Visit our Canada siteOne of the most important things that a parent can ever decide is how to hone their skills, and how to give them a good education. In fact, most parents believe that the right and proper education will shape and mold their kids into a complete being on all fronts — intellectually, emotionally, physically and spiritually. Others believe that it would be their ticket to a successful life in the future.
Moms are always on the hunt for the best educational facilities that would be their partners in raising their kids to be the best versions of themselves – so it’s great there are centers such as Kumon Philippines which exactly does that – offering a helping hand in leading your kids to become independent self-learners, and develop life skills that will them shape their future.
Teacher Marilou Perez talks about a group of brilliant siblings, their journey with Kumon Philippines, and how it has shaped them to the diligent, talented kids they are today!
Learning As A Family
As Told By Teacher Marilou Perez of Kumon Baguio Study Center
Whenever the Villanueva children visit my Kumon Center, you would not miss them. The three boys, Josemaria Philip, Juan Miguel, and Anthony Roland, are respectful, courteous, often smiling but quiet, as they guide their younger sister, Maria Bianca Olive, up the stairs. Every chance they get, break from school or work, the boys visit the Center to visit former teachers and talk to students as they continually inspire many of them to reach for the top.
Josemaria (fondly called Jomari) is currently enrolled at the University of Asia and the Pacific, majoring in Entrepreneurial Management and is now graduating. Growing up a fine young man, he is already engaged in many facets of their family-owned businesses. In fact, he has gone to Australia and Europe to learn the ropes of their family’s varied businesses, and has joined study tours in Thailand.
Anthony is in his fourth year of college at the Ateneo de Manila University, majoring in Business Management, while Juanmig (short for Juan Miguel) is a Grade 12 student also at the Ateneo de Manila University, a consistent scholar and honor student. He intends to pursue medicine in college. Very recently, he visited Toronto in Canada where he expects to enroll for his eventual medical degree.
Bianca, the youngest, graduated with honors in Junior High School and has won awards in Science Investigatory projects. She is currently enrolled in Grade 11 at the University of Asia and the Pacific and is still feeling her way through, although a career in Interior Design is not far off the bat.
A common thread runs through these children’s achievements—their Kumon experience and how it had helped hone them to be ready for life’s challenges after Kumon.
Behind the children’s current success is the wholehearted dedication and support of their parents, Mr. Oyan and Mrs. Mency Villanueva.
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“I have heard a lot about Kumon, particularly the discipline that is inculcated in those who go through the program. I have read success stories of Kumon students featured in magazines and on the Internet. Since I want the best for my children, I decided to enroll them in Kumon.”
Mency Villanueva on the other hand, relates that they first enrolled the children in the Reading Program to develop their love for reading and strengthen their reading comprehension. Later on, however, they decided to enroll them in the Math Program to improve their mathematical skills and be more competitive.
“The Kumon Math Program has helped our children to develop their confidence and mastery in solving math problems. They also are able to think of solutions faster than using methods taught in school,” Mency proudly states. Oyan added that the discipline in studying developed by the children through Kumon has been their foundation in developing good study habits.
Yes, they’ve encounter challenges, as many other Kumon parents do. However, they believe that “behind every challenge is an opportunity”.
At some point, the children manifested disinterest or feelings of demotivation due to the increasing challenges they had to face and manage. Motivating them to sustain their interest and enthusiasm in developing a culture of excellence and competitiveness is therefore a challenge for us as parents. However, by celebrating the successes of their children, they continually support them and remind them that the small steps they take are the very building blocks that will bring them success in their future endeavors, long after they shall have obtained their formal studies.
Their family life has benefitted as well. Interacting with their children as they followed up on them and providing them with the proper guidance as they went through their Kumon program has greatly helped in opening up the lines of communication within the family. With increasing self-confidence, the children are able to express themselves better and connect with their parents on a more mature level.
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“I personally recommend parents to enroll their children at Kumon. The learning experience and the values developed through Kumon are what prepared our children to be able to face greater challenges later on in their lives.”
“As parents, we should keep giving the proper guidance and motivation to our children by constantly communicating and interacting with them, and reminding them not to be afraid of challenges because doing so will hinder them from moving on. Our children will have to understand early in life that challenges come after each and every level of challenge hence the need to grow and increase in their level of confidence.”
To which Mency added, “It is always important to cultivate the good values of a child in order for him to be confident in his workplace. We instill discipline in his early years so that later we can get the best out of the person.”
About Kumon Philippines
Kumon Method of Learning began out of a father’s love for his son. In 1954, Toru Kumon, a high school math teacher in Japan, created handmade worksheets for his son to steadily develop his calculation skills. As a result, his son named Takeshi was able to reach the level of differential and integral calculus when he was just a few months into the sixth grade.
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