The Kumon Method and Its Strengths

At Kumon we believe that the most beneficial thing we can do for children is to furnish them with the ability to advance to high school level material through self-learning as early as possible in life.

With the Kumon Method, students study independently from an early age and develop both a high level of academic ability and the ability to learn independently, or what we at Kumon refer to as “self-learning” ability. As a result, after children who have done Kumon grow up and enter the workforce, they are able to think of solutions by themselves even when faced with difficult challenges. All in all, the skills that students gain through doing Kumon go a long way to helping them to achieve their goals and dreams.

When first developing the Kumon Method, its founder, Toru Kumon theorized that as long as his son was able to do math easily in high school, he would have plenty of time to spend on whatever other pursuits he was interested in. So he thought about what he could do at home to help his son gain proficiency in high school math.

With the aim of helping his son gain independence, Toru Kumon prepared his own learning materials and study method. He wrote out calculation problems on loose-leaf worksheets and combined them with a self-study method that would enable his son to advance by himself.

In effect what Toru Kumon did was to create the prototype for Kumon Method education. He had laid the foundation for Kumon’s individualized approach that enables each student to learn in accordance with his or her academic ability, and for Kumon’s pursuit of potential; both of which we continue to place the utmost importance on.

With the Kumon Method students learn by doing the worksheets independently without being taught.

Letting students begin study from a point that they can do easily, without making judgments based on age or school grade level, enables them to experience the joy of learning. For example, when they are studying comfortably students can do the work by themselves, they can get a 100 percent score, they enjoy their study, and they can advance to the next worksheets without difficulty. So the comfortable starting point is essential for creating a solid foundation for study, with which students can independently develop their academic ability.

So what is the “just-right” level of study? It is the optimum level for each student to develop academic and self-learning ability. It can be a comfortable level or a challenging one, depending on what is best for each student at different stages in their Kumon studies. What remains constant, however, is that it must always be a level at which students can repeatedly experience a sense of accomplishment and progress on their own without being taught. Keeping this in mind, Kumon Instructors continually challenge students to grow by gradually increasing the level of difficulty of the worksheets they assign, while taking into account increases in each student’s level of academic ability.

When studying at the “just-right” level, students are provided with a suitable amount of mental stimulus, just as they would have to attempt appropriate physical tasks in order to build a strong body. Through continued study at this level students gain self-confidence and an understanding that they can do something if they give it try, which enables them to build up a high level of academic ability.

When studying at the “just-right” level students think for themselves and complete the exercises. When they get stuck they look at the hints and examples incorporated in the worksheets and figure out themselves how to do the exercises. In this way, continued study at the “just-right” level fosters the ability to learn on their own, or as we say at Kumon, “self-learn.”

Students then use that self-learning ability to advance independently beyond their school grade level to higher levels and more difficult exercises.

Thus Kumon study makes it possible for students to advance to high school level material at an early age.