was a Japanese mathematics educator, born in

Kōchi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Kōchi Prefecture has a population of 757,914 (1 December 2011) and has a geographic area of 7,103 km2 (2,742 sq mi). Kōchi Prefecture borders Ehime Prefecture to the northwest and ...

, Japan. He graduated from the College of Science at Osaka University with a degree in mathematics and taught high school mathematics in his home town of Osaka. In 1954, his son, Takeshi, performed poorly in a Year 2 mathematics test. Prompted by his wife, Teiko, Toru closely examined Takeshi's textbooks and believed they lacked the proper opportunity for a child to practice and master a topic. As a result, he began to handwrite worksheets each day for his son. By the time Takeshi was in Year 6, he was able to solve differential and integral

calculus Calculus, originally called infinitesimal calculus or "the calculus of infinitesimals", is the mathematical study of continuous change, in the same way that geometry is the study of shape, and algebra is the study of generalizations of arithm ...

usually seen in the final years of high school. This was the beginning of the Kumon Method of Learning. As a result of Takeshi's progress, other parents became interested in Kumon's ideas, and in 1955, the first Kumon Center was opened in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

, Japan. In 1958, Toru Kumon founded the Kumon Institute of Education, which set the standards for the Kumon Centers that began to open around the world. The Kumon Programs are designed to strengthen a student's fundamental maths and language skills by studying worksheets tailored to a student's ability. The method also aims for students to learn independently and to study advanced material beyond their school grade level. Students progress once they demonstrate mastery of a topic. Kumon defined ''mastery'' as being able to achieve an excellent score on the material in a given time. Kumon strongly emphasised the concepts of ''time'' and ''accuracy''. Even in his later years, Toru Kumon gave lectures on his method of learning including the importance of having students learn material that is suited to their ability and not their age and the benefits of allowing students to learn material well ahead of their grade level. Toru Kumon died in Osaka on July 25, 1995 at the age of 81 from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

. There is
Toru Kumon museum
in Osaka, Japan and a Kumon Foundation Day celebrated on October 20 each year. Asteroid 3569 Kumon is named after him..

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kumon Toru 1914 births 1995 deaths Japanese educational theorists 20th-century Japanese mathematicians People from Kōchi Prefecture Osaka University alumni