What is a Kumon Completer? You may ask. A Kumon Completer is someone who had
completed his or her Kumon programme. What is the Kumon programme? You may ask, again. Well,
Kumon is an individual learning programme which provides Mathematics, English, Chinese and
Japanese subjects. But again, what is an individual learning programme? An individual learning
programme is a learning method in which you study everything by yourself, without anyone to teach
you. You do worksheets every day repeatedly until you understand the topic and are ready to proceed
to the next level. Through these worksheets, you teach yourself new things. Well, of course, if you are
having difficulty in understanding the topics or getting the answers right, you can always ask your
instructor (the principal of the Kumon centre of a particular branch) for guidance. But still, you have to
learn mainly by yourself.
It sounds impossible, doesn’t it? But it is through this method that I’ve learnt many things in
advance, especially in Mathematics. Being a high achiever in Mathematics, I’ve learnt loads of topics
ahead of my school grade (form 4). Just to name a few: trigonometric graph, equations of circles,
maxima and minima, loci, infinitives, sequences, limits, et cetera. I don’t believe that non-Kumon
students of my age even heard of them before. I am therefore proud to tell you that I’ve learnt and
understood them. Although I might have forgotten how to solve relevant math problems over a period
of time, I believe that when I come in touch with them in school some time in the future, I will stand an
advantage in grasping them quicker than others. Many of my schoolmates claim that I’m a genius in
Mathematics, but no, I deny that completely. Some of the topics I’m learning in school now, I had
already learn a few years ago. So, how could I be a genius when I’ve already known and are familiar
with the topics? Therefore, I am just being advanced and being advanced really helps, a lot.
So, am I completer in Mathematics? I’m sorry to say this, no. Despite being a high achiever, I
still have another level to go before I complete the programme. However, my title stated that I’m proud
as a Kumon Completer, right? I am a completer, in English. I completed the English programme in
August 2008. Although I might not be an expert in English and might still make mistakes when I write,
I really gained a lot through Kumon English programme. Through Kumon, I learned how to write
summaries and critiques; I also learned how to analyze poems, classical novels, and even famous
plays. Over the years of my Kumon study, I came across many classics, such as William Blake’s
poems and the novel ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’. Some of the plays I studied before include
Shakespeare’s plays such as Macbeth, Hamlet, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Of course, there
were also many more. Not only I had a chance to get to know these famous works, I also learnt many
writing skills and elements in writing. Although I’m rather ashamed to admit that I have not mastered
the many writing skills, I’m still glad that I gained some knowledge regarding them. Besides, the
passages which the questions are based on were picked out from many interesting, best-selling books
by different writers. However, it’s a pity that we only get to read a part of the book and not the whole.
In spite of that, these passages stir up my interest in that particular book, inspiring me to search for it
and satisfy my yearning to read it.
Do you know that when we do our worksheets, we have to write the starting time and finishing
time? That’s to see how long you took to complete the set of worksheet. Speed and accuracy are
weight-bearing points that we have to keep in mind when doing our worksheets. For every worksheet,
there’ll be a time target and we have to achieve that target before we can move on. According to Mr.
Toru Kumon, the founder of the Kumon Method of Learning, you will not take up a lot of time if you
really understand and know how to answer. Using a lot of time means that you have not understood the
particular topic completely. This had helped me a lot in school. Many of my classmates face the
problem of not having enough time during a math test, but for me, the time provided is enough, and
sometimes, I even have extra time to check everything all over. How is that possible? Of course it’s
possible. Years of doing Kumon worksheets trained me to be quick in mathematical calculations, and
that’s why I just take up less time than others to solve a question.
As a Kumon student, I really benefited a lot. Not only did I achieve success academically, I
also gained many life skills and good learning attitudes that, I believe, can lead me to a better future.
Through doing Kumon worksheets, I cultivated learning attitudes such as patience, determination,
perseverance and many more. Do you know that Kumon worksheets need to be done repeatedly until a
targeted time needed is achieved with minimum number of mistakes? Yes, every worksheet is to be
done two times, at the very least. As the level goes higher, some students may even repeat their
worksheets up to five or six times because they failed to achieve the requirements in order to progress.
This was what I went through before. Imagine doing the same worksheet with the same questions
repeatedly, how boring is that? For a student to continue progressing, he or she needs to be really
patient when doing his or her worksheet. And also, determination and perseverance plays an important
in learning through the Kumon method because without these values, students will give up easily.
They feel that there is no point in repeating the worksheets, and thus, they feel bored and discouraged,
leading them to quit the programme. These values are not only used when doing Kumon worksheets,
but can also be applied on our studies and daily life. Take myself as an example. I find history very
difficult to understand and there are so many facts that need to be remembered, but does that mean that
I give up on the subject? After all, history is one of the less important subjects for me as I am a science
student. No, giving up is not an option. How can I give up just for the reason that it is a difficult
subject? Giving up is like running away. Running away from problems will only make me a coward,
doesn’t it? So, I put in extra effort to revise the topics and do extra practise exercises. I persevered in
my revision, determined to score an A in my exam, and I did. Remember this, “quitters never win,
and winners never quit”, nothing is impossible if you persevered through the very end. =)
By Gan Yuh-Lin (Sr1ScA)
Me accepting my completer’s plaque and certificate during the 50th Advanced
Students’ Honour Roll (ASHR) ceremony
My completer’s plaque and certificate of completion