SPARK Magazine | PILOT 2017
26 KUMON PHILOSOPHY
However , this teacher told us to study by ourselves in class . We were very pleased to be able to study at ease . It wasn ’ t very difficult for us to read and understand textbooks by ourselves . If there were questions , we could go to the teacher and ask him . All of us worked very hard to advance our study of math . I was very happy when I registered my completed number of pages on the progress chart .
Although Toru Kumon and his classmates enjoyed this way of learning very much , it did not continue long . The teacher stopped it .
Later , Toru Kumon thought that to enable students to continue studying in this way and progress steadily , good study materials for self-learning and appropriate methods for estimating their progress were essential . The teacher , however , did not have them and therefore , was forced to give up teaching in this way .
SELF-LEARNING AS THE EDUCATIONAL POLICY
I would like to quote a few more passages from Give it a Try . This time Toru Kumon discusses his experiences in junior high school .
One of my junior high school ’ s educational policies was to make students study the main subjects at least one year ahead of their actual grade level . If students were able , they could advance rapidly . What ’ s more , the school promoted a self-learning policy that encouraged students to advance at their own pace .
This method suited me very well . If I advanced beyond the school grade level , I could study without putting much effort into it . In addition to that , I didn ’ t like to be forced into studying or to have to listen to teachers ’ lectures . An educational policy which encourages students to learn what they liked at their own pace by themselves was just right for me .
From this time forward , I began to think that all the other schools should adopt this policy of achieving the greatest result with the least amount of effort , so their students can enjoy their school life more .
The experience at the elementary school and the teaching method adopted at the junior high school had an effect on Toru Kumon ’ s idea to develop good study materials that would enable every student to learn effectively on his or her own .
TORU KUMON ’ S EXPERIENCES AS A HIGH SCHOOL TEACHER
The following quote is from the special lecture of Toru Kumon in March 1984 .
I respect self-learning . When a student asked me , “ What kind of reference books are the best to use ?” I answered , “ The Study Aid * of the textbook is the best .” The student did not take it seriously . He said , “ All teachers get angry when they find that a student has the Study Aid .” I said that those teachers were odd . Then , the student brought the Study Aid to school timidly . When he brought it , I praised him , admiring him because he brought it to school even though his bag had gotten heavier .
Some of the students came to the staff room for teachers to ask me about math problems . When a student came to ask me a question , I asked him , “ Did you look at the Study Aid ?” If he answered , “ No , I didn ’ t look at it yet ,” I said , “ I will not teach you because you didn ’ t look at it .” And when he came to me the next time , he said , “ I looked at the Study Aid .” Then , I asked him , “ Bring it here .” When he brought it , I asked him , “ Up to which lines did you understand ?” He said , “ I did not understand at all . So I asked him again , “ Didn ’ t you really understand at all ? Don ’ t you understand the first line ?” He said , “ I understand the first line .” I said , “ Then , it ’ s not true that you didn ’ t understand at all .” And then , I said to him , “ I do not teach students who did not mark the part which they didn ’ t understand .”
I believe that self-learning is the best way for students . I said , “ Don ’ t use teachers instead of the Study Aid . You should study with the Study Aid by yourself .”
I truly regret that not so many teachers think like me . Some teachers may be worried about using the Study Aid . Even though students use the Study Aid , they write their answer first which they are able to solve by themselves , and then they check the answer by the Study Aid . In any case , they have to look at the Study Aid when they do not understand the problems , but they usually solve them by themselves after reading two or three lines of the Study Aid .
I am worried that some teachers think it is not good that students study by themselves instead of asking them . Students should be able to learn
* The Study Aid is a book similar to a Solution Book , and can be purchased in a bookstore . However , in Japan many students hesitate to purchase it because they feel it is cheating to use it .