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'Man, School Twice a Day?'
Amisyas Aklile, 10, reviews a lesson with Kumon instructor Min Woo.
(Nikki Kahn - Twp)
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"You can do it," read a yellow Post-it note an instructor had stuck on the table next to 7-year-old Austen Whibley. The Silver Spring girl was racing against the clock to meet her goal: a perfect math work sheet done in less than 25 minutes. She knocked it out in 22 minutes. "That is really good, Austen!" instructor Min Woo crowed.
Kumon students who finish a work sheet with no mistakes on the first try get a star stamped in a little book. A bulletin board shows who is at what level, and high-level achievers get their names on a metal plaque.
Score! has an even fancier reward system. Every center has a basketball hoop on the wall, and free shots are awarded when students reach their goals. Other rewards include having your name announced over loudspeakers or earning "score cards," which can be traded in for prizes including balls, Yu-Gi-Oh! cards and video and CD certificates.
The prizes, Matthew admits, are a big motivator: "I'm saving up . . . so I can get a basketball!"
-- Fern Shen
Amisyas Aklile, 10, reviews a lesson with Kumon instructor Min Woo.
