Our grandparents, parents and even us (parents of this generation) were brought up in an environment where education was more about memorization. For most of us, school was a stressful environment where we needed to get good grades to be on the honor roll or to at least not get kicked out of school. This is the reason why the things that we aim for, the things that we prfioritize and goals don’t truly make us happy humans (even if we’re successful).
Happy humans live in an environment where the focus is on self – development and respect for others. The highly competitive environment that we were exposed to just bred a lot of jealousy, dependence on others for self-validation, manipulation, etc. Times have changed though, and for parents like us, we know that a lot of the formative years of people is during their younger years — when they are curious and when they love exploring and learning new things. During these years, we try our best to expose them to environments that will help them to eventually be happy and independent adults.
So how do we determine what quality education is and what kind of environment should we look for? What do we want our children to be when they grow up? What should we aim for (if aim is even the right word)?
I think as parents, the most that we can do is try to bring up our children to be independent and always curious about the things that surround them. This was what I realized when I listened to the briefing of the Izumi Philippines last week.
I’m the type of parent who’s always curious about different things when it comes to the education of my child. I want to test and try different methods and see which will work best for Zeeka. When I heard about Nippon Math (brought in by Izumi Philippines), I was curious to find out and see what it was.
Izumi under i-cube Ltd. in Japan has been in the industry for 42 years already. There mission as a company is to continue to improve themselves so that they can develop people and contribute to society. They manage 60 schools across Asia and they hope to build more that 20 centers here in the Philippines this year.
From what I have gathered, Izumi cultivates an academic culture of intellectual curiosity, independent learning and character building, embodying the principles of Japanese quality education of discipline, punctuality and cleanliness. I’ve been to Japan and truly, these values are seen in every Tom, Dick or Harry that you meet in the street. Once we
asked a saleslady for directions to exit a mall. I was so surprised that she left her post and went down the escalator with us just to lead us to the exit. We were amazed at how much concern, respect and discipline (leaving her stall showed how much she trusted people around her) the Japanese people have.
What Izumi will offer to the Philippine market is supplementary education for Math. What I have seen is that their value proposition and what makes them different is that they make learning Math enjoyable while also teaching the other values like discipline. For example, the students don’t get to touch the materials until it’s time to do so. They also have a structured but super FUN class! They have materials that make kids want to learn more. Zeeka had a fun time doing the activities! She loved the leaping frogs the most! haha!
If you want to know more about Izumi and if you’re interested to franchise and be part of Izumi Philippines, I can tell you offhand that the fees are actually very reasonable. What they look for in their Partners (franchisees) are that they:
- Should have a passion for education
- Should be ready for a long term commitment
- Graduated college
- Can foster a good relationship with students and parents
- Can focus on their centers
Breakeven on Return on Investment (ROI) will take you around 1-2 years.
Izumi Philippines conducts orientations often. If you are interested to join, you can sign up here: https://ph.izumi-global.net/registration-form/
You can also call them via numbers (02) – 692- 5279 / 0967 207 0545
