3 min read

Selin just wanted to be a little better

Oct 2020
"Actually, I just wanted to be a little better but now I'm MUCH better!"

Selin started with KUMON when she was in 3rd grade. At the beginning of primary school everything seemed to be fine. At the time there was no homework and therefore nobody noticed that Selin had difficulties in maths. Only after a change of teacher did it come to light that Selin lacked a feeling for numbers. On the recommendation of an old school friend whom her mother ran into by chance, the now 11-year-old came to see Mrs von Pückler, the instructor of the KUMON Learning Centre Frankfurt-Westend.
As time went on, Selin soon noticed for herself that she was getting better and better. Her classmates and her teachers also noticed it. The teachers were sceptical at first, but when they noticed the rapid progress, enquiries about KUMON soon flooded the Instructor.
Not only did her grades improve from semester to semester, Selin's self-confidence grew and her ambition was awakened. She is now motivated to learn on her own initiative and wants to make good grades. "I am always the fastest at the 1x1 test exercises at school" she says with a grin.
"It is so nice to see how she has changed and how proud of herself she is," Selin's mum says with tears of emotion in her eyes. Selin reports that she didn't like maths at all in the past. Subtractions scared her, which almost stopped her from wanting to continue with KUMON. However, after she realized it wasn’t so scary after all, she started to look forward to subtractions!
At school she is currently doing fraction additions, while at the learning centre she is already trying her hand at fractions involving subtraction. To everyone’s surprise, Selin even boldly stated "Maybe I'll study maths later and become a teacher!”

What do the mother and daughter duo like about KUMON?
"You don't always have to understand everything immediately," Selin explains. "Looking at examples usually helps, then it's really easy! Actually, I just wanted to be a little better - but now I'm MUCH better," she adds, beaming. She enjoys KUMON so much that she has even designed her own KUMON worksheets for her little brother.
"What is so great about KUMON is the focuses placed on the individual child. The daily repetition, even during the holidays, has proven its worth. Selin is no longer afraid of homework and exams. However, it's also important that the parents at home are involved. For Selin, the relationship she has with the teacher is very important and they have a good one!

The mother used to buy exercise books and tried to explain 5 + 2 with the help of props. Selin was always very annoyed when she couldn't do it. "Today, learning maths is completely different. The worksheets practically teach Selin itself!"