6 minute read
KUMON: Practice Makes Possibilities
from August 2022
by VIP Magazine
Top artists, athletes, and scholars have one very important act in common – they practice. The good intentions of making ourselves and our children practice educational activities, such as math sheets or joining a reading club, over the summer have met their deadline. Results are in and if you’re like many, goals were set aside for some good, waterloving, mountain-climbing summer fun. That’s okay! However, there’s no better time than the present to jump back in, full force, and start your path to another successful school year. While you may enjoy being your child's educational cheerleader, did you know there was a business that pours its heart and soul into coaching your child through higher achievements? That’s right! Kumon in Florence goes far beyond tutoring to deliver the results you seek for success at school and beyond. Led by Bonneva Ezekiel, an early childhood educator for over 30 years with a Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education, Kumon provides lasting techniques that offer a lifetime of advantages. Bonneva serves as co-owner and instructor at Kumon. Her primary role is to develop students’ skills by observing their abilities and following through with proper instructions. “The goal is to have each student achieve one to two grade levels above their current grade,” she explains. “I am responsible for creating lesson plans for students and developing skills such as focus, concentration, stamina, work skills, study attitude, and study approach. These skills are developed during careful observation of students while encouraging them to be independent, self-learners.” Kumon offers a math program and a reading program. Students are encouraged to participate
in both to gain the most advantages but may also choose to do only one program. Upon joining the Kumon experience, students are walked through their daily class routine and given instructions on how how to complete the worksheets provided. “Accountability is another major part of our program,” says Bonneva. “On their journey of being independent, self-learners, students are given the ‘responsibility’ talk where they are told this is ‘their’ Kumon and they are responsible for making sure they not only do their homework and classwork, but they are also responsible for making sure they come to class prepared with their supplies.” Each student, no matter the grade level, follows the same routine, from three-year-old to high school seniors. There are three tiers of learners at Kumon – Early Learners, Primary Instruction, and Independent Students. The Early Learners range from three to about six years old. This age group is immediately greeted by an assistant that will work with them during the entire class time. The Primary Instruction students are those that are not quite ready to work 100% independently. They are monitored closely and get assistance initially to make sure they have a good start. Then they are observed and assisted when they ask. Finally, the Independent Students work completely independently and may also ask for help when needed. The last two tiers are closely monitored by instructors and adjustments are made on the spot when necessary. Graders are grading students’ homework Bonneva Ezekiel while they are working on their classwork. Once a student completes their classwork, they take it to the graders for grading. The graders give students back their graded homework and students work independently making corrections. The exchanging of work continues until both homework and classwork achieve a score of 100%, then the student leaves for the day. Students can spend as little as 20 minutes to as long as one hour on two subjects.
Kumon inspires children to reach heights they never imagined possible.
When asked about student success stories, Bonneva’s face radiates with happiness. “I’m super proud to say that there have been so many success stories since our Florence program began in August of 2020,” she tells. “One of many student success stories in the Kumon journey is Emily Patton. Emily started the program at age three. She was a shy three-year-old that would barely talk to me. We quickly bonded and Emily grew to trust me and the Kumon method. She slowly climbed her way through multiple levels of math and reading. Her perseverance awarded her the prestigious honor of being named Kumon top 20 students in math in her age group throughout the United States! She was also the only student in South Carolina that reached the achievement and was awarded the Platinum and Gold medal during our awards ceremony.” Much of Emily’s success is due to Kumon’s repetition program. When Emily didn’t meet Kumon's standard completion times or made multiple mistakes, she was assigned repetitions to ensure she was retaining and mastering the materials before moving on to the next concept. Another Kumon achiever was Krish Patel who started the program when it first opened. “His tenacity and drive catapulted him quickly through the math levels,” said Bonneva. “He earned the G by 4 award which means reaching our level G (seventhgrade math) by fourth-grade. This is a major Kumon accomplishment. Krish held the highest levels for both math and reading for two years earning Platinum and Gold during our awards ceremony.” Kavya Rana was four when she began the Kumon program and is now performing on a third-grade
level for math and reading while still in kindergarten. Nashat Bhagat has not entered formal school and is working on a third-grade level in math and a first-grade level in reading. “These are just a few of the success stories of some of our Kumon students. Every student Emily Patton works hard and we are proud to be a part of their educational journey.” Bonneva believes that Kumon helps to build confidence which makes learning easier allowing students to not struggle during school work but enjoy studying. She explains, “Kumon gives students basic fundamentals of math and reading which helps them to build a strong, solid foundation towards academy success. Kumon aims to develop skills that students will be able to use for life. Kumon is also aiming for students to have a smooth transition into high school math and reading while preparing them for the SAT and ACT simultaneously. What I love most about Kumon is that students achieve at their own pace while mastering concepts. Our new motto is ‘Practice Makes Possibilities.’ Students are first introduced to new concepts and achieve their breakthroughs, after their breakthroughs, students are working with confidence. They quickly move from working confidently, to working independently, and finally, mastery. Every student can benefit from the Kumon program where we pride ourselves on Krish Patel developing independent, self-learners!”
Kavya Rana Nakshat Bhagat
