To See the Growth in Student Is the Most Fulfilling
Kumon worksheets are required to be done every day, and gradually you can see a change in your child’s habits. Many parents have told me that the first change in their children’s habits after learning Kumon is that when they get home, they put down their school bags and do their Kumon homework.
Kumon is all about cultivating learning habits in all subjects, while Chinese and English cultivate the habit and ability to read, and Mathematics cultivates the ability to think for oneself and respond quickly. As children grow up, ability is the most important thing. If children make excellence a habit, they will definitely become better. I find it most fulfilling to see the growth of our children.
For example, I once had a completer in my centre (a student who had completed the entire Kumon programme). After entering primary school he took a year off due to ill health, but continued to study in the Kumon centre. He returned to school a year later and was still at the top of his class in exams. At the beginning, this child was not very capable, but learning Kumon helped him tremendously. After a few years of perseverance, he developed the habit of studying on his own, and then his ability to learn and manage himself improved greatly. Later on, the family emigrated to New Zealand and he achieved very good results in New Zealand schools.
Touched to Hear My Students Say They Wanted to Do More Homework
I am often touched by working as a Kumon instructor. For example, sometimes when I am not feeling well and have a bad cough, my students said, “Ms Lu is sick, let’s bring her some medicine next time!” I think I am really touched that my students think of me. Another child said, “I like you very much, I want to do more homework when I see you because you always encourage me.” That’s what makes this job so meaningful for me.
Some children may be criticised by their parents at home, but in my centre I always encourage and praise them. Some children may be criticised by their parents at home, but in my classroom I always encourage and praise them. For example, there was a child who was doing C level of math (2 digits x 1 digit) for the first time and had not learnt it at school. I first asked him if he could do it and he said “yes”. I asked him again, “Why do you know how to do it?” He said, “The other children sitting next to me that day were also learning this content and I saw Ms Lu encouraging him to do it on his own. I was listening and I remembered it too.” He observed and understood how to do it while I was instructing the other children, and it only took him 12 minutes to get it all right! When his parents came to pick him up, I told them about the details and praised him, so he was more motivated to do more work and to do it faster and better.
It”s all about finding the strengths in your child. For example, if a child can solve a problem on his or her own the first time he or she is exposed to it, I will definitely share it with parents. Don’t you find it surprising that a child in kindergarten can already solve a junior high school problem? As a parent, don’t you think this is a very blessing? Learning is hard work for children, so we should always encourage and praise them.
