Part 3　The Pursuit of Potential

Take the case of the first person who successfully climbed Mt. Everest. Rather than considering this event just a one-time occurrence, think about it in this way: "if one person can do it, other people can also do it." So, we should closely study the example of this one person to find a concrete way for many other people to realize this possibility.

Toru Kumon

It is impossible to declare the extent of human potential. For example, 60 years ago nobody could predict when an athlete would first break the 10 second barrier for the 100 meters sprint. In fact, at the time people would have tended to believe it impossible for anyone to run 100 meters in under 10 seconds.

The Kumon Method is an individualized learning method. Students start from a level that they can do easily and without receiving help, and advance at their own pace. Therefore, if deemed necessary Instructors will, for example, have 5th or 6th graders, or even high school students, begin their study from addition. Conversely, at Kumon we also believe that just because students are in elementary school it does not mean that we should hold them back by, for example, avoiding advancing to the study of equations. On the contrary, Kumon Instructors encourage students to advance through self-learning to content that they have not yet studied at school. This is because, by doing our utmost to draw out the ability that each student has inside, we want students to go on to test the extent of their potential for themselves. Our worksheets and instruction are based on this thinking and this is why we see Kumon students still in elementary school who are able to do high school math with ease or who enjoy reading, and fully understanding, literary classics.

We take great pride and joy in our work of pursuing the potential of our students to the maximum. We believe that by helping people to develop their potential we are contributing to the advancement of humankind and the world. Our mission is twofold. We must provide our students not with theories, but with practical individualized instruction tailored to each of their abilities to help them develop their potential to the greatest possible extent through self-learning with the Kumon Method. At the same time we must research how to improve our method in order to better develop our students' potential.