 Think Tech Hawaii, civil engagement lives here. Dr. Alex Kuznesov, who is here in Singapore running his business, we're first going to be talking about how he got to Singapore. Welcome to the show Dr. Alex. Thank you. Now Dr. Alex, how long have you been in Singapore? Five years. Five years and where are you from originally? From Moscow. From Moscow. How did you end up in Singapore from Moscow? Because I have five kids and grandfather already and four of them are younger. How younger is younger? From 6 to 13. 6 to 13. And Singapore is the safest place in the world. That's why we choose from Hong Kong, Canada and Singapore and choose Singapore. Did you experience living in those places or you were just comparing virtually? We traveled a little bit and then choose Singapore. With your kids? Yes. So you came to Singapore because of the safety? Safety and the very kind nation. In Singapore, they measure the kindness index, I don't know. Oh, they do that? Yes. Officially. Every month. So they ask, like a poll, they ask people some questions, like how many people you helped this last week, how many people helped you. Is that done by the government or? Yeah, by the government. Really? Oh, I didn't even know that. I was surprised. And I'm crazy about education and Singapore is also crazy about education. Smart nation. The slogan is smart nation. Now, when you say smart nation, what do you mean by that in terms of technology? They cherish the brains, they try to create the environment for the best education in the world. Singapore system and Singapore math is the best in the world, number one. So did you hear about Singapore education back when you were in Moscow? Yes, I studied a lot of Singapore education system and I chose Singapore. This was one of the factors I chose Singapore for. And what did you find attractive about the Singapore education system? Was it because of the high ranking on the OECD, on the PISA scores or was it something else? I will tell you honestly, the first factor for me was the safety and kind nation. Because I don't want my kids to be brought up in Russia, very aggressive. So I want them to be kind, courage and open other people, smiling and all this. And what jumped out at you about the Singapore education system, besides Singapore math? Because I'm a mathematician, math is number one for me. So very effective. And I teach my kids also in my school, I have school international, I set up international school already here and we use a lot of from Singapore math. Then team building, Singapore is number one also for team building, you know. There are also international Olympia and team building. So every nation has a team and they have a question to solve and problem to solve as a team, in real world problem and they have some days to solve in Singapore number one. Yeah, I can agree with that because the Singapore government is probably one of the most integrated government in the world that I've seen, you know, no department works on its own. Even the in terms of education system is always the curriculum is always designed according to the manpower needs. So, you know, it is very relevant, depends on, you know, what's, what's the need of tennis from now, right, right. And if something's not in demand, they start to face it out. That's why they encourage students not to go to university, only 25% go to university. And let's go to the polytechnical to meet the requirement of the real life. The technical needs, the vocational needs, right, you know. But that's another area that I think Singapore has done well is that we don't just nurture those that are academically inclined. Those are not academically inclined, but then who are technically inclined. We make sure we, you know, help them to reach their potential as well. And they show that this a student's person is polytechnical education. They know just inferior, you know, because everywhere in the world, if you go to university, it's like a higher standard position and Singapore, no, they don't feel ashamed. That's interesting. You mentioned that, because Singapore used to be like that. They used to, the people used to look upon the university grads as, you know, more prestigious and whatnot. And the government worked really hard to change the image. They launched a very nationwide campaign to adjust the image that people have of technical ed I also asked them, they say, I say, why don't you go to a poly, why don't you go, you're so smart, you go to university. I like this. I don't want to go. This university graduation is not the thing that's in itself for me. For example, I like growing, creating cartoons or like I want to be a pilot or like an aircraft engineer. I need to go to that. I go to trade school and they are not ashamed of this because they are like, what's the use of the university for me? Yeah, here, whether it's technical education or academic education, both of them are highly prized. And I think it's because, you know, Singapore is not like Russia, we don't have oil, we don't have any natural resources. So we only have people and those are our, you know, what we call our human capital, our natural resources. Our natural resources, yeah, it's our one and only natural resources and it's the only thing that we can capitalize on. Now you mentioned you have five kids and what are their ages again? From six to 21. 21 of them already gave birth to my grandson. And so your congratulations. So was your, you came here five years ago, so your son was only five, one year old when you came out here. And the rest were colors in there. He said, I'm Chinese boy, I'm English boy or I'm Russian boy because he has a lot of teachers in my school, he cannot decide. What about the other three kids? Are they boys too? So the other three kids that came here, how was the adjustment? I mean, this is very different from Moscow. When I came here, I rented the largest condo in Singapore. I thought a lot of units, they can meet friends there and play together. But everybody's studying and walking, nobody, very hot. So empty space outside. So they socialize in my school now. So that's why I created the international school. They had a lot of friends now and we have a scholarly ambience here. So they all support each other, reaching some milestones. It's like the environment is everything when you bring up. So how long ago did you start your own school? Actually, I started, I just came and started, but I started tuition. Gradually the school become an international school. Now we have a license for international school and we are moving to another place. I see. So when you first came, you started your own business pretty