Kumon has helped Jade see the world differently

Completing the Kumon Maths Programme is a great achievement for a Kumon student, and Jade did so in May 2019 - the same year he wrote his matric. Jade started the Kumon Maths Programme in Grade 5, and did so when the family heard about the programme from his best friend who was a Kumon student.

Kumon has helped Jade to see the world in different ways. It has made him realise that not everything in nature is linear. Kumon has helped him to think differently, and to be open to the completely unexpected. He feels that the Kumon Programme is more result orientated than method orientated, so, it teaches you that there are different ways to get to the right answer. You are learning to master something rather than just learning to pass or to get the answer a specific way.  You come to understand the underlying reason for the result.

Jade is very grateful to the staff at the Constantia Kloof Study Centre. He feels that the Instructor and the assistants in a Kumon Centre really make a difference to the experience a student has.  He is very grateful for the knowledge of the programme that the assistant that worked with him had. He was also often surprised by the design of the worksheets, as something completely new would be suddenly introduced, but he would have no difficulty understanding it, and would be so impressed that it was designed knowing that this is what the student would experience.

He prefers the self-learning aspect of the Kumon Programme – as he feels that this is how you actually learn. Jade feels that his attitude towards solving problems has changed because of the programme. He is able to see a conundrum or a big problem as something that just needs to be broken down into smaller problems in order to be solved.

Completing the Kumon Maths Programme was not always easy, and Jade says that honestly, sometimes you do want to quit. He advises that those Kumon students thinking of completing must just continue. Be persistent about it and follow through with it. You do need resolve to stick to it, and to commit to it. Starting the Kumon Maths Programme and not finishing it is much like earning a diploma when you could have achieved your doctorate. It is important to see the value of the programme. Completing the Kumon Programme is in itself a life lesson, as Jade feels that Kumon Completers will stick to whatever they take on in life, and complete it.

Jade encourages young people to develop in every single way – culturally, in sport and academically - and to try different things. Before his matric year Jade was part of the choir, the chess team and played rugby over and above studying Kumon.

Jade will be studying Computer Science at either the University of Johannesburg, or, Witwatersrand University. He has a wide field of interest, including data science and electronic engineering, and enjoys both the hardware and software side of Computer Science. When he was younger, he had an interest in robotics, but he is keeping his options for specialisation open. Jade did not initially choose Information Technology as a subject at school, and had to swop subjects which put him a year behind everyone else. He was able to catch up easily, and since then, is really enjoying this field of study.

We look forward to hearing about where Jade’s studies in Computer Science take him, and wish him well with his tertiary studies.