We’ve noticed a few Kumon Centers popping up around the city lately and been intrigued by the strangely ambivalent smiley face. The centers provide an educational system for learning math and reading skills. And while they’re new to New York, the company itself has been around for 50 years.
Whether kids use the programs for remedial help or enrichment, the system remains the same: they start with the basics and use practice worksheets to learn new concepts. Students don’t advance until they’ve mastered the material, demonstrating both speed and accuracy. In the math program, for example, there are over 1,000 worksheets covering everything from basic arithmetic to advanced calculus. Assuming it takes a student 9 tries to complete each satisfactorily and they spend an average of 17 minutes per sheet, that’s about… Well, it’s a lot of time spent filling out worksheets, especially if you’re 11 years old.
While some critics have complained about the system’s reliance on rote memorization (not to mention boredom), many parents have been impressed by their kids’ progress. The real question is why parents feel compelled to send their children to these programs. Is it another case of parents pushing their already-stressed kids to succeed? Or is it simply that schools are failing to provide adequate instruction? If schools improved, it seems likely that the prevalence of companies like Kumon would greatly decrease.
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I am director of University School at The University of Tulsa where our students have been doing Kumon for nearly two decades. We have found that Kumon ungirds our regular mathemathics program by solidifying basic math facts. Having basic math facts firmly in their brains allows our students to
make better progress in math. With Kumon we have found that both males and females can progress equally as well in math. This provides all students with more career options and greater math knowledge.
One of the best things about Kumon is that it allows students to move through math material at their own pace. A teacher can have a whole class of students with each of them working on different material that is exactly suited to each students math proficiency. The materials are very sequential and extremely well planned. Thus what students learn in Kumon math helps them to do better in their school math programs. I see Kumon as another option for students to develop their potential.
March 20th, 2009 at 10:03 am
I’ve worked for Kumon for 16 years, and my two daughters are enrolled in the program. So maybe I’m biased, but I think I’d have them enrolled even if I didn’t work there. I want to make it clear that my wife and I support our schools and teachers. We believe that the best investment we can make is in our children and we choose to give them the gift of education.
As a father, I see first-hand how Kumon helps each of my girls grow and develop as individuals. I’ve seen them gain confidence and get better at problem solving and analytical skills. My girls now understand the value of perseverance and hard work. Kumon is giving our girls an opportunity to reach their full potential and enjoy learning for life.
March 20th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
Kumon isn’t new to NYC, perhaps their corporate-backed Kumon Centers are. But the Kumon program itself was part of my early childhood back in the 80’s. I hate the damn program. It’s incredibly boring and the sheets of problems are endless. My brother and I thought we were smart by ripping up the last few pages off each pamphlet and tossing them but in hindsight, we were pretty dumb weren’t we? Each page is numbered and I think the packets always came in sets of 10.
Rather than having tons of disconnected problems, they should have followed more of a college problem set where a few pages are dedicated to just one problem. So perhaps have the answer to the first question apply to the equation in the second question? This would lead to issues if a student gets the first one wrong which pretty much destroys the rest but at least it would seem like some journey rather than a repetitive exercise.
The Kumon Center I went to as a kid was on Henry or Madison Street near Market Street. It was in the basement of some music instrument center. Terrible memories.
March 21st, 2009 at 10:39 pm
Oh, forgot… the branding (smiley face) is sort of new. I noticed it early last year when I was touring Japan and came across it. Any information on the designer behind the new branding?
March 21st, 2009 at 10:40 pm