Kumon Australia and New Zealand - Potential 2022, Issue 1

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JANJUn 2022

Calculus paves a bright future for Kimberley

Editor’s Note Dear readers, In our first edition of Potential for 2022, we focus on how Kumon provides each student with skills and capabilities that enable them to have a bright future.

Our two student stories feature Zoe from Perth and Kimberley from Sydney, who are preparing for their futures by building strong mental calculation and reading comprehension ability.

In our third article, we offer Kumon families our immense gratitude for continuing with our learning programmes over the past two years. Our fourth article discusses how Kumon helps students establish a foundation for their future learning, while developing a mindset that no problem is too difficult to attempt.

We hope you will enjoy this issue of Potential.

Sincerely,

Contents

The Kumon Public Relations Team

03 Engineering a bright future, through reading comprehension

04 Calculus paves a bright future for Kimberley

06 Thank you, Kumon families, for sticking

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with us!

08 Instructors’ Quotes 10

For a bright future

Engineering a bright future, through reading comprehension

While it may not seem like the most obvious link, completing the Kumon English programme is helping 10-year-old Zoe to acquire the skills to become a mechanical engineer.

In Year 4 at school, Zoe finished Kumon English in March 2021, meaning she has the reading comprehension ability of a Year 12 student. She also topped the ranking for her year level amongst all Kumon English students in Australia.

Zoe’s commitment to her Kumon studies has real-world benefits for her.

“Kumon English has helped me in a few different ways”, Zoe says. “One of them is with my comprehension, which has helped me get better grades with spelling at school. Another is with reading instructions, which helps me to build things and help my dad too”.

Zoe says that her ability to comprehend complex instructions will help her in mechanical engineering, where she wants to build robots and cars. She also studies Kumon Mathematics nearly two years ahead of her school grade.

Krystal, Zoe’s mother, says she enrolled her daughter into Kumon to extend Zoe in her reading.

“Zoe started Kumon English in pre-primary. At that time, she was already ahead in her literacy; she could read a lot of difficult words and stories and books”, Krystal explains. “However, [her school teacher] identified there were some clear gaps in her comprehension ability: Zoe didn’t fully understand what she was reading. So, they suggested we work on improving her reading comprehension”.

“I did some research and found out that Kumon English would be a good way to help increase Zoe’s comprehension. So, that’s the reason I enrolled her”.

Krystal says that beyond strong reading comprehension, Kumon will have many benefits for Zoe later in life.

“I think Kumon gives Zoe a lot of practice in managing her time, and in being more disciplined. This is a worksheet programme you do at your own pace, on a daily basis”, Krystal says. “She has homework, afterschool activities and school, so she does need to manage her time and be more organised in her daily life”.

“It also gives her a lot of confidence and I think it’s a really good foundation to prepare her for high school. If she has these foundations and confidence, it will help make the move to high school a bit easier”.

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Calculus paves a bright future for Kimberley

Kimberley, 13 years old and in Year 8, is an advanced Kumon Mathematics student studying more than three years ahead of her school grade. She is comfortably learning calculus with Kumon.

In April 2021, Kimberley participated in the Australian Maths Olympiad, a challenging endeavour for any student.

The Australian Maths Olympiad is a two-day Olympiad-level contest comprising of four questions each day and conducted under school supervision. Around 200 of the highest achieving students from across Australia and New Zealand are invited to participate each year.

Kimberley’s prior study with Kumon Mathematics made this event far easier than it otherwise would have been for her.

“Kumon’s taught me quite a variety of useful techniques that can easily be applied to Maths Olympiad questions”, Kimberley says.

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“Especially the algebra related questions, I really enjoy solving those now. And, although Maths Olympiad questions are worded problems, the basics from Kumon are still there. If you know the basics, you can easily solve the questions.”

The Kumon Mathematics programme is designed to develop quick, precise calculation skills, with students progressing step by step, towards the goal of advanced high school mathematics.

Strong mathematical ability remains a core skill that will help children to thrive throughout the 21st century.

Research from the Foundation for Young Australians predicts that by the year 2030, people will spend 77 percent more time using maths in their daily lives than they do currently.

For the late Toru Kumon – a high school maths teacher who founded Kumon – having the ability to mentally calculate problems and equations with speed and accuracy, was fundamental to being strong in mathematics.

