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Summary: another dissatisfied customer
Review: (...)not send your kids to Kumon. It is the brain school and all you do is work on trivial worksheets that do not enhance your knowledge at all. It just makes you a work-a-holic, and teaches stuff by reptition. If you want a life, don't go because like my asian friends, you will not get out of it as long as your parents control you. I went there for a few days, it sucked and i did nohing but eat their goldfish snacks. yes her son got 1600, but still. Kumon is...brainwash
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Summary: From a Kumon Insider
Review: Although Kumon has been undeniably successful with its math program, it hasn't made remarkable leaps with its English program. This may be the reason why the book is silent about it.
Kumon publicists admit that their English program serves only as a "starter kit" for anyone who wants to learn the language. They claim that the method trains students to propel themselves to seek books and read for leisure. This is doable only in countries where English is the official language and bookshops carry a wide selection of English books of various genres.
But in most oriental and middle-eastern countries (where English is misunderstood as the "language of the imperialists"), students wouldn't have much access to English books, regardless if they had the desire to read such.
Although Kumon does have its Recommended Reading List of books which it deems to be a healthy collection of various genres, not all Kumon centers have these titles in their libraries. Why, because some of them are hard to find or out of print. And the Kumon think-tank is not so open-minded as to recommend alternative reading materials.
The English program wasn't developed by the Japanese; they hired some Australians to make it for them. Isn't it a wonder that after decades of Kumon in Japan, their country is still in demand for ESL teachers from countries whose first language is English? Even in their own country, many native Japanese Kumon chief instructors couldn't teach the English program because they themselves couldn't speak English. They merely hire assistant instructors who can. These chief intructors should practice what they preach.
Don't expect too much of their English program. It's more of reading rather than a comprehensive, well-rounded way of learning the language. Do expect your child to be a silent reader, but not a vocal communicator.
I suggest you read "Jesus Didn't Use Worksheets" by Joyce Carroll for more substance.
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Summary: Case Against Kumon
Review: Critics of Kumon schools say they address the wrong issues. "They assume the problem in the United States is a lack of pencil-and-paper computational skills," says David Afton, a member of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). In reality, he says, "American students perform quite well on basic skills. Where we fall down is on reasoning and problem-solving tasks." Kumon's heavy reliance on repetition is another sticking point with its detractors. "It's appropriate at a certain point for particular children," says Herbert Ginsburg, professor of psychology and education at Teachers College, Columbia University in New York City. "But if you do not give them the basic understanding to go along with the drill, the drill becomes meaningless." Math teacher Noriyuki Inoue, now a Ph.D. candidate in education at Columbia University, compares the Kumon method to SAT preparatory classes: "It's highly effective for getting high scores on standardized tests," says Inoue, "but students will probably see that getting a higher score is a better reward than understanding the principles and the pattern--and this is a major drawback." BTW: I just heard that in late 2003 the Chairperson of Kumon in Japan, Hiroshi Kumon, has resigned for health reasons. I learned that he was a chain-smoker. What a bad example he set for children who undergo the Kumon program.
Rating:
Summary: Case Against Kumon
Review: Critics of Kumon schools say they address the wrong issues. "They assume the problem in the United States is a lack of pencil-and-paper computational skills," says David Afton, a member of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM). In reality, he says, "American students perform quite well on basic skills. Where we fall down is on reasoning and problem-solving tasks." Kumon's heavy reliance on repetition is another sticking point with its detractors. "It's appropriate at a certain point for particular children," says Herbert Ginsburg, professor of psychology and education at Teachers College, Columbia University in New York City. "But if you do not give them the basic understanding to go along with the drill, the drill becomes meaningless." Math teacher Noriyuki Inoue, now a Ph.D. candidate in education at Columbia University, compares the Kumon method to SAT preparatory classes: "It's highly effective for getting high scores on standardized tests," says Inoue, "but students will probably see that getting a higher score is a better reward than understanding the principles and the pattern--and this is a major drawback." BTW: I just heard that in late 2003 the Chairperson of Kumon in Japan, Hiroshi Kumon, has resigned for health reasons. I learned that he was a chain-smoker. What a bad example he set for children who undergo the Kumon program.
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Summary: Are they serious?!
Review: Don't worry about this book getting out of print. I was given a copy during my visit to the Kumon office in the Philippines (KPI). It seems like KPI had published its own edition. While its contents seemed to be in order (just as the other reviews had stated), what bothers me is its appendix that is full of inappropriate apologetics. It's as if they were trying to dispel the permeating rumors that question the professionalism of KPI (if ever they possessed the virtue). For example, did they have to mention the "true story" behind KPI Instructions Head Gina Ferino's torrid affair with one of the Area Managers, a certain "Mr. Mossie" who was an ex-seminarian? Or about the trivial squabbles that a Kumon Instructor named Elizabeth Go has with her rival instructors, or the numerous faults she finds in the "incompetent KPI staff"? And they certainly didn't need to mention about their President Masumi Takahashi's being arrested in a gay bar/sauna. Stating, "There is no record of the incident in the files of the National Bureau of Investigation" does not help but rather gives KPI a bad impression among its counterpart Kumon offices in other countries. In their attempt to be so defensive, KPI must be committing suicide!
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Summary: Great explanation of the Kumon method
Review: I am a Kumon instructor and I recommend the book to my families. ... One drawback of the book is that it focuses on the math program, with little discussion of the reading program.
