Individualized LearningMainstream education must be individualized, "just-right" education tailored to each student's ability. We cannot fully develop each child's ability nor seek the potential of each individual via the conventional methods employed by mainstream schools and after-school learning ce
Self-learning The Kumon Method is not only for improving students' performance in their math classes. By experiencing and learning how to self-learn through their study of math, children are also able to cultivate the ability to independently learn what they want to learn without always needing to be taught
The Pursuit of Potential Take the case of the first person who successfully climbed Mt. Everest. Rather than considering this event just a one-time occurrence, think about it in this way: "if one person can do it, other people can also do it." So, we should closely study the example of this one
Home-Based Education Children go to school and study every day. Home-based education is most effective when children study what they haven't covered thoroughly enough at school, and in a different way to the way they study at school. In the home, having children do the same things that the
Advancing Beyond School Grade Level The value of the Kumon Method lies in advancing students beyond school grade level through self-learning. We should help students advance to high school level worksheets as quickly as possible while they are in elementary or junior high school. We hope they dev
The "Just-Right" Level of Study In order to help children learn, they should be provided with materials and instruction at a level that is "just right" for their ability. The reason children come to dislike studying is that they are not given what is at the "just-right" level for t
Developing Good Study Habits There is a proverb which states, "You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make him drink." With the Kumon materials, however, once children are led to their desks, they start to enjoy studying. There are some education specialists who say that children should be forc
Comfortable Starting Point For students newly enrolled in Kumon Centers, we first give them a Diagnostic/Placement Test to decide from what level and what number of worksheet they should start. We do not set these starting points where students wish to have them. They start from a point where the content is
Why We Place Importance onAchieving 100 Per CentThe pleasant feeling of satisfaction and pride that comes from independently and successfully completing a test, no matter how small, builds self-confidence and motivation. Study begins from a level where students can get 100 per cent. By building up confidence and academ
The Standard Completion TimeBefore the SCT was determined, some Instructors had made it their policy to have all their students, no matter how capable they may have been, study the worksheets at least four times. They did so because it was hard for them to correctly grasp the differences in their students' ab
High School Level Worksheets When it comes to home-based education I believe that the important thing is what not to do, rather than what to do. If we say that this topic and that topic are important just because they appear in school exams, then we are placing undue importance on the short term and cannot s
It Is Not the Child Who Is at FaultOur starting point is to believe "It is not the child who is at fault." As long as we discover the potential of each student and ensure they study at the "just-right" level, then each child will progress at a rate that will surprise not only their parents and schoo
