kumon been so far? I have been attending Kumon classes for 4 years now and currently I am studying at level L. It has been a very good journey as I could do the worksheets well

8. Are there any extra-curricular activities you are interested in? I have an interest in Robotics. I also participated in a Robotics competition held in Jaipur where I did Cozmo Clench. I love to play the keyboard for which I also take classes on the weekends. Apart from that, I love to read books specially those authored by Jeff Kinney, Ron Roy and Elisabetta Dami. 9. How do you balance your studies along with your extracurricular activities?

and it feels great to be studying on an advanced level. 5. In what way is Kumon proving beneficial for you?

On Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, after school, I go for robotics class, I do Kumon on Tuesdays and Fridays and on Saturdays and Sundays I go for Keyboard classes. Having such a schedule allows me to strike a balance between my studies and extra-curricular activities.

Now, I don’t have any problem doing fraction and decimal in class. I can do it with speed and ease.

10. How does your Instructor assist you while doing Kumon worksheets?

6. Out of the levels you came across is there any particular level you found interesting?

When I am stuck with sums, my Instructor helps me with hints and guides me.

The most interesting level was K as I like to do graphs. I also enjoyed doing fractions at level E. It was very fun. 7. What is your ambition in life? I want to become an engineer.

11. What do you want to achieve in Kumon? I want to complete all the Kumon levels. I am already in level L and there are only 3 more levels till I become a Maths Completer.

12. What motivated you to continue doing Kumon programme? The worksheets motivate me to continue with Kumon as they are very interesting, challenging and I have fun solving it. Words of appreciation from Puroo’s proud mother: When I was told about Kumon and how it allows children to progress as per their ability, it really appealed to me. Thanks to Kumon, our son is doing well academically and way ahead of his peers in school. When his friends and teachers notice him solving questions with ease and in speed, they recognise him. This has boosted his confidence and motivates him to set goals and achieve them. Kumon has also played a significant role in shaping Puroo’s personality. He has become disciplined and he even started to follow a routine. He is always eager to attend Kumon classes. His excitement for the worksheets and the look of accomplishment after he solves a challenging question is truly satisfying. As a mother, I just want my son to be happy in whatever he does. And, Kumon makes him happy.

Regional Article

“Just-right” Level: How Kumon finds the right level for every student

hat is the most important feature of Kumon? According to Toru Kumon, the most important aspect of Kumon is the “just-right” level of

study.

“I have made a revision to The Strengths of the Kumon Method last autumn. I decided that the “just-right” level of study is the most important element of education, because every child should be given the learning that matches his or her ability. When they are given what is “just-right” for them, they enjoy learning that will help them advance beyond their school grade level. Up to this point, ‘Advancing beyond school grade level’ has been ranked as the Number One Strength of the Kumon Method. But to emphasise even strongly what is most important, I think the “just-right” level of study is the Number One,” Toru Kumon wrote (Yamabiko, 1995). What does this Kumon jargon really means? In this article, we look to demystify the concept of “just-right” level. Finding the “just-right” level simply refers to identifying the sweet spot that motivates every child to do his or her best. In sports, sportsmen have specific abilities best suited to the level required by the role or position they operate at. For example, football fans would remember Thierry Henry as a flop at Italian club Juventus. He was assigned to play as a left winger and in addition to organising the attack, was also expected to defend. He could not perform and career was in the trench. Most of all, he was not happy. “I wasn’t enjoying myself at all, I felt like I’d lost the desire to play football,” Henry later

admitted. He was allowed to seek employment at Arsenal after just one season in Italy. In Arsenal, he was deployed to play as a reserve striker but it was where he truly flourished. Henry later became the first-choice striker and eventually became the all-time top scorer for both Arsenal and the France national team. Through this example, it is clear that Henry was not played correctly in Juventus. It was only at Arsenal where the coach found the sweet spot that matched his ability, or in Kumon, we call it the “just-right” level. It was also then when he started to enjoy playing football. “When I scored, in that moment, I rediscovered some emotions, some feelings that I had not felt in a long time,” he said. Similarly to the role performed by coaches in football, one of the most important roles of a Kumon Instructor is to find the “just-right” level of each child. Since different children have different level of abilities, their “just-right” level has to be different too. But matching the materials to the children’s ability is important, because when they study at their “just-right” level, they will begin to enjoy

