Before starting Kumon, I was a preschool teacher and a Kumon parent. I always wanted to be an educator and an entrepreneur. Kumon helped me from finding the right location to setting up the centre, including trainings on conducting Parent Orientation sessions and Diagnostic Tests for students. They also guided me in creating study plans and conducting classes effectively. Ability based learning is what attracted me towards Kumon. Every time a primary school child that has been with me since preschool comes to me and tells me “I’m top in class”, that is a very fulfilling moment for me.
When I was working in my previous job as a school teacher, I found that I have limited pockets of time, it’s either for my children or for myself. With Kumon, it’s a balance. The experience has been fantastic. I reached the first goal that I had set for myself within two years. I wanted to earn as much as I was earning when I was a teacher yet having that work life balance. And I have achieved that.
I currently have a student who began studying math at the age of four, even before he could write or count beyond 10. Within just two years, he started working on material typically five years ahead of his age. I find it wonderful how Kumon can meet the individual needs of each child.
It was a huge commitment to give up a full-time job for the uncertainties of starting a business. But once I decided to take the plunge, Kumon provided support in terms of training and location search, and I eventually took over a centre in Pasir Ris. When my students come up to me and tell me their little accomplishments like “I can do additions!” or “I completed my work in 15 minutes!” I feel a great sense of achievement. I had a student who cried whenever faced with Math problems. Now she is learning about 3 years ahead of her school grade and told me she wants to complete the whole Math programme.
I was looking for an alternative to live in the present, to be present for every milestone of my child. Ever since I opened my own Kumon centre, my experience has been fantastic! Being a Kumon Franchisee has not only allowed me to spend more quality time with my kids and have the lifestyle I want for my family and myself but also achieved financial stability. Watching my children and my students grow gives me the greatest joy and fulfilment. And the best part is I am building my own dream, not someone else's.
How does Kumon Help to Improve Children’s Life Skills?
Kumon helps to develop students’ self-learning skill. This will definitely benefit the students when they enter the work force as it will help them to figure out a solution and think out of the box.
Kumon also helps to train students to be persistent and never give up when they progress to a new level or when faced with challenging questions.
These two key features are essential and vital in a child’s development and I can foresee that students will be mentally tougher and be more willing to take up challenges if they are equipped with the right skills.
What Do Instructors Think About Advanced Study?
In Malaysia, the revised Standard Based Curriculum for Primary & Secondary School [KSSR & KSSM] necessitates children to think beyond their age with the introduction of High Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) or Kemahiran Berfikir Aras Tinggi (KBAT)] at an early age.
School is now very challenging for the young ones. They need to learn quickly, process and level up their thinking capabilities to avoid being left behind; indeed a very stressful situation especially for preschool and even primary school-going children.
Advanced study helps children manage these expectations. Children who are studying beyond their school grade will be more prepared to embark on the learning experience in class as they have already possessed the knowledge. All they need to focus on now is levelling up their High Order Thinking Skills, and think outside of the box.
How Is Kumon Different From Other Enrichment Centre?
As an instructor speaking objectively, Kumon centres are simply better. We, as instructors, are the heart of the centre. Our philosophy makes a difference from Day 1 of the child’s journey. We strive to encourage the child to reach his or her limitless potential. Each class day is seen as an opportunity to praise and encourage the child to self-lead.
We believe that every child can learn, whether they are slow learners or special needs students, and we approach each child with the same dedication. As an Instructor, I have had children with a short attention span and a profound dislike for Maths, aiming to study Engineering. It warms my heart every time.
We believe that ‘’every child is a bud waiting to flower”. The Kumon instructor is an integral part of the Kumon experience. The Kumon Instructor is not only qualified to teach academic subjects, but also has been trained to recognise strengths that need to be nurtured in children.
The Kumon Corporation is a strong and sustainable conglomerate that provides excellent learning opportunities and helps children maximize their true potential. Through the franchising of the Kumon method, we aim to cultivate responsible citizens and talents, thereby contributing to the sustainable development of the global community.
When I started opening the Franchise center, I thought about the image of more children having access to a useful and effective educational method, Kumon. This helps me have clear goals in guiding and operating the center.
