Kumon... why?

Lama tak update blog... loads of stories to tell but tak terlarat pulak nak cerita.. :)

Enrolled Rayyan kat Kumon as soon as he started cuti sekolah.. frankly speaking I never liked the way they teach, but really loved their curriculum. The worksheets, especially Math, is something that I've been longing to get hold of for the sake of my future books that I'm planning to write.

I have worked at Mathnasium Malaysia (US-based, Kumon-like Math learning centre) as their Training Manager. Poorly funded franchise, so lama-kelamaan tak sempat nak expand, the income takleh nak support the overheads, including my salary. I even negotiated that I took half of the pay, and I work half the time... they agreed and that lasted for a year or so... then the owner wanted to let go of the business to some other person and that was the reason I left... although they contacted me back to continue working there full time... by that time dah dapat kerja baru... so have to let go..

Mathnasium worksheets was quite different in their approach. While Kumon focuses on "practice makes perfect", Mathnasium is more like "understand and apply" kinda approach, which kids love. In fact ramai lari from Kumon and masuk Mathnasium and they loved Mathnasium... takde homework and all.. unlike Kumon.. homework berlambak2...

So, why did I enroll Rayyan into Kumon?

1. So that he has something academic to do during the school holidays.

2. The Kumon center is in my office building.. senang je.. gi hantar, I buat kerja, bila dia dah siap, dia call, I go pick him up, and go home.. or if I have more work at the office, I'll let him do his Kumon homework in my office.

3. I want to get hold of Kumon materials for my R&D.. hehe..

4. After Genius Aulad where his friends/classmates were 100% Malay/Muslim, I want to get himself familiarized with people of other races and religions... kita kat Malaysia ni bukan semuorang Melayu and bukan semuanya Islam...

5. I want to instill the sense of having the responsibility to complete his work within a certain set of deadlines. Only 10 minutes of homework per subject per day. So kalau tak ikut timing tu and wait until the last minute baru nak terkocoh2 buat, tu yang jadi berlambak tu.. padahal only 10 mins per day per subject on the days yang takde class. (classes only on Mondays and Thursdays)

6. I want to let him realize that studying is serious, once he starts proper schooling next year. You don't need to excel, you just need to focus. With focus, excellence comes naturally.

So.. itulah intipatinya why I decided to enroll him into Kumon, despite the regimented learning style they are promoting.

After 2 classes, I can actually see his improvement in his focus for Math.. although writing dia sungguhla menunjukkan kemalasan membuat homework.. hahahaha... biarkan.. janji otak berjalan.. hehe

And of course, I also started to enroll Rayyan into the Yamaha Music School.. learning pop piano.

That deserves another entry, I guess :)

“In educating the young we use pleasure and pain as rudders to steer their course.” - Aristotle