studying and self-learn the materials. Eventually these children will enjoy learning and be able to progress beyond their level in school – just like Thierry Henry who began to enjoy football and played well at Arsenal. How do Kumon Instructors ensure that every student is studying at their own “just-right” level? To illustrate this, let’s look at how Toru Kumon ensured that his method and worksheets are suitable for his son, Takeshi, using worksheets on addition of fractions as an example. When Takeshi was doing the addition of fractions, he did not understand the concept of lowest common multiple at first; he simply multiplied all the denominators together to get a common denominator. He also did not know how to reduce his answers. Toru Kumon did not simply ask Takeshi to redo the entire worksheet again and again until he gets it on his own, contrary to popular belief. He provided examples, based on Takeshi’s errors in the previous worksheets to draw his attention to the correct way to reduce the fractions. Then he made Takeshi redo one side of the worksheets, but this time with all the denominators written as hints. His purpose of this repetition was to help Takeshi solve the problems without having to deal with the denominators. In the next worksheet, Takeshi was able to solve the problems without additional help from Toru Kumon. However, he still just multiplied the

denominators together and this time, after marking the worksheet, Toru wrote, “For all of these problems, it is not necessary to multiply all the denominators”. The next day, while doing corrections, Takeshi read his father’s note and realised that he should have just used the lowest common multiple instead of simply multiplying the denominators together. In the next worksheet, Takeshi could use the lowest common multiple and solved the problems, getting most answers correct. To this day, the Kumon Method continues to use worksheets suitable to each student’s ability and let them work out their own solutions using hints, examples and, if necessary, guidance from the Instructors. Atsushi Yamada, president of Kumon Asia & Oceania, believes that finding the “just-right” level begins with the Diagnostic Test. “Before a child comes to the Centre, you should share fully with your assistants the image that you have formed of the child when doing the Diagnostic Test or the likely learning situation on the next class day, so as to provide the appropriate instruction. Such efforts will translate into children gaining motivation and confidence, as they are given the “just-right” level of study upon enrolment,” Yamada wrote to Instructors in May (President’s Message to Instructors, 2018).

Feature

JUS

GH T RI

V T LE

Instructors’ quotes The concept of “just-right” level is the most important aspect of the Kumon Method. Through the regional article “Just-right” Level: How Kumon finds the right level for every student, we have seen how Toru Kumon, founder of the Kumon Method, found the “just-right” level for his son, Takeshi. In this edition of the Instructors’ Quotes, let us find out what our Instructors think about the “just-right” level and how they go on finding the “just-right” level for their students.

Ms Rakhi Gupta Kumon India

As a Kumon Instructor, it is my constant endeavour to find out the “just-right” level (JRL) for every student that comes to my Centre. The “just-right” level of study refers to the study condition where student can self-learn without being taught. This helps them engage with the worksheets with good study attitude. When students start with their “just-right” level, they can progress at their own pace eventually helping them catch up to their school grade level and then advancing far beyond it. It is sometimes difficult for a parent and student to accept their JRL being quite lower than the class level. In this situation, sharing study plan, study projection and regular communication with the parent and student is important. To maintain JRL of study for each student, it is important to consider their JRL of understanding, work skills and the level in accordance to the change in their learning situations.

Ms Candy Katigbak Kumon Philippines

The “just-right” level principle that is unique to the Kumon Method has been our Center’s constant go-to guide in identifying students’ current individual needs and abilities. Using the “just-right” level in finding the One More “Can-Do” (OMCD) also allows us to streamline our observations in terms of understanding, work skills and study attitude. This way, it is possible to provide appropriate instruction plans and prioritize a number of what-todo lists so that a smoother progress through the levels is more likely to be achieved. The “just-right” level of study attitude is of equal importance, just like understanding and work skills. For me, enabling students to be confident by allowing them to have as many self-learning experiences as possible will not only keep them challenged, but highly motivated as well. Talking to our students and giving timely praise and encouragement becomes imperative as there are more than a dozen reasons why our students become demotivated. I find it daunting to develop any form of understanding and/ or work skills if my student is demotivated to begin with. Keeping in mind the “just-right” level of understanding, work skills and study attitude in identifying challenges and interventions will surely make our center days more fruitful and meaningful.

