Spark PILOT 2017 [Kumon Oak Bay Victoria] Spark PILOT 2017 [Kumon Oak Bay Victoria] | Page 27

S PA R K M a g a z i n e | P I L O T 2 0 1 7
MI SCELLA N E OU S
in any way they like. That is comfortable for me
because I don’t have to teach them if they study by
themselves.
THE MATH CLASS OF THE HIGH SCHOOL IS
THE OPPOSITE OF SELF-LEARNING
The following quote is from Toru Kumon’s
intensive lecture in May 1988.
When I was a teacher of a girls’ high school, I
had a chance to talk with students’ mothers, and
I found that students studied for a long time at
home. They studied four or five hours in a day.
What they studied was that they put the notes in
order which they wrote down at class.
First, I should explain to you what they usually
did at class. When I appointed a student to write
an answer or solve a problem on the blackboard
in class, if she was able to solve the question by
herself, she was okay, but if not, she was in a panic
and borrowed a notebook of a friend and wrote
the answer on the blackboard. Even though the
friend wrote down intermediate steps mistakenly,
she wrote the wrong steps exactly as they were.
Then, the other students in the class copied the
wrong steps as well. This was the math study habit
of all of the students. Once I checked to see if
they just copied. When students were copying my
answers that I wrote on the blackboard, I wrote
a meaningless mark in the intermediate steps.
Then, I walked around their desks to check their
notebooks and found that they also copied the
meaningless mark.
They were just copying the intermediate steps
whether they understood them or not. If students
understand the intermediate steps, we should tell
them not to copy. It is a pity that they spend a lot
of time copying only.
READING ABILITY IS THE SOURCE
OF SELF-LEARNING
The next passages are quoted from the special
lecture of Toru Kumon in May 1982.
If third graders of the elementary school advance
to Math Level E, we give them a school textbook
for fifth graders. If fourth graders advance to Math
Level G, we give them a junior high school textbook.
When they are given the school textbooks, most of
them are willing to read them.
The latest investigation told us that one third
of the children who were given textbooks were
27
also willing to read geometrical figures and
word problems which were not in Kumon math
worksheets. The children had a lot of experience
with reading. Therefore, various experiences with
reading are significant for children.
If a child has a habit of reading books, he can
continue to read books one after another. This will
provide lifelong benefits for him. I myself could not
benefit in such a way. Therefore, I feel it is important
to make reading ability a priority for children. I
would like to strongly recommend that children
read textbooks as soon as they receive them
from school. Incidentally, the Kumon worksheets
are designed so that children can self-learn and
study pleasantly, so they can continue to study the
Kumon worksheets with pleasure. Similarly, it is
very important that we give children interesting
books of the just-right level one after another. So, I
made the Recommended Reading List.
DEVELOPING THE ‘SPIRIT OF SELF-LEARNING’
I would like to finish this article by quoting from
the special lecture of Toru Kumon in February 1981.
It is a very good thing for children to be able
to do well in math. However, I believe improving
one’s reading ability will provide lifelong benefits.
Personally, I have never been able to read books
quickly, so the knowledge I have gained from books
has been quite limited.
Therefore, I feel it is important to make reading
ability a priority for children. In considering my
own child’s education, I wanted to ensure he would
continue reading books even after graduating from
university. One is more likely to continue lifelong
reading if one has developed the habit of self-
learning.
The habit of self-learning means being able to
learn on one’s own without being specifically taught.
The math worksheets are designed for exactly
that—developing the habit of learning on one’s
own. If we give children the opportunity to
experience advancement far beyond their grade
level through self-learning without having to be
taught everything in school, they will continue
to self-learn many things throughout their lives,
even after graduating from university. In addition
to these benefits, they will experience the great
pleasure and enjoyment of self-learning.