Project Diary

All Children Are Capable of Greatness

Yes, I said all.  Actually the Kumon website said it:

At the heart of the Kumon Method is the belief that all children are capable of greatness.  With the help of their parents, family and friends, children can develop in ways that will humble and amaze you.

Kumon’s founder, Toru Kumon, believed every child has the potential to learn far beyond his or her parents’ expectation. “It’s our job as educators,” Kumon said, “Not to stuff knowledge into children as if they were merely empty boxes, but to encourage each child to want to learn, to enjoy learning and be capable of studying whatever he or she may need to or wish to in the future.” Children who learn through the Kumon Method not only acquire more knowledge, but also the ability to learn on their own.

But I believe it too (though I do wonder if this "Kumon belief" extends to middle aged adults, or if there's a point at which our brains calcify and aren't as "capable of greatness" as they once were).

Last week my friend Catherine and I visited the Kumon headquarters.

I bring back some Kumon lore:

  • Kumon started in 1954, when 2nd grader Takeshi Kumon came home from school with a crumpled up math test stuffed in his backpack.  I find it hilarious, by the way, that the "crumpled math test" is this universal experience that transcends continents and generations.
  • Today, there are 4.2 million children studying Kumon in 46 countries.

What about the "grown ups?" 

Turns out, there is an adult Kumon workbook, Train Your Brain: 60 Days to a Better Brain, and it has sold millions of copies. From the introduction:

Through my research, I found that simple calculations could activate the brain more effectively than any other activity. I also discovered that the best way to activate the largest regions of the brain was to solve these calculations quickly.

Eight months into this crazy Project, and I'm thinking it's Kumon (not Kaplan) that might get me to a perfect score, and I'm thinking that the "10,000 hours till mastery" theory is probably not so far off.  (I keep meaning to calculate how many hours are left in 2011.)**

Seriously though, I think I'm a Kumon-lifer now.  After I finish the math program (it goes through calculus), I want to start the Kumon reading regimen (lessons include Shakespeare, Homer, James Baldwin, Mark Twain -- for starters).

And then, I want to make a sculpture out of my workbooks, just like this little boy's:

 

I believe they said he finished the reading and the math programs, by the third grade.

Not that this is a competition or anything, but if she can do it.....

.....then so can I.

 

**As of August 11, 2011 at 11:00 am, there are 3,421 hours left in 2011.  (Have I mentioned that my birthday falls on 11/11/11 this year?)  Thank you for calculating for me Gilles.

Illustrations by Jennifer Orkin Lewis

 
18 Comments | posted August 10th, 2011
 
 
  • Anonymous

    Good post, Debbie.  I have nothing against Kumon. I think they do great work.  What I have issue with is the assumption that a "perfect score" or even good grades, is so directly correlated with "greatness".  A lot of A+, perfect score kids aren't so great and a lot of C students are pretty amazing.  I think it's about a different set of skills now. Leadership, creation, curation, etc.  Tough to measure those on an A-F scale or with the SAT.

    • http://www.perfectscoreproject.com Debbie Stier

      Well, actually, I don't think they made the greatness/ perfect score connection.  I believe I took that leap all by myself.  In fact, the Kumon press materials materials also said that they are NOT a test prep company (and I believe them).

      I was an average student in high school.  I did HORRIBLY on the SAT way back then, and I turned out ok, so I'm not disagreeing with you that average students can be amazing people ;)

      That said, the less you learn, the more doors are closed, and I believe that the stories we all hear about of these high achievers who did terribly in school, are in fact outliers.

      I also think you are absolutely right that it is a different set of skills -- but they still involve core knowledge.

      It's a slippery slope to start saying that learning core knowledge to the point of mastery isn't necessary for the vast majority of people (i.e. Math isn't required for computer programming?  Who wants someone who isn't an "expert" curating for them?  You don't think great creators have studied until mastery?).

      I have regrets for what I didn't learn the first go around, and the joy is in the process of learning, for me.  AND, there is NO WAY I would EVER encourage my kids to follow the paths of the outliers who became great leaders in this new world despite underachieving in school -- AND, I don't want anyone in charge of their education who thinks that way either.  My message is, keep as many doors open as possible please ;)

      Do you have kids?

      • Elise

         
        I understand both of your opinions.  I find it tough to combine both of them though.  I don't want my kids to become obsessed with grades/scores but it's hard to disregard them entirely.  You do need that core knowledge as well as the ability to work hard.  Also, we live in a world where grades are important, just as money is important.  That is a whole other subject!  It's annoying when people equate success with salary but I have to admit having a decent amount of money makes a person's life better.

