Learning in the fast lane and staying in the comfort zone

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

---

MANY more Australian children can achieve at maths or English than will ever win Olympic gold, Kumon's national education manager Tim Hewitson says.
Australians typically excel at sport and know how to achieve elite excellence. Mr Hewitson would like to see that same belief, support and achievement applied to maths and English.
"If we've got to the point where we can get 20 gold medals for 20 million people at the Olympics, I believe we can do a lot more helping children achieve a much better outcome in mathematics and English by using Kumon's approach."
The Kumon after-school learning program has achieved success for millions of students across different cultures and education systems.
It began 50 years ago in Japan, when teacher Toru Kumon wanted to help his son do better in school. The instructional method he developed was so successful his son was able to do calculus by sixth class.
After success across Japan, Kumon spread to North America and China by the early 1970s. In 1984, with more than one million students enrolled around the world, Kumon came to Australia.
Belief in every child's potential to excel is central to the Kumon philosophy. The program is structured around maths and English, fundamental skills essential to a child's overall academic performance.
Children start at a level where they are "100 per cent confident'' in their abilities, Mr Hewitson says. Kumon never takes students completely out of their comfort zone.
"Kids have an amazing ability to learn. Gradually they overtake their school curriculum.''
Mr Hewitson's association with Kumon began when he joined Kumon as a staff member in the late 1980s. At the time, the only Australian Kumon centre was in Sydney.
"Being a Melbourne boy I was the person selected to open the first office in Melbourne," he says. Mr Hewitson says parents are astonished at the impact Kumon has on their children and "seeing kids do as well as they do" is his greatest reward.

One of the keys to the program is its individualisation, he says. "For example, at the Bondi Junction Education Centre with 400 enrolments, all the children are working on material that meets their particular needs on that particular day.''
One high-profile graduate is Kristy Vernon, who completed Kumon's entire maths program by 15 and is now studying for her PhD at 19. Kristy is also a recipient of the prestigious Fulbright scholarship and will travel to the University of California Berkeley for eight months' study in San Francisco.
"When you see someone achieve so much it reminds you of the enormous potential that everyone has," Mr Hewitson says.