Every day, I enjoy observing students complete their schoolwork and creating study plans to see them progress toward their full potential. Witnessing their growth brings me great joy.
When franchising Kumon, I always prioritize the students and focus on maintaining high educational standards. My goal is to ensure that the benefits and core values of the Kumon Method are accessible to every student, especially those born in suburban areas far from the city center.
Kumon is a journey of experience, where students set goals, strive to achieve them, and learn to cultivate a dedicated attitude while persevering through challenges. The rewards of this journey go beyond just gaining knowledge. Students learn concentrated working skills, self-discipline, and love for self-study, which will serve as valuable tools as they move forward in life. I am thrilled to be a part of your Kumon journey and support you along the way.
I had been genuinely inspired by my son's significant progress in math skills and his disciplined study habits through Kumon's structured worksheet system and effective time management strategies. This experience has motivated me to explore the possibility of becoming a Kumon franchisee. With my desire to provide high-quality educational opportunities to students in my community, opening a Kumon Center has been one of the best decisions I have ever made.
Children learn at the right level if they practice according to their abilities. As a supervisor, I try to explore the potential of students by observing the attitude of students learning in class, making observations when students work on worksheets plus information obtained when communicating with parents.” By observing student learning attitudes in the classroom, I can see enthusiasm, concentration, patience and perseverance in dealing with new problems. When I see students work on Class Work, I know the abilities that have been formed such as work agility, mental calculation and so forth. Children who learn at the right level will learn happily, enthusiastically, passionately, and are motivated to advance even to levels that are far higher than the class level.
I often got questions asked by parents such as, “Will my child be left alone doing their worksheets?”, “Why don’t you teach them so they can understand the problems faster?”, “How can my child understand the materials without being taught?” I told them that children will be able to master the materials faster by thinking by themselves without being taught. Self-learning will develop strong logical thinking ability and motivate children to learn through examples and introductory problems in the worksheets, so they can study beyond their school grade level. Therefore, self-learning is an important skill for children as it will develop their potential to the maximum. In order to develop their self-learning ability, I ensure that students adopt the proper attitude right from enrolment, make them follow the study flow, and study with worksheets correctly. Then, I train them to try to solve new concepts by themselves and make them feel the sense of achievement. At the same time, I praise children to make them more confident to study by themselves.
In my opinion, repetition is one of the many features of the Kumon Method which is the most special. Because each child is unique, the study program is made according to the ability of each individual child. Assigning the ‘just right’ repetition based on individual’s ability will give benefit for students, because the contents in the worksheets are related to one another. It is important to set the study program carefully, to keep children motivated to study by themselves. To assign the “just right” repetition, Instructors need to consider based on observation of students’ study condition in the center, as well as the character of parents. Through Parents Meeting (PM), I can get informations regarding parents’ characters and students’ study condition at home. Besides that, Parents Meeting is an opportunity to share to the parents about the importance of the repetition.
Being a part of Kumon has not only allowed me to contribute to the academic growth of countless students but has also enriched my own professional and personal development. It's incredibly fulfilling to see them progress from struggling with concepts to mastering them with ease and I am proud to be associated with such a reputable organization.
My journey as a Kumon instructor has been a journey of personal growth and development. From the moment I embarked on this path, the Kumon office stood by me every step of the way. Whether it was providing comprehensive training programs or extending a helping hand during challenging times. Moreover, the continuous professional development opportunities facilitated by the Kumon office have been invaluable.
As a Kumon instructor, I embarked on a journey filled with meaningful interactions, enriching experiences, and profound satisfaction. Guiding students through the Kumon method allowed me to witness their academic growth and fostered my personal and professional development. It's been a journey of inspiration, resilience, and the joy of making a difference.
I grow a little each day while making a positive difference in young lives. This is an extremely fulfilling profession for anyone who has a passion for working with children and loves to work for themselves. My favourite part about Kumon is giving each child the opportunity to discover their “aha” moment. Watching each child get amazed at what they can do makes my role as an Instructor worth it!