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Summary: from Perlas ng Silanganan
Review: I'm a Kumon Instructor and although I have to be partial towards this product/service licensed to me by the Kumon head office, I am partly disappointed with it. Not with the math program but the English reading program. That's why Im responding to the statement given by a parent from the Bay Area in the U.S.: "I have to admit though that if the reading program is the same for non-native English speakers, it may not help very much as a way to learn the language." That's just it: the reading program IS the same for non-native English speakers and so it doesn't help very much as a way to learn the language. Moreover, American English is used in the Philippines (where my Kumon center is based). But the reading worksheets that the head office gives us uses British English. This causes a lot of problems to Kumon instructors as we waste time explaining this to the parents who feel that something is wrong with the English we use at Kumon. The Kumon head office also encourages us to increase our student number or else our license might get revoked. We are having a difficult time explaining to them that if we increase our student number, we might not be able to instruct well, thus affecting our students' learning. Since I'm of Chinese ancestry, this "push" from the head office reminds me of the Cultural Revolution in China. Mao Tse-tung pushed his people to extreme limits, doing things which he believed were productive but actually killed millions. I just feel that the Kumon head office is pushing us the same way, eventually killing off our student number. Kumon instructors are damned if we do and damned if we don't.
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Summary: IQ vs EQ
Review: Ideally, there should be no adversity between IQ and EQ. But after decades of Kumon in Japan, we can see that it has done very little to curb the country's suicide rate. Anyone who commits suicide has very low EQ. A Time Magazine article ("What's Wrong with Asia's Schools?") stated that school children in Japan are committing suicide. What use is high IQ if you're brain dead anyway? Japan has one of the highest suicide rates in the world, and its people is one of the unhappiest. Kumon's route method must have contributed a lot to this phenomenon. After all, people with low EQ have been found to be strictly routine and nonspontaneous in their lifestyles.
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Summary: Kumon supports role of Japanese in World War II!
Review: Let me share with you the official stance of Kumon (a Japanese conglomerate) regarding Japan's active role in World War II. In the words of Masumi Takahashi, president of Kumon Philippines: "'People don't follow until you serve as a model, teach them, let them do and praise them.' These are the words of Mr. Isoroku Yamamoto (1884-1943), a Japanese Admiral during World War II.
"This saying is still loved by many people in Japan as their motto in daily life...
"Admiral Yamamoto's maxim...can also apply to the Kumon method.
"Admiral Yamamoto commanded the Combined Fleet before the outbreak of the Pacific War during its first sixteen months...when called upon by his country, Yamamoto planned the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor and then led the Japanese navy to its early victories in World War II. When the U.S. decoded a Japanese message in 1943 that included Admiral Yamamoto's itinerary, they ambushed his plane in the South Pacific and killed him.
"Whenever I see thick clouds through our office window, I imagine the day he was shot in that plane in the South Pacific, as I opened the Kumon Hawaii office in December 1991, exactly 50 years after the Pearl Harbor attack, and I was born in Niigata Prefecture, where Yamamoto was born, too." These statements were published in the July 2002 issue of EVOLUTION (Philippine edition), the official newsletter of Kumon. Let's expose Mr. Takahashi's paradoxical view. Idolizing Yamamoto, he quotes the admiral about teaching by setting examples. But Yamamoto was the villan who planned the Pearl Harbor attack -- an event now remembered as "a great infamy"! It seems that Mr. Takahashi admires Yamamoto as a hero or role model, even priding that they were born in the same prefecture in Japan. Another proof of Kumon's "pro-Imperial Japan" stance is its promotion and use of the book SADAKO AND THE THOUSAND CRANES, a story about a girl who died of complications caused by the bombs dropped by the United States in Japan. The book doesn't even mention the reason why the U.S. had to drop the bombs. What is this selective amnesia that the Kumon people want to instill in their students?
Rating:
Summary: Kumon supports role of Japanese in World War II!
Review: Let me share with you the official stance of Kumon (a Japanese conglomerate) regarding Japan's active role in World War II. In the words of Masumi Takahashi, president of Kumon Philippines: "'People don't follow until you serve as a model, teach them, let them do and praise them.' These are the words of Mr. Isoroku Yamamoto (1884-1943), a Japanese Admiral during World War II.
"This saying is still loved by many people in Japan as their motto in daily life...
"Admiral Yamamoto's maxim...can also apply to the Kumon method.
"Admiral Yamamoto commanded the Combined Fleet before the outbreak of the Pacific War during its first sixteen months...when called upon by his country, Yamamoto planned the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor and then led the Japanese navy to its early victories in World War II. When the U.S. decoded a Japanese message in 1943 that included Admiral Yamamoto's itinerary, they ambushed his plane in the South Pacific and killed him.
"Whenever I see thick clouds through our office window, I imagine the day he was shot in that plane in the South Pacific, as I opened the Kumon Hawaii office in December 1991, exactly 50 years after the Pearl Harbor attack, and I was born in Niigata Prefecture, where Yamamoto was born, too." These statements were published in the July 2002 issue of EVOLUTION (Philippine edition), the official newsletter of Kumon. Let's expose Mr. Takahashi's paradoxical view. Idolizing Yamamoto, he quotes the admiral about teaching by setting examples. But Yamamoto was the villan who planned the Pearl Harbor attack -- an event now remembered as "a great infamy"! It seems that Mr. Takahashi admires Yamamoto as a hero or role model, even priding that they were born in the same prefecture in Japan. Another proof of Kumon's "pro-Imperial Japan" stance is its promotion and use of the book SADAKO AND THE THOUSAND CRANES, a story about a girl who died of complications caused by the bombs dropped by the United States in Japan. The book doesn't even mention the reason why the U.S. had to drop the bombs. What is this selective amnesia that the Kumon people want to instill in their students?
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