The “just-right” level is the sweet spot where students’ are challenged in their studies without feeling overburdened. I believe this benchmark categorically defines the Kumon Method. It represents a Kumon Instructor’s desire to help each child excel, unrestricted by age, school year, or because of their own or others’ preconceptions. I would argue finding a student’s “just-right” level could be life-changing because they prove to themselves they can overcome challenges. Therefore, I spend much of my time mulling over each of my students’ “just-right” level, so they can show themselves they can achieve through their Kumon study.

Ms Liang Muh Jiuan

Ms Saree Lawler Kumon Australia & New Zealand

Students are not likely or willing to do something that is difficult for them. They will instead lose focus on the work and start doing other things such as daydreaming or playing with the items in their surroundings. However, with the “just-right” level, they are able to do their worksheets with ease, without getting too bored working on over-easy work in the beginning. Students doing the “just-right” level worksheets will most likely do their work with full concentration and with a high level of focus. These students may even begin to enjoy doing their work which is slightly challenging for them. They will be able to progress independently, without the need of specific teaching nor guidance.

Kumon Brunei

Local News

Reading has learning, emotional and social benefits When one is able to read for pleasure and not out of necessity, the learning, emotional and social benefits are boundless. Besides obvious benefits such as increase in general knowledge ad language proficiency, children gain a greater insight into human nature and decision making from reading books. The more children are exposed to literature, the more reading will become part of their daily life. A child is introduced to new information, concepts, and phonemic awareness with every story.

How can parents encourage their child to read?

While it may be prudent for parents to limit the time their child spends on other activities, this may not be enough to spur a good reading habit. It is more important that children continue to enjoy what they are reading. This can be achieved by choosing books that your children enjoy for as long as possible. Depending on the childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s language skill level, give him a story to read or have a story read to them. When the story is finished, ask your child to pinpoint his favourite parts of the story. This can enable children to have fun picking out words and develop an interest to move to the next page. Children with a large collection of reading resources in their homes score higher and perform better on standardised tests. Provoke a reading habit in your child by having a large array of interesting books and magazines at their reading level.

Your response or feedback has a strong effect on how hard they will try to become good readers. Always remember to give them genuine praise for their efforts.

Parenting Tips

ways

A strong foundation in calculation can go a long way into helping your child progress more easily to higher level maths.

To Improve Mental Calculation

In addition to helping your children’s calculation abilities, playing simple maths games is also a way to get your children off their mobile devices and engage in some family fun. Here are 3 maths games to improve and challenge their mental calculation skills.

10s

2 3 4 5 6 Total

101 AND OUT

To play, you’ll need a sheet of paper, a pencil and one dice. The objective of the game is to score as close to 100 without going over. Players take turns rolling the dice. As you roll, you can either take the number as a one or a ten. For example, if you roll a 1, it can be used as 1 or 10. Players keep a running record of their total as they play. While the numbers are written on the paper, encourage your children to use mental calculation. This game is a great way to build mental math strategies as children often think critically in regards to what number they need to roll next.

MATHS JEOPARDY

Give your child a piece of paper and then say a number. Give them one minute to find as many ways as they can to make the number using addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

1+4

10 ÷ 2

3+2

20 ÷ 4 1x5

MULTIPLICATION WAR

Deal the number cards equally to every number facing down. Assign the cards with the number zero to represent the number ten. Each player turns two cards face up, reads the number sentence and supplies the answer. For example, if your child draws a 7 and an 8, he says 7×8=56. If you draw a 6 and a 4, you say 6×4=24. Because his product is larger, he wins the four cards and puts them at the bottom of his pile. If each of you has a number sentence with the same product, each player puts four cards face down and turn up two of them. The player with the largest product wins the eight cards. Continue the game until one player runs out of cards and the player with the most cards win.

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Due to the interest and demand in India and Sri Lanka, we are expanding our footprint by seeking passionate individuals to join us a franchise Instructor. As Kumon parents, you have worked through the programme with your child. We believe no one knows the benefits of the Kumon Method better than you. If you possess a passion to work with children and desire to become an educator within your community, join us as a franchise Instructor to transform a childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life through education.