And how Kumon helped her become successful in school
Perseverance and hard work—Rahina Prue Siena is all too familiar with these words despite her young age. Thanks to her journey in Kumon, these virtues led her to become one of Kumon Philippines’ youngest Reading Program Completers.
After achieving such a feat at the age of seven, Prue looks back as she dreams of achieving greater things in the future. In this interview with Kumon Philippines Blog, she shares how the Kumon Method of Learning helped shape her character and outlook in life.
The Very First Kumon Experience
Prue’s parents wanted her to learn how to read as early as possible—and so they enrolled her in Kumon. While her first time in Kumon wasn’t vivid, she remembered: “messing around with the puzzles in the Center and struggling to hold my pencil right.”
As time went by, she faced bigger struggles and challenges as a young girl. She would wonder why she was answering her Kumon instead of playing games. Nonetheless, she powered through and told herself, “If I could brave through this, I wouldn’t have to later.”
Power of Critical Thinking
Soon, Kumon became part of her daily routine and the major building block of her learning. She would always allot time to answer her homework even if other activities were lined up. Her positive mindset pushed her to think critically and use this skill beyond school.
“Kumon shaped the majority of my future learning as I lacked any solid foundation upon joining. It pushed me to be critical and thorough in my studies and outside of them. You could say that was a double-edged sword,” she said.
“Kumon greatly altered my approach to school. New concepts didn’t incite fear, rather they became a daily chore. If given instructions were lacking, I sought out other ways to dissect and absorb information. Kumon outlined many objectives I would’ve overlooked, and it minimized frustration with academics.”
Inspiration to Complete
Her dream back then was simple: to see herself on the wall of completers in her Center. But when she was at the final lap towards completion—and was even bound to become one of the youngest Kumon Completers— she strived, took notes, and reviewed non-stop. “Tinged with the quivering, vibrant hope of a child. The anticipation of completing did not leave me in those last days,” she described the experience.
Now that’s she’s way past the finish line, she picked up pieces of wisdom she wishes to pass on to Kumon students:
“The perfect victory you yearn for doesn’t exist in the pages of your work, and the red pen is not the one that heralds your greatest achievements and failures. You alone decide what defeats you and what makes you triumphant.”