        • http://www.perfectscoreproject.com Debbie Stier

          Yup, grades and SATs do matter (even if we don't want them to).  I'm reading the book Choke right now and she talks a lot about how they matter and doors that are closed as a result of not getting good ones. She also brings up the gender issue, which has got me thinking.  Boys score higher than girls on the SAT, and girls, from a young age, adopt a position of "I'm bad at math and science"  -- which then becomes a self-fulling prophecy.  http://books.google.com/books?id=PJP9W9X2NGQC&printsec=frontcover&dq=choke&hl=en&ei=GBFETu27IoeugQe11e21Aw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=grades&f=false

          And when you decide you're bad at math in 10th grade, as I did (I gave up over triangles instead of pushing through -- and I STILL have the same pain in the neck with them today), paths are closed off that you don't even realize at the time.

          You know what I've noticed?  No one ever seems to take issue with someone who wants to "run a marathon," or, be a "top tennis player," or really, any other non-academic goal.  But in this country, everyone seems to revile the notion of a parent (or educator) setting high academic expectations for kids. Meanwhile, half the rest of the world is doing academic circles around us while we're making sure our kids are "happy," and everyone gets a trophy or has the opportunity to be "tree number 6" in the school play.

          I don't know....I think learning can feel good (if you push through the hard times) -- and success and knowledge feel good.....and having opportunities because of your hard work feels good.......

          I think learning feels good (yes, there are hard times to push through); 

          • Elise

            You know this parenting thing is tough!  Ha ha!  Sometimes I feel as if I'm screwed no matter what I do.  hee hee  However, somewhere along the way I did come to terms with the fact that I think that the amount I've pushed my kids is okay.  I've tried to run that fine line between pushing them beyond their comfort levels and keeping them happy.  If I look around I always find examples of those parents that go over the edge with these kinds of things and then I feel better!  HAH!  Just today I was told that the number one kid in my daughter's class has a mother behind him that goes to teachers and asks them to change his grades so they are higher!  Eeek!  Sort of takes the dignity out of being number one if you ask me!  This same kid has told my daughter that "grades are everything".  I think that is the kind of student that clayhebert is talking about. 

            Another example of this crazed kind of student is my daughter's best friend who was extremely upset when my daughter's grade in Physics was a 99% and her's was only a 98%.  She said "OMG how did that happen!!"  I feel sorry for my daughter's friend and feel bad that because of that kind of competition, my daughter is drifting away from her.  She doesn't want to deal with that kind of comparison....you can only imagine how bad she tries to make my daughter feel when my daughter is the one with a lower grade.  It does get crazy and as I said, I have a lot of trouble pushing my kids really hard and at the same time trying to keep them out of the grade competition that goes on.  

            Maybe I'll make just one more point but I am not sure if I can be that clear about it.  I think that there is a real danger in pushing too much for good grades and test scores in that it could get to the point that a kid is pushed away from exactly what is trying to be achieved.  The real goal I think is to try to create an inquisitive mind and a love of learning and grade obsession can be a real hindrance to that.

            Well, as I said, I feel like I am running that fine line and just try the best I can.

          • http://www.perfectscoreproject.com Debbie Stier

            I say this in all sincerity: I have never witnessed one of these overly pushed stressed out grade obsessed kids in the wild. Seriously.....they are not running in the same circles as my kids.  I believe they exist, but I can't say that I've met one -- which makes me wonder if they're in that outlier category?

            I feel like I must have done something terribly wrong if I can't think of ONE single kid that fits that bill.

          • Satverbaltutor

            If you really want to meet stressed out, overly-pushed, grade-obsessed kids in the wild, come talk to me. I can assure you they do exist, and I'd be more than happy to introduce you to a couple;)

            Btw, re: Harvard admits doing equally well regardless of whether they attend. Most Harvard graduates who do great things don't accomplish them because they went to Harvard; Harvard picked them in the first place because they were already achieving at an extraordinarily high level. In general, it's not a school that's particular nurturing for undergraduates, and it tends to only admit students who are already sufficiently accomplished as to require minimal hand-holding. That way the university has to invest little in helping its students achieve their potential while simultaneously taking credit for their achievements. 

            For a kid who doesn't fall into that super-precocious achiever category but who does manage to get into an "elite" school willing to invest a lot in someone a bit rough around the edges, college can be transformative. This is particularly true for those at the lower end of the economic spectrum; studies have shown that attending a top school actually does have a significant impact on their career choices and earning potential. 

          • http://www.perfectscoreproject.com Debbie Stier

            I believe they exist -- and that they are spending time with the best tutors ;)

            They're just not the kids my kids are hanging around with....nor the kids I see in the town where I live.

