After a hard day’s work as an operations head of a cable company based in Iligan and handling a part-time teaching job after office hours, Mrs. Sagun is ready to call it a day. She quickly pulls out a selection of books for Toni and surprisingly, one of them is about the life and works of Mr. Toru Kumon, founder of the Kumon Method.

It’s not everyday that a mother would choose an autobiography of Mr. Toru Kumon for a bedtime story, but this is Mrs. Sagun’s unique way of nurturing her daughter to continue with the program. “I nurture myself first. I read more about Kumon and I share this with Toni,” she added, hence, the bedtime story.

Mrs. Sagun, a magna cum laude graduate of Mass Communication in Siliman University is happily married to Bart Sagun Jr. The two discovered Kumon through a Kumon parent and decided to try it out.

Since enrolling their eldest daughter in Kumon Iligan Learning Center under Teacher Grace Quijano, Mrs. Sagun noticed that Toni has become more independent and more confident in school. Doing Kumon has never been a problem for Toni, whom she describes as a bubbly five-year-old who is very compassionate and is even willing to give food to beggars on the street. To make sure that Toni is not overwhelmed with the idea of doing Kumon everyday, she reminds her daughter that Kumon is as ordinary as brushing her teeth. “This way, she will not feel pressured to do her Kumon. It will come naturally,” she added. She also makes sure that everyone in the household respects Toni’s Kumon Time.

If Toni commits a lot of mistakes in the worksheets, it’s perfectly all right with Mrs. Sagun. “I allow her to fall freely—no questions asked,” she said. She wants Toni to experience the feeling of committing mistakes, and making it as her springboard to improve. “It’s all right to commit mistakes, as long as you learn from them,” Mrs. Sagun said.

But it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the family. Because of shifting priorities and failing to grasp the principles behind the program, there came a moment when Toni stopped her Kumon study and the family tried to forget about Kumon all together. But after a few years, the family decided to re-enroll with a stronger resolve to commit to the program. Mrs. Sagun shared that she was not satisfied with what traditional schools can offer. She wants Toni to develop a deeper understanding of subjects like Math. When Toni grows up, she wants her to have limitless choices in the courses she wants to take. Mrs. Sagun does not want Toni to choose courses that have little or no math at all, just because she was not able to develop a strong foundation on it.

“The journey has been a roller coaster ride,” Mrs. Sagun described. Despite the ups and downs, the family has learned a lot and enjoyed their experiences along the way. This is just the beginning since their youngest bouncing baby boy, Tobi, is yet to be enrolled in the program. The family already has a “Kumon Savings Fund” for him, showing just how committed they are in investing for their children’s future.

As the night fades away and the family prepares to face the next day, Mrs. Sagun has one wish for her children. “I want my children to grow up with the core values of Discipline, Hard Work, and Living a God-centered life,” she shared.

Kumon and Everything in Between: A Testimonial By Loreidel S. Sagun*

I believe in Einstein’s theory of relativity.

With your indulgence, allow me to say that I have expanded Einstein’s theory of relativity. I made my own unpatented version of the theory in relation to intelligence. To me, “intelligence is relative” so to speak.

I had my first encounter with Kumon way back 2003.

And one of my greatest impressions was this: you bring your child to Kumon, and lo and behold, you will be fetching a whiz kid the next day. Or so I thought.

Enamored with this impression, I enrolled my daughter, Maritoni, who was two and a half years old at that time, in the Kumon Program. She took math and reading for three months.

Why only three months? Admittedly, I had a hidden agenda for doing such. In my mind, a brief exposure of my daughter to the Kumon Method of Learning is my way of getting the “trade secrets” of the program. I thought I could learn the winning formula and the techniques early on. And this will then enable me to work around with a replica of the worksheets, and ultimately act as tutor to my daughter without having to continue with the program.

But other than the hidden agenda, there was one glaring dilemma both my husband and I had to address---financial sustainability. Questions like, can we really afford Kumon? Can we sustain it? If we can afford it now, can we afford it years from now? This brings us to a basic principle in psychology, specifically, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

As working yuppies, or at least we like to call ourselves as such, me and my husband are still working our way up in Maslow’s pyramid. We had other priorities, and immediate needs and wants to meet.

Or so we thought.

Anchored on this thought, in a zip, we dropped Kumon. And we also dropped the logic that carries with it.

Admittedly, I didn’t have the chance to photocopy the worksheets. Thank God. Otherwise, I would be guilty of violating copyrights. And I didn’t have the chance to spend tutorial sessions with my daughter, either. But what stayed with me were the nuggets of wisdom I learned from Teacher Grace Quijano. These were not written in the worksheets. Way back then, I did not realize that a plastic piano worth less than a hundred pesos would spell a big difference in developing fine motor skills of a child. The art of innovation, I suppose, has its own rewards. The next thing I knew, I bought a bingo set for less than fifty pesos---it was my first unpatented version of a 1-50 number board.

