Kumon Bethlehem

My name is Esta Coetser and I am the Instructor of the Bethlehem Study Centre. After teaching music for 9 years, I became a Kumon Instructor in August 2004.

I was introduced to Kumon by an aunt of mine who was a Maths teacher at the time. She was so impressed with the Kumon programme that she became an Instructor herself, and also encouraged me to do the same. It was a wonderful opportunity for me to work with children, which I love to do, and to make a difference in the community. Realising the importance of mathematics, and also because Bethlehem did not have a Kumon centre, I decided to open my own. My two sons were still young and I also wanted them to benefit from the programme, and they became my first guinea pigs.

My past experience as a music teacher taught me the skill of working individually with children, and also to be a very good motivator, which plays a key role in a student’s Kumon journey. The results I saw in my sons’ development with the Kumon programme showed me how important it is for students to master concepts through practice.

The most rewarding element of being a Kumon Instructor is when students themselves tell me how Kumon has equipped them with knowledge and skills that have helped them in their schoolwork, and when they share their excitement in achieving their goals.

Through my experience as a Kumon Instructor and parent, I have learned that nothing worth having comes without a challenge. Kumon is no exception, and there were days when my sons found it challenging and they needed my extra motivation and support. However, being students of Medicine and Computer Science at university, they both agree today that it was the Kumon study-method which equipped them with the skills necessary to be accepted into university.