          • Elise

            I believe that they are the outliers and I did some quick calculations...hee hee.  I think they are probably all within the top two percent in our school.  Also, not all those kids in the top two percent are crazed so that does make for very few kids that are this way.  It's just that the ones that are that way, really stand out from the rest.  Each grade level at our school has between 400 and 450 students and I would say USUALLY, the top three kids are VERY competitive with each other.  My daughter is number 9 out of 426 and as I said before she is drifting away from her friend because of this feeling of competition (the friend is number three and always trying to get higher).  Maybe your kids don't want to associate with that stressed out kind of kid either.  My daughter's dream school is Penn State, the Wilkes Barre campus...her friend's dream school is Brown and PSU gets a sneer from her and she says it is her backup school.  She would be very disappointed to go to a school "below" her level.  I am happy for my daughter that she is so secure and happy with her decision.  Just maybe this is why she doesn't feel pressure to compete for the top spots in her class rank.  Well, that is not really true.  She does feel the pressure and has to work at ignoring it.

            So, even with all my rambling, I hope you are able to see that I agree that these crazy kids are not the norm but it ends up sticking in the minds of people who do witness them.  For me, I think it stands out because I am trying to avoid having my kids be one of them.

          • http://www.perfectscoreproject.com Debbie Stier

            My theory is that it's the public schools who are perpetuating the illusion that these stressed out overachieving outliers are the "norm."

            Thanks for doing the calculations ;)  Reminds me to trust my gut!

          • Akil

            This is the big problem with the university system. It's set up to perpetuate social stratification and only in very rare instances are opportunities given to break from your circumstances of birth/economics which means that immagrants and minority groups (including women) are screwed by the system without Herculean efforts

      • Anonymous

        Yeah, I think this is a case where we agree 95% but could have hours of fun & passionate discussion about the other 5%.  
        I think it's a spectrum (like most things).  I'll paste in your comment and respond point-by-point:

        **I was an average student in high school.  I did HORRIBLY on the SAT way back then, and I turned out ok, so I'm not disagreeing with you that average students can be amazing people ;)**

        Yes, exactly.  I think there is a big difference between D's/F's (clearly didn't get it) and B's/A's (clearly did) but I think too much focus is put on the difference between B's and A's or 93's and 100's.  

        **That said, the less you learn, the more doors are closed**
        Conceptually yes, but now (relatively recently) many of the "doors" have disappeared and the gatekeepers simply don't exist in many cases.  

        There used to be "doors" to learn the classes at MIT. You used to have to get amazing grades to get in. Now anyone can take all the classes online for free.  The only difference is the resulting diploma, which used to matter a lot and now matters a LOT less.

        **, and I believe that the stories we all hear about of these high achievers who did terribly in school, are in fact outliers.**

        This falls into the 5% where we disagree, but I'll clarify my point.  I didn't mean (or say) people who did "terrible" in school.....I meant the B or B- (or better) students. 

        SO much focus is put on 
        - perfection 
        - nothing but A's (God forbid an A- ruins a perfect GPA!)
        - perfect test scores
        - getting into and graduating from a top college

        The data shows that people who got into Harvard but didn't attend are every bit as successful as those that graduated.  

        My friend Michael Ellsberg's new book, The Education of Millionaires highlights how many amazing people either never attended or never finished college.  If these are outliers, it's a long list....and goes far beyond Zuckerberg, Jobs and Gates.  

        So where I think we agree.....super successful people who did "terribly" in school?  Not many.
        Super successful people who didn't get a four year degree?  Plenty.

        **I also think you are absolutely right that it is a different set of skills -- but they still involve core knowledge.**

        This "different set of skills" is exactly the book I'm working on now. :-)  More on that when we finally meet in person.
        **It's a slippery slope to start saying that learning core knowledge to the point of mastery isn't necessary for the vast majority of people (i.e. Math isn't required for computer programming?**

        Depends on your definition of mastery.  I got an A in AP Calculus in the 11th grade but haven't needed calculus since.  Teaching myself some HTML and hacking around in WordPress has been more valuable than calculus.  Base level of knowledge, absolutely.  Mastery?  Hardly.  All depends where you draw those lines. It's a spectrum, like I said above.

        **Who wants someone who isn't an "expert" curating for them?**

        Dan Lewis curates a daily email called "Now You Know".  Some of the most interesting facts presented in a wonderful way. You would love it.  Every morning, the only emails I read every morning are Seth's blog and Dan's Now You Know email. So he's a curator but isn't formally trained or an expert.  He just does it.