I have to admit that in a short time, I saw ripple effects of Kumon in Maritoni. Even though she stopped Kumon, my daughter did not stop equating Kumon Time with Study Time.

When she turned three years old, we enrolled our daughter to a regular pre-nursery class. Little did we know that she would be accelerated to the next level two weeks after the opening of class.

To say that her brief stint in Kumon had something to do with it would be an understatement.

On top of this, we forced ourselves to forget Kumon---we couldn’t afford to sustain it anyway, so why bother? And so we went ahead with our so called “other priorities in life.”

After more than two years, and after much pencil-pushing, we reconsidered Kumon.

Yet questions kept rushing in--- Are we ready to go back to Kumon?

We went through introspection to answer this million dollar question: Are we emotionally and financially ready for Kumon? If it’s a yes, that means we have to be real this time. No hidden agenda, no if’s, no but’s, and nothing in between.

My husband and I decided to re-enroll Toni in Kumon on June 2006, not because we have already settled the Maslow issue. Believe me, it will always remain an issue.

We went back to Kumon more so, because we had learned a lot of things along the way. We learned to re-align our priorities in life. And we learned the value of trade-offs.

Re-enrolling Maritoni in Kumon entails a commitment with no turning back. And our commitment to Kumon will not stop with Maritoni. We have a son named Tobi, who just turned one last August. We traded off his first birthday celebration. In lieu of the kiddie party, we decided to open a “Kumon Savings Fund” for him.

At this point, allow me to borrow a line from a favorite author, Robert Fulghum:
“Everything I learned in life, I learned it in Kindergarten.” And for what it’s worth, let me say: “Everything I learned in life, I learned it in Kumon.”

In Kumon I learned that finger-counting is highly discouraged and so is finger-pointing in real life.

I learned that you don’t need extra money to enroll your child in Kumon, you need extra time more than the money. Kumon is not about affordability. It is about priority.

In Kumon I learned that it is fun to play snakes and ladder with your daughter if only to get a cheaper version of the number board.

I also learned that Kumon is a very humbling and grounding experience. When I check the worksheets of my daughter everyday, it reminds me of my own inadequacies and shortcomings both as a mother and as a wife.

In Kumon, I learned the excitement of accomplishing daily goals, and the beauty of sharing this with your husband, your children, and the people close to you.

In Kumon, I learned the importance of knowing, accepting and correcting mistakes on the worksheets. Same is true in real life. We have to know and correct our own mistakes if only to improve, and to make us a better person.

In Kumon, I can relate with a favorite adapted line of my father: “Do not give a man the fish. Teach him how to fish.” Kumon holds the tenets of not giving its students the fish. Kumon is teaching them how to fish.

I also learned the value of teamwork in Kumon---the parent, the teacher, and the child. Literally, it gave me a new meaning to the word TEAM – Together Everyone Achieves More.

I learned that Level 3A (addition worksheets) is a turning point in Kumon. In real life, this translates to adding up the P100 you set aside per day in order to pay the monthly tuition for Kumon.

I also learned that goal setting is an important maxim in Kumon. When a student focuses on his or her goal, it would not be difficult to grasp the rationale behind doing the worksheets everyday.

In real life, one will realize that even a personal weight management program can be achieved using the Kumon Method. Believe me, I am into it right now. Just like my daughter, I also consider myself a Kumon student. I am currently doing Level 7A, aiming for 6A. I have my daily worksheets to hurdle--- 20 to 30 minutes of walking time which is my own version of Kumon Time. This is a personal venture to shed extra pounds. The rest, of course, remains to be seen. But with discipline, focus, and a shared goal with my husband, I cannot see a reason why I should fail.

I also learned to forego my comfort zone, if only to reach my goal. Everyday, I walk my daughter to school---that saves me from fuel and fare costs--- a sure inning of P100 per day in our savings fund. We also cut off our vices, our weekend sprees in malls and other personal treats, if only to be assured of our regular contribution for Toni and Tobi's Kumon Savings Fund.

Over and above all these, it spells more bedroom moments with our kids and the thrill of watching our favorite Hannah Montana on Disney Channel on weekends.

Lastly, I learned not to shortchange the importance of attending the parent orientation and the PTC’s in Kumon. Admittedly, I was a stray parent way back then.

And as an amateur Kumon parent myself, I look forward to learning more insights from my interaction with the teachers and from other parents as well.

Going back to the theory of relativity, indeed, to say that intelligence is relative has its own merits.

Intelligence is relative as to how we nurture our child’s individuality. It is relative as to how we value both EQ and IQ. More importantly, it is relative as to how we handle and manage our negotiables and non-negotiables in life.

And as my parting shot, allow me to borrow a line from Benjamin Franklin. I think Maslow will not beg to disagree with this: “An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”

Nothing more, and nothing less.

*Mrs. Sagun delivered her heartwarming testimonial during the 1 st ASHR Ceremony of Kumon Iligan Learning Center on October 21, 2006 at Cheradel Suites.