School Grade :
The Elder brother - Primary 6 | The Younger brother- Primary 5
Center :
Kumon Wudaokou Education Center
Subject :
The Elder Brother
Math—Level L (equivalent to senior secondary school level, 5 years advance beyond school grade)
Chinese—Level I (equivalent to junior secondary school level, 2 years advance beyond school grade)
English (EFL) — completed in November 2014 (senior secondary school level)
The Younger Brother
Math—Level H (equivalent to junior secondary school level, 2 years advance beyond school grade)
Chinese—Level G (equivalent to junior secondary school level, 2 years advance beyond school grade)
English (EFL) —Level L (equivalent to senior secondary school level, 5 years advance beyond school grade)
It is quite common for brothers and sisters to study Kumon together, but it is incredible that both of them can advance beyond school grade together. I believe that they must have worked very hard. This time we are going to introduce the Ye brothers. Let’s see how they advance beyond school grade together!
Interestingly, most excellent student interview is conducted one on one; when I was excitedly summarizing their interviews, I was so shocked that they not only look alike, but they also talk alike. Having low voice, replying answers in short, and having the same learning attitude, they just made me feel like listening to the same recording, and so you shall see.
In order to build up a firm foundation for children, Kumon worksheets itself includes review parts, and instructor will also arrange appropriate repetitions for children as review exercises. Children ,who like new things, normally like learning new knowledge; however, both Ye brothers said t, “They’re just the same.”
The younger brother said, “Repetition helps me progress smoothly” He learnt it from his unforgettable experience. When he almost reached to the end of Kumon Math level B, he had to go back to the very beginning of Level B to review it. “I felt so bored at first, I didn’t know why I had to redo it; however, it suddenly became smooth when I learned level C.” Actually, the repetition , or review can reinforce his academic ability, just as he said, “It is like when you are doing ‘1=1=2’, it is not a conditional reflex, but when it comes to ‘4+4=8’, a more difficult question, then the previous practice will turn into a conditional reflex .”
The elder brother responded in a very cool way, “Repetition is not troublesome; I just can make it.”
The learning outcomes of Kumon are resulted from children’s continuous learning. Parents’ encouragement is the most important when children are happened to be emotional. When the Ye brothers were asked how they can persist, they both mentioned their mom.
While I was ready to write down what their mom said to encourage them, the younger said, “It was her long winded talking.” It made me laugh so hard. “She would say, ‘don’t stop, you must carry on…you cannot stop…’”
Along with the follow up questions, the younger brother said, “at the end of Mom’s ‘talk’, I think what she said was very reasonable. She also said that if I do not do it today, or tomorrow, I have to do three sets of homework on the third day. She let us to choose business before pleasure, not the other way round.” At this moment, I feel so happy for their mom to have her sons’ understanding. And the elder brother said it was for mom’s sake, that he would continue to study Kumon. There is no doubt that their mom successfully has established a sense of authority in their hearts, that they are willing to listen to their mom.
Advance Beyond School Grade Brings Calm and Confidence
With mother’s encouragement, even though they moved from Canada to Beijing, they still insist on learning Kumon, and now even advance beyond school grade. The younger brother said, “When school taught about multiplication of big numbers, I felt very easy because I had learned it in advance.”
The elder brother had similar experience too; he said confidently, “School study becomes much easier.” When we asked if it would make them not pay attention in class, he answered calmly, “I do listen. If I do not answer questions in class, it would be difficult for the class to continue.”
The advance beyond school grade that the Kumon Method advocates allows children to learn easily at school, which gives them more time to develop their hobbies. When we asked the Ye brothers about their dreams, they answered very manly. The younger brother wanted to be a policeman in the United States. He said, “Driving the U.S. police car is not only cool, but I also can drive very fast.” And The elder brother told us that he wanted to be an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) coach.
I asked, “Why do you want to be an UAV coach?”
He stared at me and said, “I just like it.”
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