Ameer and his sister lead their family on the path to academic success

Ameer has taken just five years to complete the entire Kumon English Programme; an endeavour that’s all the more impressive given his young age of just 11. Since joining the Kumon Douglas Study Centre he’s developed fundamental skills that enable Ameer to excel at school. Not only is he confident in his abilities, he has a strong sense of self-belief that he can achieve things for himself, which is something we love to see in all our Kumon students.  

Ameer’s entire family are committed to Kumon; his parents enrolled Ameer along with his two, of three siblings in February 2015. Since then, Ameer’s older sister, Zohra, has become a Kumon English Completer, and is currently striving to complete the Kumon Maths Programme too. While Syed’s younger sister, Malaika is also excelling with her Kumon studies too. Their parents are understandably extremely proud!

Ameer’s mother, Naeema, explains how they discovered Kumon. “My husband is a doctor, currently working as an Accident & Emergency Consultant in Ireland. I have four kids and their academic ability means a lot to me; I always wanted my kids to excel in their class and be among the top students.

I started extra work with them at home but realised they needed a proper program to follow and I might not be on the right track, so I started looking for tuition in my locality. One day, someone dropped a Kumon flyer through my door. I studied it and then searched it online, and its methodology really caught my interest. The very next day I called the Kumon centre and booked an assessment for my children. We’ve never looked back since that day!”

Ameer reflects on his own development since joining Kumon. “Although my Kumon journey was very tough at times, I knew I had to keep on going because I was aware of the benefits to me. The Kumon English Programme helped me develop my reading skills significantly; I never liked reading before joining Kumon, but now I’ve turned into quite a book worm. My teacher at school says the way I form sentences and write stories is extremely mature for my age, and I learnt all these skills from Kumon. I have developed a love of learning because of Kumon; learning new things for myself, which other kids in my class haven’t yet been taught, is exciting for me. I’m now working well above my school grade level.”

Aside from seeing huge leaps in Ameer’s academic skills, his mother Naeema is extremely pleased with how Kumon has helped Ameer develop his life skills.

She says, “Ameer was a very shy boy and always looked for perfection. He wasn’t very confident in class in his early years and always used to worry and say, ‘what if I answer a question wrong and the teacher is not happy with me?’.”

Ameer agrees, telling us,
“I used to spend hours completing my work, trying to make sure it was perfect and it made me anxious. Doing my corrections at Kumon has enabled me to learn from making mistakes, and I’ve become more confident, patient, and yet still believe in myself.”

Naeema continues, “Ameer’s schoolwork is now almost like revision. He is a step ahead and extremely knowledgeable when it comes to his studies. He always raises his hand in class and feels proud of his abilities. He has been representing his school in the national Credit Union Schools Quiz, two years in a row. All his friends refer to him as a ‘human calculator’! Overall, alongside his academic studies, Kumon has taught him important life skills like self-learning, time management, and confidence, which for me is the most important thing.”

At Kumon, Instructors instil confidence in young learners like Ameer by supporting and encouraging them to work out answers by themselves. Ameer’s parents commented on their relationship with Syed’s Instructor, Gráinne. “We have a very friendly relationship with Gráinne; she is like a good friend to me who I can text any time and ask for any advice relating to my kids’ academics. She knows them all individually, their strengths and weaknesses, and being a teacher and mother herself, she knows well how to work with kids and explain every problem according to their individual ability. I thank Gráinne and the team tremendously for their efforts and help over the past few years.”

Equipped with strong academic skills and self-confidence, Ameer is well-prepared for his journey through secondary school. Commenting on his achievements he said, “I am extremely proud of completing the Kumon English Programme. The day I received my certificate I was carrying it around in the house all day long as I didn’t want to put it down! This is my biggest achievement in my education, and I am so proud of myself and my family is very proud of me. Kumon has made me a very confident person. I now believe in myself and my abilities, and I know I can achieve anything I want. In this fast-developing world, I believe with the skills of self-learning that Kumon has taught me, I’ll have a prosperous future.”

Well done Ameer! We are confident that the skills you have developed at Kumon will excellently prepare you for new challenges ahead in secondary school and beyond.