“Calculation encompasses not only mixed operations, fractions and decimals, but also equations, factorisation, and differential and integral calculus”, Toru Kumon once said.

“If students have solid calculation skills, they will be able to apply these skills as they advance. Students will gain confidence”.

Kimberley hopes to pursue a career in technology when she grows up, though she says this preference may change. Regardless, she believes numbers will always play an important role in her future.

“Perhaps I would like to be a data scientist, someone working in a big tech company, like Alphabet the creator of Google, or even establish my own company”, Kimberley says. “However, my job choices keep changing, so I’ll see when I’m older”.

“And mathematics is already a major part of society”, she says. “We use it all the time, although some of us may not realise it”.

“I believe that the content I’m learning at Kumon will greatly benefit me later in life, because maths is and will forever remain an important part of my life. Especially in my career and work experience. It’s good that I get to learn calculus as a 13-year-old”.

John, her father, says Kimberley was enrolled into Kumon to extend her academic abilities.

“Kimberley was bright and was getting bored at school”, John says. “We just felt that she needed that extension. By enrolling her into Kumon, she became really confident; it just helped her to excel”.

John says Kumon has benefited his daughter tremendously, especially when she transitioned to high school.

“The transition to high school was so much easier, because she was confident in the fact that she knew the subject matter,” John says.

And even beyond high school, John believes that Kumon will continue to be of benefit for his daughter.

“Being 13 years old, it’s so hard to know what she’s going to do in later life. But, the ability to work through problems via higher level and critical thinking, will certainly come into play”, John says. “And then, advanced mathematics gives her more opportunities in her higher education pathway and future career”.

“Rather than having these pathways cut-off to her, they will be open. So, she can really choose what’s going to be her passion, and follow it”.

1

The Foundation for Young Australians. (2021, November 22). Our Reports: The New Work Order Series. Retrieved from fya.org.au:

https://www.fya.org.au/resource/new-work-order-research/

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Thank you, Kumon families, for sticking with us!

Families are very familiar with remote learning after the events of the past two years,

with everyone doing a wonderful job of adapting to new ways of learning. We have all embraced many changes, and learned new ways of connecting with and supporting each other. We faced daily challenges and learned what it means to be resilient.

Throughout the course of their remote learning experience, some families found

that studying online benefited their child, and have opted to continue with this study approach for a variety of reasons. Technology allows these students to keep in touch with their Instructor for regular progress updates. Some Kumon centres are continuing to offer online classes via Zoom or other videoconferencing apps, in order to provide options that are convenient for all families.

Regardless of whether students to study at home or in centre, Kumon students continue

to progress through the worksheets at their own pace, using the hints and examples in the worksheets to work out the answers independently. Even for students who attend

the centre in person once or twice a week, Kumon is primarily a home study method because they complete a small amount of daily worksheet study.

So, while we hope that there will be no more lockdowns in Australia and New Zealand, Kumon centres are well-placed to continue to support children’s learning via online study should restrictions be suddenly reintroduced. And while families enjoy the current

freedoms, their Kumon centres can continue supporting their children’s learning in a flexible manner.

All Kumon centres look forward to continue supporting their students throughout a bright 2022. We also offer massive thank you to all our Kumon families for your support throughout a tumultuous two years.

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Instructors’ Quotes

Throughout the different stages of the pandemic, Kumon centres have been

continually adjusting their operations to ensure students learn in a safe environment. To learn how the switch to remote learning impacted some of our centres, read these quotes from Instructors throughout the Asia-Oceania region

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“

Most of my students are back learning in the centre. However, I still offer one or two online classes per week for children studying from home. It’s important to show flexibility in our instruction methods to keep children engaged with their learning and to provide parents with options. Over the last twenty months we have seen how online instruction is effective: students can maintain adequate progress, have their questions addressed, and still have regular and meaningful contact with the Instructor. This hybrid model provides more options for me as the business owner to develop and grow my centre.

Andrea Rodriguez Kumon Australia and New Zealand

“

[Both in person and online], Kumon is a great opportunity for students to develop themselves as Instructors can assist through close observation, guidance, and encouragement. Kumon Instructors promptly communicate with parents to help support their children in the same direction.

