Kumon Maths and English coming soon to Cannon Hill, Brisbane!

Kumon is coming to Cannon Hill, Brisbane, to support the maths and English learning of all children in the local area. Kumon Cannon Hill Education Centre will open on March 1 2020.

The Centre is led by Instructor Dee Keshwani. Dee saw the benefits of Kumon for developing her son’s ability and confidence with maths. When the chance arose for Dee to bring Kumon Maths and English to Cannon Hill and surrounding areas, she jumped for it.

“I have also always enjoyed maths”, Dee says. “It is an interest I share with my son. He was the one who wanted me to give being a Kumon Instructor a try. He told me that I would be good at it. I also wanted to help other kids become more confident and to enjoy learning.

“For most of my professional life I have been a small business owner and have always enjoyed being around kids”, she continues. “I have helped out at my kids’ school with homework and teacher support during class times.”

Kumon Cannon Hill Education Centre will be located at the Cannon Hill School of Arts, 958 Wynnum Road, Cannon Hill. It will be open after school on Monday and Fridays, from 3:30pm to 6:30pm.

“The Centre will be my way of contributing to society by helping students to enjoy learning”, Dee says. “Students at Kumon Cannon Hill Education Centre will grow to become confident self-learners and problem solvers.”

“I want my students to carry these abilities out into the real world, to face challenges with confidence and to continue learning by themselves.”

If you would like to enroll or to learn more about Kumon Cannon Hill Education Centre, please ring Dee on 0414 890 671 or email kumoncannonhill@gmail.com.

Message regarding the bushfires in Australia

Whilst bushfire conditions in some states have improved, Kumon Australia and New Zealand asks all families to continue to stay safe.

If any currently enrolled Kumon families in Australia have been affected by the bushfires, we ask that you please contact your Kumon Education Centre to advise them as soon as convenient.

If you don’t have your Centre’s contact details on hand, please use the search function on this website: https://www.kumonsearch.com.au/.

Alternatively, you are welcome to let us know through our online enquiry form.

Hayden develops lifelong study skills through Kumon Maths

Hayden’s Kumon Maths study went a long way to helping him achieve the International General Certificate of Secondary Education in mathematics. The IGCSE is an internationally recognized mathematics qualification set by the University of Cambridge.

Hayden, who is 16 years old and due to begin Year 11 high school, completed the examination last year to attain is IGCSE. Hayden  also completed the Kumon Maths programme in June. This meant he already mastered many maths concepts he encountered within the IGCSE examination, including trigonometry and quadratic equations.

Hayden says Kumon also helped him develop strong study skills.

“Kumon gives you the discipline to be able to sit down and actually finish something, rather than leaving it half done”, Hayden says.

The Kumon Maths programme develops quick, precise calculation skills for the study of high school mathematics. In Kumon all students also progress at an individualised pace. Advanced students can go ahead to study content that is above their school grade, while those who may be falling behind can go back to practise and revise.

As students progress through Kumon, they develop self-learning skill. Self-learning is the ability to learn something new independently, without being taught.

Hayden studied at Kumon Floreat Education Centre.

Kumon Maths and English comes to Warner, Queensland!

Kumon has come to Warner in Queensland’s Moreton Bay region, to support the maths and English learning of all children in the area. The Centre will open on February 1 2020.

Kumon Warner Education Centre is led by Nancy Van Oorschot, who has a professional background in finance. Nancy first heard about Kumon through a close friend whose daughter achieved an academic scholarship through Kumon’s support.

This led to Nancy’s interest in becoming a Kumon Instructor and opening her own Centre.

“Every student is unique in their own way”, Nancy says. “The Kumon Method allows students to develop at the level that is just right for them.”

“Kumon Warner Education Centre will be a place where students can build confidence and independence each day”, she continues.

“The Kumon Method will guide students to become independent learners and to grow beyond school grade level.”

Kumon Warner Education Centre is located at Pendicup Community Centre at 365 Samsonvale Road, Warner. The Centre is open on Tuesday and Friday afternoons from 4:00pm to 7:00pm.

To enrol or learn more about Kumon Warner Education Centre, please ring Nancy on 0426 978 272 or email kumonwarner@gmail.com.

Kumon Australia and New Zealand – Potential 2020, Issue 1

One of Kumon’s fundamental goals is to build student’s foundations for future learning. Kumon Australia and New Zealand has dedicated this issue of Potential to sharing stories explaining how this is achieved through the Kumon programmes.

We hope you enjoy the digital copy below!

Kumon helps Karthik to develop his maths talent

Karthik Suresh always had a penchant for mathematics. By studying the Kumon Maths programme, he has been able delve into his interest and extend his numbers acumen.

Karthik studies at Kumon Modbury Education Centre. He has been enrolled into Kumon since Reception, the first year of primary school in South Australia.

Kumon is an individualised, afterschool tuition programme that allows students to study at their own pace. This means advanced students, like Karthik, can go ahead to study content that is above their school grade.

Karthik now studies Kumon Maths at the Year 8 level.

“Kumon has helped me to build my confidence, self-learning ability and problem-solving skills”, Karthik says. “I am happy to have achieved five years ahead in Kumon Maths.”

