Our Kumon Journey Thus Far

(Below is the full text of Dr. Justiniano's testimonial during Iligan City Center's ASHR Awarding Ceremonies last February 15, 2009 held at the Maria Christina Hotel.)

Good morning! Before I begin, in behalf of the parents, I would like to express our deepest gratitude to Teacher Grace and her staff for the great work you had done to our children! Your kindness , patience, and belief in our children is very much appreciated. Thank you.

I have entitled my message today “Our Journey with Kumon Thus Far”. Indeed, enrolling in Kumon is a journey. And it is as much our journey as parents, as our children. I will share with you this morning my journey with my daughter Kim, who is turning 9 this February, that started one year and four months ago in this center, and the lessons we picked along the way hoping to give inspiration and insights in this common path we are treading, and to let you know “hindi kayo nag-iisa “ in this struggle.

I have always believed in the saying that “practice makes perfect” although tanging ina ng lahat, Ayay de las Alas counter this with “ but nobody is perfect so why practice! And this was the reason why I enrolled Kim to Kumon October 2007. I have heard of worksheets done again and again until mastered , of good and patient teachers, of progressing to a higher level than the child’s grade level. This would be good preparation for Kim , I thought. Mastery of the basics is the key to excellent education. I didn’t know there was more in store for us.

The early part of the Kumon experience was an easy one. Understandably, because we know that the child needs time to adjust. But I was warned of the bottle neck. That time when the learning curve starts to almost plateau. That time came last summer for Kim. She started doing Level D in February. April came , she was still doing D. It became more difficult to let her do her worksheets even if they had decreased its number. I have used all the tricks up my sleeve including bribery so she’d do her homework to no avail. She would say it’s hard and she can’t do it. She would have bigger and bigger tantrum each time. I even had to stop and think if this is still Kumon, or a different thing altogether, knowing that Kim just lost her father. I was afraid that this experience might traumatize her some more. It was bringing out the worst in the both of us.

I felt I was letting my daughter down. I was on the verge of stopping. But I had to consult teacher Grace and her teachers first and hoped that she has a way out of this. After so much soul searching, we have agreed that stopping it at this point will cause more harm than good. Teacher Grace reassured me that almost everybody experiences that. She said it with much confidence and I believed her. Kim has to learn and experience that challenges had to be met head-on. And with perseverance , it can be hurdled. They just requested me to bring Kim to Kumon religiously. And so it was, that thru perseverance and hard work, Kim finally finished level D in May. That was a big thing for both of us. She was so happy about it but I was the happiest. I saw that change in her. That strength of heart that was not there before. She was able to prove to herself that nothing is impossible if we persevere. I just had to let Kim know that it was a result of all the hard work she put into it. And now as she progresses to the higher levels, she uses this newfound courage to push thru the work sheets, hard it may be, knowing that success awaits her in the end.

We still have our struggles. It never ends as long as we are in Kumon. But courage and strength of heart I learned are the greatest lessons that Kim is continually learning from Kumon. And mastery of the subject is but a bonus. What better way to equip our child for struggles and challenges they might encounter in the future. We call it in psychology as pre-inoculation. It’s like giving a child vaccination so that when exposed to the disease, the child would have developed the antibodies to fight it. In Kumon , you will be giving them life skills, like the antibodies, that will help her battle the trials. For we can never protect them from these. We can only equip them with the right values and skills to prepare them for it. Kumon cannot do it alone. Our role in these, I dare say, is greater. Without our support, our children will not prosper in this endeavor. When we give up, our children will never have a fighting chance. For their success is hinged on our support and dogged determination to continue despite and inspite of.

Did you ever ask yourselves as parents, what you learned in Kumon? Or did it ever occur to you that, we too are gaining something from this journey? As for me, I learned a lot. I gained insights on my mothering skills, on what I can improve on and what I can drop. I have developed more faith in my child and what she could possibly achieve. I have confidence in the process, that I know from here on, no matter how hard the worksheets are, Kim will continue to do it because she already has the courage and she knows that her labor will bear fruit. And slowly, I felt the tenets of Kumon creep into my psyche. I find myself telling my medical students “not to stop when your tired but only when your done”, that there is always a potential in each child, and self learning is possible. That’s very Kumon.. You call me a Kumon champion? I’m proud to be one. For that which is good, you will seek to share. Let us all be Kumon Champions. Let us share the good news. As we seek to maximize our children’s potential, inevitably, we improve our community , our country and would you believe, the world. Yes, it’s possible. Thru Kumon , it is. Good morning!


Name of Child: KYRA KIM V. JUSTINIANO
Name of Parent: DR. LEAH LOUISE V. JUSTINIANO
Kumon Center: ILIGAN CITY CENTER