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Calibrated Learning Claire Gaffeny
Many a parent has struggled to develop good study habits for their children. The Kumon system of after-school learning instils discipline, the Japanese way.
70 July 2012 BTM
It was while she was hunting for a suitable learning programme for her niece that Claire Gaffeny sensed the opportunity. It was 1998 and the Kumon centre in London told her Bahrain was not on the Kumon worldwide map yet. Back in Bahrain a year later, Claire applied for a franchise of the Kumon after-school learning programmes. To keep her licence, she’d have to enrol at least 20 students. She got 15 children from her husband’s extended family and started out in her living room. Claire now runs the world’s second-biggest Kumon centre after Hong Kong, employing 53 staff in Bahrain. She also has the biggest correspondence branch, catering to students across ten countries as far as Sweden, Syria, Algeria and Lebanon. “Kumon is now the focal point of my life. After spending the day at the three centres, my evenings involve supervising my children through their Kumon worksheets at home,” she says. The Kumon method was developed in 1954 by Toru Kumon, a Japanese high-school math teacher to help his son, who was having trouble with his second grade math. A streamlined math and English programme involves completion of a set of worksheets within the scheduled time before a child can move on to a worksheet of a slightly higher level. The emphasis is on speed and accuracy, and with
repeated practice, children have shown improved concentration, mental stamina and a newfound confidence as they breeze through their worksheets. “A majority of children start below their school grade but are able to catch up in around eight months. Our intent is to have the child advance by one-and-half years so that they stay above school grade throughout the programme,” she says. To critics in the West who deride Kumon as the “drill and kill” method, Claire says it’s for a reason that certain techniques have withstood the test of time. “Repetition is only geared to give the child more practice. The secret to success is consistency; the more you practise, the more you excel.” The programme duration is flexible, depending on the child’s ability. “Worksheets are written to impart easy strategies to the child. There’s no teacher involved and the programme is entirely student-led, making the child independent,” she observes. However, parents cannot undermine their own role once they enrol the child. “A child working alone won’t succeed because motivation dips eventually. Since this is a home study programme, success depends on adult supervision,” Claire warns. Such is the word-of-mouth publicity that a quarter of her new enrolments comprise earlier dropouts who want to give Kumon another shot. Kumon Bahrain has recently introduced milestone targets for government school students who are enrolled in its English programme. “Most government school students enrolled in our programmes are the best in their class. For Bahrain to develop as an international hub, nationals need to be bilingual. We want them to be able to communicate fluently in English, to win scholarships and be successful in life.” More Kumon centres are in the pipeline, says Claire, with Muharraq being on her radar next. Ultimately, she aspires to have one Kumon centre in every residential neighbourhood in Bahrain.
xxxxx Kumon is now the focal point of my life. After spending the day at the three centres, my evenings involve supervising my children through their Kumon worksheets at home