PTNL_May2017

FOCUS ON EDUCATION
FOCUS ON
CONFIDENCE IS
KEY AT KUMON
At your local Kumon Study
Centre the aim is to develop
students into confident,
independent learners and to
help them achieve their full
potential. With nearly 60 years
of experience, the Kumon
Maths and English Programmes
enable children to take on new
challenges with confidence.
A key principle of the Kumon
Method of Learning is to
develop confidence in all
students, which will enable
them to confront new
challenges head on. This is
not just instilled in them whilst
at Kumon, the confidence a
student gains is something they
will keep with them for life.
When a child enrols onto
the Kumon programmes, they
start at their just-right level. The
initial focus is to build a strong
foundation in their study skills;
developing their concentration,
pace and rhythm. Once they
have built this foundation, they
will then be able to confidently
tackle topics they have not
previously studied.
Kumon believes that learning
is always for the long run.
The individualised maths and
English programmes enable
each student to progress to
an advanced level, above
THE POWER OF PHILOSOPHY:
Mark Lloyd-Williams, Headmaster, Hendon Prep School.
Philosophy enables pupils
to ask the question:
what do we know and
how do we know it?
Ever since Socrates was convicted
of ‘corrupting the youth of Athena’,
educators have questioned the merit
of studying philosophy within the school
curricula. As a former A-Level teacher of
philosophy, I want to re-state the merits
of teaching our children the ‘power of
philosophy’.
The ancient Greeks believed that every
citizen should think about how they
behaved and how they lived as a member
of society. Fundamentally, to behave
well (good) was a true reflection of your
character (Aristotelian ethics). Today, in the
21st century we equally share the belief
that our character is a reflection of the
education we have received.
In an age when we constantly question
the wisdom of what children learn, few
stop to question how do children learn?
At Hendon Prep, the teaching staff have
been working hard to address an equally
important question: how do we encourage
our pupils to be independent thinkers?
In terms of a child’s intellectual
development, Philosophy enables pupils
to ask the question: what do we know and
how do we know it? The ability to ask such
questions in any subject discipline be it Art,
Mathematics or Science, has much greater
merit than the narrowly-focussed student
who is only ‘obsessed’ with getting the
answer ‘right’.
Educationally, our current focus at
Hendon Prep is on ‘meta-cognition’ (beyond
knowledge). We are not simply interested
in a dialogue between teacher and pupil
nor are we fixed in our view that teachers
should lead learning. In reality, learning is a
much deeper journey of self-discovery and
ultimately the greatest success is achieved
when a pupil demonstrates that they are
capable of making connexions between
concepts. Our top students are capable of
applying their newly acquired knowledge
in an entirely original and creative way, for
example, an imaginative essay or poem.
So what is the power of philosophy?
Firstly, it is about children discovering their
potential to think and to be an independent
learner; and secondly, it is about having
the courage to learn from failure and to
persevere; that is true character!
20 Primary Times MAY 2017 | www.primarytimes.net/north_london