In recognition of his achievement, Karthik attended the Advanced Student Forum at the University of Adelaide – North Terrace on November 17.

At this event, he heard from a range of guest speakers, including The Hon. John Gardner MP, the SA Minister for Education, and Felicity Furey, an engineer and advocate for women in engineering.

Karthik’s mother, Lalita Iyer, says Kumon has supported Karthik in his overall growth.

“Through Kumon, Karthik has gained confidence to explore new problems on his own”, Lalita says. “Karthik receiving his award at the Advanced Student Forum was a moment of pride and pleasure for us.”

Natira wins scholarship through the support of Kumon Maths and English

Through hard work and dedication to his Kumon Maths and English studies, 11 year old Natira from Kumon Forest Lake Education Centre has been offered an academic scholarship for high school next year.

Natira has studied Kumon Maths and English programmes since 2013. Kumon Maths and English develops quick, precise calculation skills necessary for the study of high school mathematics, and strong reading comprehension ability.

Kumon students’ also progress at an individualised pace best suited to their ability.

Natira has completed Kumon English. He is studying Kumon Maths at the Year 10 high school level. He aims to finish the programme in the next two years.

“Kumon helped me by making me smarter. It’s given me more knowledge and information that will help me in my future”, Natira says.

Rany, Natira’s mum, says Kumon helped Natira to grow into an independent learner.

“Natira’s learnt a lot of patience, discipline, concentration and confidence [through Kumon]”, Rany says.

“He’s learnt how to focus on the job in front of him.”

Pencil and paper learning in the digital age

Thousands of parents across Australia and New Zealand have chosen Kumon to support their children’s maths and English learning. What makes a 60-year-old pencil and paper programme appealing for modern families in the 21^st century?

To answer this question, we interviewed Robert, a Sydney-based dad who holds degrees in engineering and physics. He has extensive career experience in many fields involving mathematics.

Robert enrolled his son into Kumon when he was in Year 3. What influenced him to choose Kumon Maths over the many other offerings available?

Well, it’s because Kumon is a pencil-and-paper programme. When investigating the options available for his son’s maths learning, Robert found many other programmes are computer based. He certainly did not want more screen time for his son. Robert believes children should practice maths problems by writing them out, erasing their errors, and writing the problem out again, until they get them right, without relying on calculators or computers.

“Kids are overdosing on computers,” Robert summarised.

Robert’s son has completed Kumon Maths. He can solve calculus problems that undergraduate university students face.

Students, computers and learning

Robert’s assertions that computer-based learning isn’t any better than learning with pencil and paper, are supported by the OECD report, Students, Computers and Learning. The report found when computers are used in the classroom, their impact on student performance is mixed at best. Furthermore, students who use computers very frequently at school perform poorly in most learning outcomes. The results also show no significant improvements in reading, mathematics or science in countries that invested heavily in digital technology for education.

The report proposes that technology can distract from valuable human engagement between educator and student. This is something Robert valued highly in Kumon. Robert felt his son’s Kumon Instructor was across every single one of her students’ progress. The Kumon Instructor knew exactly how to structure the programme for his son, according to his individual needs. If his son ever got stuck, he would seek face-to-face support from the Kumon Instructor.

This real-life human interaction between educator and student is valued highly by parents in an increasingly online education environment.

Kumon: A learning method for the future

“The only safe prediction is that the future will be different to the present”, wrote Australian economist Ross Gittins in The Sydney Morning Herald, March 2017. He’s right. We don’t know for certain what our future will look like.

How do we prepare children for the future? Where does Kumon fit?

Learning how to learn

Kumon, at its core, prepares learners for ‘the unknown.’

In Kumon, ‘the unknown’ are topics students encounter for the first time in our worksheets when they progress beyond their school grade level. Outside of Kumon, ‘the unknown’ could be new industries, new technologies, new organisational structures, anything.

Our Instructors help students to learn in a very unique way. Kumon Instructors don’t explain to students how to solve problems, rather Instructors guide students to find the answer on their own. They first let students attempt the worksheets by themselves, and focus on developing in students the mindset, and skills, for self-learning. This prepares students for the future.

The skills and mindset for self-learning

Working independently and with new concepts is an important part of Kumon. Through this, students develop critical thinking skills. Critical thinking requires the systematic deconstruction of problems. This is followed by the production of a logical solution. Kumon worksheets allow this through examples, introductory problems and other design features that facilitate this process.

Through the process of correcting their worksheets, Kumon students are trained to think critically even when they make an error. Before making their corrections, students review their work on their own, locate errors and only erase parts of the answer where they see an error. This process trains the student to verify their own understanding and compare it with the example provided in the worksheet.

Kumon also prepares students for the future by developing their resilience and determination. Through the process of persevering in study, children develop a sense of their own capabilities and feel positive when they get the answer right. This develops our students’ enthusiasm for challenging themselves.

As summarised by Toru Kumon, the late founder of Kumon, “We hope [our students] will then continue learning by themselves even after going out into the real world, and grow up into people who are proactive in everything they do”.