Josie’s Story
Josie is 10-years-old, studying three years above her grade level in the Kumon Program. In fact, she’s studying the same math material that her mom, who is an eighth grade teacher, teaches her students. Imagine that, a 10-year-old transforming equations, working with linear functions and simplifying monomials and polynomials. She’s well on her way to advanced algebraic expressions and she isn’t even in middle school yet.
One of the things that Josie likes most about Kumon is the fact that she’s studying above her grade level.
“Kumon gives me confidence because I know how strong of a student it has made me,” says Josie. “I know that I can do and learn anything if I do the work and practice daily. Kumon has taught me about the importance of focusing and to not be afraid of challenges, but to enjoy them and work through them because I know I can overcome anything.”
Josie embodies everything that Toru Kumon had in mind when he founded the Kumon Method. He felt that students would experience the true benefits of the Kumon Method if they acquired the study habits necessary for self-learning and advanced study.
Discover more inspiring success stories on the Kumon Blog !
Etash K.: Math Program Completer
In Etash's words: "Kumon has been a defining factor in my middle school and high school journey."
How Kumon has helped me:
I started Kumon in the summer between my fifth and sixth grades, and completed level O in the end of my freshman year in high school. It allowed me to reach levels I never imagined.
By doing the Kumon Math Program, math classes were a breeze for me as I was able to complete my classwork and homework accurately and fast. I'm also one of two kids in my school that will be on track to complete Calculus 3/Differential Equations by the end of high school, which is great for college. I also know several students who will be on this track because of Kumon.
Without Kumon, math would be much harder for me, I would spend much more time completing homework/classwork, and I couldn't take the high level math classes in high school. But more importantly, Kumon teaches perseverance, discipline, and critical thinking.
There were a few times in which Kumon was too much effort, and I feel like I wouldn't be able to complete my work everyday, but I kept doing it, and it taught me so much about how much discipline and perseverance are rewarding in the long run.
Kumon also teaches critical thinking, as it enables learning in a different way, by figuring out new ways to solve problems by using existing knowledge. I'll admit, Kumon does not just give a formula and expect a student to solve problems with it. But it makes the students derive the formula by using their existing knowledge, and then asks them to implement it. This way, critical thinking skills are really built, so the next time I don't know how to solve a problem, I'll use the skills Kumon taught me, and I'll be able to figure it out.
Thanks,
Etash
Branden's Story : "Thank God for Kumon"
When Branden came to the center with his parents, he was a shy boy totally lacking confidence. What I saw was a young boy who could reach his true potential with a little motivation, encouragement and tons of hard work. He proved me right! He is now a very happy confident young boy excelling in school, in math! Kudos to him and his parents who have been very supportive of his Kumon, grading his work consistently and making sure he does his work regularly.
Branden in his own words:
"Kumon was not my favorite program because I thought it was boring and did not want to put time in doing the worksheets. I had to give it a try because I had no other choice. One day, all that changed. From the beginning of my sixth grade year, I started to get full grades in Math and English as well as other subjects. Kumon allowed me to take school tests with confidence. I understand what had been asked in those tests with less time than before. This program gave me courage, confidence, patience and most importantly, a GPA of 4.0 for the whole school year. Now I always say “Thank God for Kumon”, and I am looking forward to seventh grade, along with what I learned from Kumon."