My Kumon journey began as a parent concerned about her son’s education. Witnessing the amazing results of Kumon method, I became a true ambassador. Today, I own and lead the Kumon Nugegoda Centre, one of the fastest growing centers in Sri Lanka. Partnering with the 60-year-old Kumon brand is what deepened my satisfaction as I get to see young lives transformed by the Kumon Programme.
As a Kumon franchise owner, I'm not just running a business; I'm shaping futures. Every day, I witness the profound impact of personalized learning on students' confidence and academic abilities. Being part of the Kumon family means empowering the next generation to reach their full potential, and there is nothing more fulfilling than that.
To future generations of Kumon instructors, you made the right choice in responding and committing to this noble call of duty to shape the young minds who can become independent learners, who can achieve their own goals because they have not only learned how, but because they have mastered the right way to reach their goals.
Being a Kumon Instructor is far more than just a job. It is a calling. It is a way to give back to the community. It is a way to contribute to the future of society.
I started Kumon when it was very new here in the country. I learned so much because it evolved and it changed through the years. I thought I knew a lot then, but I realized that there was so much more to learn. And even after 25 years, I still continue to learn just like my students.
I believe that students should love learning and that it can be interesting and fun. To be able to achieve that, students must be on the “just-right” level. The “just-right” level is where students are able to grasp challenging material with the knowledge of previously learnt concepts and have a good attitude towards studying. Observing students in class and communicating with both students and parents would help give them a clear goal to work towards to and keep the students in the “just-right” level, so that students can continuously be motivated with the learning process.
I am a strong believer of self-learning. It is an important skill to have for both adults and children, especially in our society now. We can self-learn almost anything on Google and YouTube. To self-learn something, you need to have the willingness to try, the determination and perseverance to overcome failure, and the discipline to work on it till you succeed. All these skills are what we want to cultivate in our students using the Kumon Method of Learning, regardless of age. Whenever students are learning something new, we give them the time and space to try it out on their own first. We want our students to not be afraid to make mistakes. It is part and parcel of taking on new challenges. We will observe and decide how much more instructions to provided, or not at all. Different instructions are given to different students, aiming to develop their self-learning skills. This is one of the uniqueness of the Kumon programme. The earlier students master self-learning, the more they can pursue their dreams and goals, as they become unstoppable. I am sure all parents want that for their children.
Toru Kumon had stressed to respect for self-learning and children can grow through self-learning without limits.1 My understanding is that we must have a firm belief that all students have this ability of self-learning, and my role as an Instructor is to nurture patiently that learning new content need not necessarily be taught. When students are nurtured the self-learning, they will enjoy and be more advanced in their studies. Eventually students will have more initiative and confidence in advancing their future studies and solving life problems independently.
Determining the ‘just-right’ level of starting point will not discourage students to study Kumon continuously and feel motivated to study beyond school grade level consequently. Therefore, it’s essential for Instructors to determine the ‘just-right’ level to be able to make effective study plan and to provide proper instruction for students from the beginning so that they can progress smoothly and not give up easily when facing with challenging contents. Instructor should put the importance in finding the ‘just-right’ level for each student in order to have a good start and progress continuously.
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
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-to-do 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.
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.
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.
Throughout my Kumon journey, I learn that children love being independent. They get a great sense of achievement when they can learn by themselves, rather than being taught by someone right from the beginning. With a positive study attitude, self-learners will always think and give it a go when faced with new or difficult problems. More importantly, these children build up in confidence and motivation which, in my view, will allow them to be able to achieve their aspirations in life ahead. At Kumon, we work together with parents to help children develop the ability to learn independently. We aim to provide them with just enough support so they can develop the right attitude towards learning and study the worksheets independently.
For me, self-learning is about empowering students as it allows them to think for themselves and persist through whatever challenges they may face. Self-learners are like this because they have great stamina, perseverance and passion. Thus, self-learning equates to success. In Kumon Maths, I build self-learning by using the six significant skills as the building blocks. These six skills are work skills, mental calculation skills, correction skills, comprehension skills, skills to do intermediate steps efficiently, and verification skills. I also look at the student’s capabilities at enrolment and think about where I want to take them. And in English, I do this by instructing students to visualise and analyse a text. They learn to build and support their opinion and arguments through Kumon English.