Siriluck Sreesai Kumon Thailand

“

We live in unprecedented times that demand a different approach in the way we deliver Kumon. Thanks to advancements in technology, remote learning has been possible and successful throughout this pandemic.

Once guidance is delivered, whether online or in the centre, it can enhance a student’s motivation. This helps us to promote certain life skills like time management, multi-tasking, responsibility and independence.

Julia Chan Kumon Malaysia

“

Children are more adaptable than adults realise. My students began warming up to the new remote learning environment sooner than I expected. I have not only seen them grow more and more independent every week, but also become more resilient and less reliant on the teachers. With patience, I believe every child has the potential to be developed into a strong self-learner.

Natasha Leow Kumon Singapore

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For a bright future

K

umon is an individualised programme that develops students’ self-learning through the study

of mathematics and English worksheets. It is a partnership between parent, student and Kumon

Instructor, to fully pursue each child’s potential and develop their ability to the maximum.

Students progress independently at their own pace. They develop confidence, a daily study habit, and a high level of mathematics and reading ability.

As shared in the articles about students Zoe and Kimberley earlier in this magazine, mental calculation

and reading comprehension are core competencies that will help children build their own bright future throughout the twenty-first century.

Today’s world features constant and vast streams of information, both online and offline. Strong

reading comprehension allows students to digest, understand and critically analyse the messages they receive each day.

Research from the Foundation for Young Australians predicts that by the year 2030, people will spend 77 percent more time using maths in their daily lives than they do right now. Mathematics will likely become even more intertwined with everyday life. The ability to mentally calculate quickly and precisely is a core component of mathematical literacy.

Hugh, a Kumon Mathematics and English programme completer.

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Hugh, 18 years old, completed the Kumon Mathematics and English programmes when he was in

early high school. He now studies a computer science degree at the University of Adelaide and wants to pursue a career in mathematics and computing, which could include pathways like software engineering, machine learning, and quantum computing.

Hugh says Kumon had a profound influence on his attitudes towards mathematics and English.

“Kumon made me passionate about maths, which fuelled me throughout high school to pursue a lot of mathematical subjects”, Hugh says. “I did chemistry in Year 12. I did physics and I studied that in

the International Baccalaureate diploma. Now, I’m doing computer science. If it weren’t for Kumon, I probably wouldn’t have this passion for mathematics”.

“And with English, I tended to get bored; I never liked tragedies, never liked plays, and archaic language

was always boring”, Hugh continues. “I found that immensely challenging to read. But by being exposed to that slowly through Kumon, I’ve started to enjoy it. Now in my spare time, I read. I like to read. I aim to read a book a week.”

This shows that by the time Hugh completed Kumon Mathematics and English, he had built strong

reading comprehension and mental calculation ability. However, he says the benefits of programme completion didn’t stop there.

For Hugh, the ability to explore new topics, especially those he may not have liked, is one of the biggest benefits of doing Kumon. He says this helped him become a well-rounded individual, adaptable to

the changes around him. This is supported by his daily study habit and self-learning aptitude that he developed through Kumon.

“Kumon has helped me [approach my learning] with independence”, Hugh says. “As a result, I’ve been able to reflect on example questions myself, and to self-learn. I’m able to learn concepts unaided, thanks to Kumon”.

As explained by Hugh, Kumon students come to expect the challenge of something new, and gain

satisfaction in working it out for themselves. They develop a mindset that no problem is too difficult to attempt. Today’s children will grow up in a world shaped by the challenges and opportunities of the

twenty-first century. The high level of mathematics and reading ability, confidence, daily study habit

and self-learning that they develop through Kumon will help them build their own bright future in this modern world.

For Toru Kumon, the late founder of Kumon, nurturing students such as Hugh was the mission of Kumon centres across the world.

“In today’s world, there are still so many unresolved issues and to deal with them one by one, we need to nurture excellent minds worldwide”, he once said.

Kumon’s Mission: By discovering the potential of each individual and developing his or her ability to

the maximum, we aim to foster sound, capable people and thus contribute to the global community.

To watch a short video interview with Hugh, visit: https://au.kumonglobal.com/hughs-story/

2

The Foundation for Young Australians. (2021, November 22). Our Reports: The New Work Order Series. Retrieved from fya.org.

au: https://www.fya.org.au/resource/new-work-order-research/

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