Spark PILOT 2017 [Kumon Oak Bay Victoria] Spark PILOT 2017 [Kumon Oak Bay Victoria] | Page 25

S PA R K M a g a z i n e | P I L O T 2 0 1 7
KUM O N ST U DI E S
25
On Toru Kumon’s Self-Learning
Masanobu Endo
The Kumon Method is a home-based education
system that aims to develop students’ academic
ability in order for them to become capable
members of society, and, at the same time, to
make students more independent by increasing
their self-learning ability.
– IPG Chapter 1, Instruction Principles 1
A
s the Instruction Principles and Guide (IPG)
says above, the Kumon Method aims to
develop students’ academic ability and to make
students more able to learn on their own. We
are now working on the Center Transformation
Initiative (CTI) because we would like every child
to become a self-learner.
The spirit of self-learning was the basis of Mr.
Toru Kumon’s educational philosophy before he
established the Kumon Method.
In this issue of Voices, I would like to look back
upon how the idea of self-learning was fostered in
Mr. Toru Kumon and what he thought of self-learning
as expressed through his books and lectures.
FIRST EXPERIENCE OF SELF-LEARNING
Mr. Toru Kumon had an experience in elementary
school which convinced him that self-learning was
the most effective way of learning. The following
passages are quoted from his autobiography, Give
it a Try.
When I was a four-year student of an elementary
school, my homeroom teacher said to us, “Study
your math textbook on your own. You can
advance your study at your own pace. When you
face problems too difficult to solve by yourself,
come and ask me. I’ll answer them personally.”
And he placed a study progress chart on the wall
at the back of our classroom. On the chart, the
names of all students had been filled in and the
numbers of textbook pages completed by individual
students were supposed to be registered in the
students’ columns on the chart.
Up until that time, I had taken it for granted that
at school, teachers stand in front of blackboards to
conduct classes, sometimes appointing students to
answer questions or solve problems.