I feel so dumb to start Kumon at 14 and level B?

Question

So yea i'm pretty sure im not falling behind in math, to start of. I actually got A's for math with an occational B. Top level for my age in assessments for 3 years straight. I just finished 8th grade by the way. And when i had my entrance exam for Kumon i realized that i ***** focus with someone staring at me doing the work. So thats exactly what i told the teacher who was watching. But then after like 10 minutes she told me to switch paper and gave me the one with all the adding and multiplying. Then i ended up in level B and according to her in about one year or less i'll be able to be in level K. But i can pretty much do the stuff up to level I easily. Am i that stupid? And i feel so dumb to show up in class with my B-level papers, the same with the primary school kiddies.

Also, going from B to K in one year, is that quick or slow?

Thnks

Answer 1

Hi, I was a Kumon tutor for seven years.  Starting in level B doesn't mean you're stupid.  Every Kumon student starts at a level WAY below their capabilities and this is to try to help establish good study habits and to make sure that all the basic skills are there.  The work is supposed to be easy, in hopes of building self confidence and speed in mental math.  Some kids do hate Kumon, because let's face it, who wants more work on top of what they already get at school, but later on, you realize that you have the advantage over most of your peers because math will come easier.  Moving up to level K in one year is extremely fast and very impressive.  It's a great goal to have.  The entire Kumon program for math ends around level M or so, but they may have added on more levels.  I stopped working there about 3 years ago, so I'm not sure.  If school hasn't started for you yet, you should see about taking extra worksheets, maybe doing 2 sets of 10 pages a day to get to a higher math level quicker then cutting pages when school starts.  Stick with it, Good luck.  

Answer 2

First of all, if you know that you're just feeling awkward and unable to focus because the teacher's right there, then there's no need to feel bad about it.  The thing is that you were probably just freaked out and worked very slowly.  Multiplying and dividing is Level B work, so she probably just put you there because that's as far as you got, so that's the most she could see you were able to do.  Don't worry!

And secondly, yes, moving from B to K in one year is EXTREMELY fast.  My friend is in Kumon, and she started in grade four around level B or C.  Now we're going into grade eight and she's in level J, and she's the highest achieving student in our program, having earned a place of distinction on the Kumon Honour Roll.  And that took her three years.  moving from B to K in one year is great!  K is about late grade ten, early grade eleven.  It's really complicated algebra.

Don't feel bad at all!  Hope I helped!