        **You don't think great creators have studied until mastery?).**
        Some have, for sure but it's not a pre-requisite. 

        **I have regrets for what I didn't learn the first go around, and the joy is in the process of learning, for me.  AND, there is NO WAY I would EVER encourage my kids to follow the paths of the outliers who became great leaders in this new world despite underachieving in school -- AND, I don't want anyone in charge of their education who thinks that way either.  My message is, keep as many doors open as possible please ;)**

        I don't think it's a choice of "following the paths of the outliers who became great leaders in this new world despite underachieving in school".  Underachieving is certainly not a path to follow or something to emulate. That said, it's very hard to achieve "mastery" across too many subjects, right?  It's really a breadth vs. depth vs. time issue.  I'd rather see a student go 10 miles deep on something they're passionate about (achieving "mastery") than not having the time to do so because they're forced to get A's in so many classes required for a well rounded, liberal arts education.

        To oversimplify a bit, once basic skills are met (reading, writing, arithmetic - I suppose we could argue all day where the line of basic is drawn)...... if at that point, students were allocated 100 "units" to spend and 12 subjects....I'd more likely hire the kid who spend 40 units going super deep on 2 subjects (40*2 = 80) and spent the other 20 across 10 more subjects (just enough to know whether they need to know more) than a student who spread the 100 points equally across 12 subjects....the whole "Jack of all trades, master of none" concept.

        Also, (back to the idea of my book) I think that schools and educators should teach more skills like leadership, curation, organization, collaboration, searching / filtering, etc. over memorizing when the war of 1812 was.  

        I agree about learning enough to "keep doors open" but with a really solid base, the locks that used to exist are gone. So are the gatekeepers.  

        Everything else being equal, I'd take the confident, outgoing B student who organizes the local pickup sports league (without parents) over the A+ kid who doesn't have enough leadership or social skills to organize anything.  Of course in a perfect world, they're the same kid.

        **Do you have kids?**

        Not yet.  

        • http://www.perfectscoreproject.com Debbie Stier

          Ok, loooonnnnnggg comment back to you....and I'll use your format here:

          ***SO much focus is put on - perfection - nothing but A's (God forbid an A- ruins a perfect GPA!)- perfect test scores- getting into and graduating from a top college

          Supposedly. By whom?  The media?  Feels more hyperbolic than reality based, to me.  It's not at all what I see in the trenches as a parent of 2 teenagers in a suburban nyc community. I hear about it all of the time,  but I have not personally witnessed this focus on perfection.

          In fact, the opposite.I remember one time, (and I believe this was "it" for me) -- someone from my son's middle school saying to him in some teacher meeting:  "tell your mom....."  And he looked at me and said "I'm ok with my grades."  BTW, his grades were As and Bs at that point, and I was FINE with his grades too.  What I was NOT ok with was that he was finished 8th grade and I had NEVER once EVER seen him do homework and he was getting them.  I was not ok with the fact that they had a smart kid who could get As and Bs in middle school by doing NO work, and they were only too happy to stick him on the conveyer belt and position me as this isolated case of unhappy parent who pushed too much.He gets similar grades now, but he works his a** for them.   THAT, I'm ok with!

          **The data shows that people who got into Harvard but didn't attend are every bit as successful as those that graduated.

          If someone got into Harvard -- they are in the "outlier" category.  

          How about someone who got into a B/C level college because they were tracked onto the treadmill to nowhere in 5th grade in public school, and just did "ok...."  That's the big vast middle of the road that most kids fall into.  Personally, I don't believe they are any "less than" the those Harvard kids....which brings me back to why I love Kumon:  -- It's not about "some kids are special."  ALL CHILDREN ARE CAPABLE OF GREATNESS is in their mission statement.  YUP. That's it for me.  Some have to work longer and harder at this or that -- but they're all capable.

          Have you read Work Hard Be Nice (about the Kipp schools)?  That's about exactly this: ALL KIDS ARE CAPABLE OF GREATNESS.  (not just the outliers)

          ***There used to be "doors" to learn the classes at MIT. You used to have to get amazing grades to get in. Now anyone can take all the classes online for free.  The only difference is the resulting diploma, which used to matter a lot and now matters a LOT less.

          I LOVE the fact that MIT has courses online, for free.  Same with Stanford, Khan Academy, and others -- but the "education" you get from watching a video is a fraction of what you'd get by attending (on so many levels).  Have you tried to learn something challenging from one of these courses? Or done the required work?  I can tell you that I have tried, and for me, it absolutely is not nearly as effective.   I can't imagine I'm alone in that.  There's a distance and a lack of focus when you're alone at home taking a course versus in a room with other engaged students where you can can bounce ideas and share the energy.  

