“You might be surprised to hear that some people at university are struggling with maths, but it happens. I see some people in my year staying up all night trying to get their homework done. Not me. Kumon gave me a strong maths background so that I don’t struggle with my homework like some of my peers.”
~ A former Kumon student
The founder of the program, the late Mr. Toru Kumon, designed the Kumon program in a unique fashion – from the top down. Being a high school teacher at the time, he wanted to focus only on the material his son would need to excel in high school maths. He looked at the final goal, advanced high school maths, and asked, “What must be understood as a pre-requisite for mastering these concepts?” Each step moves backwards through pre-calculus, algebra, pre-algebra, arithmetic, and number skills, all the way back to basic counting in the Kumon Levels. As a result of this structure, no matter where you begin in the program, you will continually build the skills necessary to reach the final goal.
Learning maths is like climbing a staircase: each step is essential to move up to the next. If just one step is weak or broken, it can result in you sliding backwards, and losing confidence in your abilities. Slipping leads to the “maths anxiety” many parents and children talk about. If you are not rock-solid in basic arithmetic you cannot proceed successfully to pre-algebra, and without a solid grasp of pre-algebra you cannot move on to algebra, and so on.
Mathematics utilises a universal language that is shared all over the world. Maths is what has enabled mankind to make cars, explore space and create the electronic toys children play with today. With a strong maths foundation, you can solve problems faster and more efficiently.
I encourage you to excel in maths so you may come across even more opportunities and choices for your future.