The mystery of a child's learning potential

Contributed by Allan Menagh (Vision Communication Team Leader, Kumon Asia Oceania)

A child's learning potential is an immeasurable thing. The question of how best to realise that potential is the same challenge faced by educators everywhere.

If education is our preparation for the future and what shapes us as people, those methods of education should be carefully examined.

We at Kumon believe that "life skills" are the core of a sound education. By this we mean the ability to live life happily and to the fullest, setting goals and having dreams, with a willingness to face new challenges enthusiastically. To achieve this children need three qualities: superior basic academic ability, a sense of self-affirmation and the ability to learn independently.

Superior basic academic skill means the ability to read and acquire information, the ability to think critically and the ability to communicate.
Self-affirmation is that feeling you have when you recognise and enjoy what you have accomplished. This is the cycle of learning that for a child means if they challenge themselves fully to learn something, then they discover they can indeed do just that. For young children, this is linked with their self-confidence and self-esteem.

Self-learning is the ability to set goals and solve unfamiliar and challenging tasks independently. In concrete terms, it is a synthesis of abilities such as concentrating, processing, challenging and persevering.

In other words, the more independent and skilled a child becomes as a result of their education, the more capacity he or she will have to keep learning when their teacher, tutor or parents are no longer around him or her every day.

With 21 years of experience across Australia, Kumon's "life skills" are deeply rooted in our programme's focus on the ability of each individual child and the basic belief in the capacity of all children to learn in advance of expectations. Developing every child's ability to learn and building their confidence to challenge themselves to learn is what we aim to do.

Throughout November 2006 we held our Kumon Dream Awards programme for more than 8500 students across Australia who are studying ahead of the international curriculum for their age groups. This is evidence of the potential of Australian students to learn above expectations and their capacity to develop superior learning skills.

Clearly, the strength of today's education is what drives the advancement of each child and Australia's future.