          The other great thing about being at MIT (or another classroom setting) is the other students that you meet.  That's not happening when you're watching the video of the class at home.  One of the amazing discoveries for my son this summer at math camp (and all of his non-stressed out, un-perfect scored, don't care about As friends, gave him a hard time for going to "math camp," btw).  He came home and said "mom, the other kids there were SO amazing...."  And he went on and on and on and was very excited about that.  That doesn't happen when he watches a video course; I promise you.  He was very sick last year and missed a lot of school -- so I tried a ton of that stuff.

          *** I got an A in AP Calculus in the 11th grade but haven't needed calculus since.

          I believe you (i.e. haven't needed calculus since that A).  However, if you got an A in AP Calculus in 11th grade -- see reference to the "outlier" category.  That would be you.

          **I'd rather see a student go 10 miles deep on something they're passionate about (achieving "mastery") 

          I'm not for everyone getting As in everything...and I certainly don't anyone needs to achieve mastery in everything.  I agree, Jack of all Trades is not what I believe in, at all. Solid base of core knowledge for everyone   -- yes, I believe in that.

          **Also, (back to the idea of my book) I think that schools and educators should teach more skills like leadership, curation, organization, collaboration, searching / filtering, etc. over memorizing when the war of 1812 was.

          I will check out your book......but I can't think of any nice way to put this (having not read it) -- but I could not disagree with you more.  There is no way that I want schools and educators teaching "leadership" and "curation," "collaboration", etc.  

          By the way, the public schools where I live do exactly that -- and all of the kids are tutored up to make up for what they are lacking!

          I want a school to teach my kids how to understand Shakespeare and Homer and Fitzgerald and Salinger -- and I want them to learn grammar and math and foreign languages and history (and YES, I want them to know when this or that war happened, as well as WHY it happened.  If we don't know history, we can't learn from what happened....)

          After you have a solid body of knowledge from which to draw upon, then comes the leadership and curation and collaboration, etc. 

          **Re locks and gatekeepers gone 

          In some cases, yes.  In many cases, no.  When you get out of school (high school or college) -- you have to make money -- and whether it's entrepreneurial or working for someone else -- you still need people to open doors.

          ** "I'd take the confident, outgoing B student who organizes the local pickup sports league (without parents) over the A+ kid who doesn't have enough leadership or social skills to organize anything. "I'd say, that depends on the job!

          **Re: No kids yet

          We need to talk again when you have kids who are in Middle School.  My experience is that middle school is when parents start to see education through a different lens.

  • Mark

    Here's the quote above that Debbie got the word 'greatness from:

    "At the heart of the Kumon Method is the belief that all children are capable of greatness......Kumon's founder, Toru Kumon, believed every child has the potential to learn far beyond his or her parents' expectation."

    The proximity of the word "greatness" to the words "parents' expectations" is a source of unease when reading the quote, for all the reasons mentioned in the comments and a hundred more.  But note the elision.
    You can find the original quotes here (scroll down to the "Kumon Method" heading):
    http://kumonatsouthwoodlands.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=53&Itemid=64
    If you go to the source material you'll see that the two quotes come from separate paragraphs of what is, essentially, marketing text.  The second paragraph contains the quote about 'expectations', but continues as follows:

    “It’s our job as educators,” Kumon said, “Not to stuff knowledge into
    children as if they were merely empty boxes, but to encourage each child
    to want to learn, to enjoy learning and be capable of studying whatever
    he or she
    may need to or wish to in the future.”

    I think that's very much the spirit I had with my own kids, and it's a reassuring sentiment to me.  (Particular relative to Japanese culture, which can be oppressive in its expectations of what any individual is expected to contribute to society.)Any site aiming for a perfect score on a test is going to become a little myopic, but I don't think Debbie truly believes that test-taking or any other kind of achievement equals or guarantees a self-actualized life.  She is, in my experience, simply an unbridled enthusiast about the things that interest her.I think her children would be fortunate to find similar enthusiasm for the things that interest them.

    • http://www.perfectscoreproject.com Debbie Stier

      Thanks for clarifying @ditchwalk:disqus 
        A very dangerous elision indeed. (What, you weren't all in my head, knowing what I was thinking?")  In fact I may just go edit the post so that it's clearer.

    • http://www.perfectscoreproject.com Debbie Stier

      @ditchwalk:twitter Improper elision has been corrected. Thanks for looking that up for me!  Also, hours left in 2011 has been calculated, and added to bottom of post (3,419, to be precise).

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