Sandhya feels ready for a rapidly changing future
Sandhya Das Thuraisingham, a future student at the University of Oxford and former Kumon student, says studying Kumon Maths from a young age played an essential role in helping her to be ready for an unpredictable future.
Sandhya has been accepted into Oxford to study an undergraduate degree in philosophy, politics and economics. She hopes to travel to the United Kingdom to pursue her studies in September this year, should conditions allow for the relaxation of international travel restrictions.
Despite global uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Sandhya remains cautiously optimistic. Sandhya asserts she is well prepared and that her former Kumon Maths studies played a key role in building her readiness for her future.
“I began Kumon while I was in kindergarten and continued to study the programme until around 2016, when I was in Year 9,” Sandhya says.
“The little bit of study required each day by Kumon helped me to develop discipline, independence, confidence and resilience. I was also encouraged in Kumon to continually set goals and to push my limits.”
Sandhya says Kumon instilled a mindset where she always strives for her best. This mindset gave her the confidence to apply for admission into her chosen degree at Oxford, she says. Kumon also helped her to develop the needed life skills to attain her goals.
“Kumon showed me the value of persistence and repetition from a young age”, Sandhya says. “I think the Kumon worksheets are actually structured to encourage this development.”
“The worksheets allow you to gradually build up enough knowledge before you move onto the set of problems”, she continues. “The examples in the worksheets also give you enough information to self-learn; they give you the tools to work out the problems on your own.”
Self-learning also doesn’t mean being left unsupported when progressing through Kumon. Sandhya says that while her Kumon Instructor always encouraged her to try to complete the problems in the worksheet by herself first, says she was always offered help if and when support was needed.
“Kumon students are used to being able to tackle, new and unfamiliar problems”, Sandhya says. “They are also used to seeking help when needed after having a go first.”
Kumon is a home-based, pencil and paper programme students can study every day on their own. For more information on Kumon’s home-based programmes, please contact your nearest Kumon centre. Operations will vary from centre-to-centre during this period.
Sandhya received her admission to Oxford with support from Crimson Education, a holistic US and UK university application support service co-founded seven years ago by former Kumon student and Harvard graduate, Jamie Beaton. Crimson Education offers programs for students aged 11-18 years old. To learn about their extension classes and support, visit crimsoneducation.org