Kumon Students Raise Thousands of Pounds for Children’s Charities in National Mathathon
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During the weeks of 26 May to 6 June 2008, Kumon students took part in a national Mathathon, held at local Kumon study centres across the UK and Ireland, to raise money for Save the Children and a number of local children’s charities. The Mathathon formed part of Kumon’s 50th anniversary celebrations, with local children completing as many easy sums as they could in ten minutes. Sponsors either donated a fixed amount of money or sponsored students ‘per correct sum’.David Cowan, Deputy General Manager for Kumon UK, said: “We are delighted so many of our students took part in this national event, supporting a variety of charities which do such wonderful work for children. The Mathathon was a lot of fun and I’d like to thank everyone involved – students, assistants, friends and families. The students particularly enjoyed competing against their parents and in many cases putting them to shame!”
Kumon maths is about building confidence, as well as speed and accuracy, and is designed to complement maths studied at school and enhance children’s learning. The Mathathon gave Kumon students the opportunity to apply the skills they have learned on the Kumon programme to raise money for a worthy cause, whilst friends and siblings who were also invited to take part were able to have a taster of what the programme entails.
The main aims of the Mathathon was to bring local communities together, to encourage Kumon students to be aware of those less fortunate than themselves by helping to raise to money for their favourite children’s charity, and to make maths come alive in this exciting and fun challenge. Kumon aims to make maths more enjoyable for as many children as possible.
The idea behind this all-inclusive, sponsored event generated from “re-cap study days”, first implemented by Toru Kumon, founder of the Kumon programme. Toru Kumon believed that setting time aside, on a monthly basis, for students to work below their present level of study is great for concentration. These “re-cap study days” allow students who may be having difficulties with their current level of study to re-gain their confidence, giving them back a “can-do” attitude by reminding them they can overcome obstacles with a little bit of determination. The effect of this activity can often be highly motivating to students. Kumon believes the Mathathon has had a similar effect on those children taking part.
Toru Kumon, a maths teacher from Japan, began developing worksheets for his son over 50 years ago, determined to give him the best start in life by building solid foundations in key subjects. The Kumon Method focuses on each individual child, ensuring they are studying at their ‘just-right level’, whatever their age or ability. The programme is tailored to the needs of each child so they can work at their own pace, building confidence and encouraging them to become independent learners through self-study.