quickly? Yeah, very fast, because my son was a champion in math. And nobody could believe that he finished his O-Level. It's IGCC, it's like O-Level. And that's the one, the Cambridge examination you're talking about? Yeah, at nine years old. And everybody was shook and hundreds of students come here. So in four months I didn't have place for reading. Now, what was the subject that he started, that he took the test in? It's IGCC, international mathematics. International mathematics. By the age of 11, he finished physics and chemistry also, both A-star. For O-Levels? Yes, international mathematics a little bit, IGCC means a little bit higher standard than O-Levels. With IGCC, you can go to the most universities in the world, 90%. So how did you prepare him for that? I've seen that you were the one that prepared him to do it. I have a lot of tricks and secrets, so I will share with you some of them. First of all, my goal is not academic results and not speed learning. It's not the most important thing. The most important thing is independence, so I teach them to read books. Because some kids, they take books and say, oh, teacher didn't explain. I don't know. But our kids, not only my kids, in my school, they always try to deal with uncertainty. The most valuable courage is to deal with uncertainty. If you don't know how you try, and most kids don't try, that's it. How to develop a curious mind, an ability to read and learn himself, that's the most important thing. So I teach him how to deal with different sorts of information, how to set up the learning environment for him. So now I don't teach him already. They teach him already. They teach other students. And when my nine years old son, the third one, he's studying secondary three, it's like grade 11. Right. This is the nine-year-old, studying secondary three. He's writing and students come here and say, oh, secondary three, how could it be? And he's sitting quietly in the corner and learning something. Is that mathematics or other subjects? All subjects. All subjects. Chemistry, physics, he's nine years old, he's preparing for all levels already in chemistry, physics, mathematics, math, tennis, and Chinese also. They all know Chinese. Did they learn Chinese at school? Yes, after school also. Because my teachers from school do tuition after school and my kids are with me. So your kids go to school here full-time? Yeah, yeah, because it's the local schools. They don't attend other local schools. We have international schools. So your family is here as well? Yes, and it's pretty hard for them, especially for elder ones. Oh yeah, absolutely. But for younger ones, it's easy. Because you know, before six, we have a window open for languages. So he likes it. That's why he says, oh, maybe I change his boring. That's fantastic. Now tell us about your wife. I'm sure she's just as proud of you as your son. What does she do? She's a drama director. So she learns, still learning in Russia. Go there, here and there. Oh, she flies back and forth, okay. And she's running the drama theater. They have a two-stage performance a year. Oh. So when kids are wearing his costumes, they're doing everything. They share those theaters, so a lot of speech and training. So some parents are very satisfied because some kids cannot articulate correctly in their languages. The problem in Singapore, especially with younger kids, they forget Russian. And they speak English or Japanese. Right, also English. And the parents want to save the native language. And they start going to my wife's theater and improve their language. So in your wife's theater class, everything is conducted in Russian? In Russian, but now she's expanding because other students from my school, international school, Americans, Indonesians, they go there and see, oh, we want also to join. And she's hiding new stuff. That's wonderful. Wow, that's wonderful. Well, since your kids are primarily in your school, do they interact with kids outside of your school? Do they have friends outside of school? Yes, yes. Because in Singapore, very small, a lot of density population, dense population. So in condos, my sons go to, like, sport clubs, like Aikido clubs or boxing, they interact there. We live every day and it's a very small cozy condo. Everybody knows everyone. Wonderful. So like a small family. Now what is your biggest challenge living in Singapore? I know you've raced a lot. Everybody works hard. A lot of work. I work 24 hours a day. Right, just about. And I work and I have four kids. Very tough. Because I'm in Singapore for them. I actually live for them and create the school for them also. So that's why I try to understand deeper what they're doing every day. What's the problem? We discuss this problem. We don't have time. And I want to be a father for everyone. Well, you're an amazingly dedicated father and you're sure your wife is this dedicated mother too. I understand that you have a master's in child psychology as well. Yes, I'm a PhD in math. I'm a master in child psychology. And I'm a pediatrician also. And? Pediatrician. Pediatrician? Yes, so I have four education and an economist. Actually all my life I study speed learning. So that's why I test in myself. Are you sure you're not here as a spy? Because you are so well versed in so many different areas. Because my major is actually my main sphere of interest is speed learning. Accelerated learning. The technique is how we learn faster. I see. That's why I learn. If I want to know something new, I learn faster. I know how. And I teach my kids and I teach my students also in math. Do you do speed reading too? Is there such a thing? Speed reading is just a small part of speed learning. Speed reading is very important also. Do you know the number one rule for speed reading? Number one rule? Yeah, don't read useless books. Don't read useless books. But how much do you know the book is useless before you start reading it? That's why you use number two for speed reading and number three you look at the content very fast and see all these users. Okay, well that's a very useful tip. Thank you so much. Well thank you Dr. Alex. We're going to take a little short break here and when we come back we're going to talk more about your business here. Thank you so much. Thank you. Everyone, I'm DeSoto Brown, the co-host of Human Humane Architecture, which is seen on Think Tech Hawaii every other Tuesday at 4 p.m. and with the show's host Martin Desbang we discuss architecture here in the Hawaiian Islands and how it not only affects the way we live but other aspects of our life not only here in Hawaii but internationally as well. So join us for Human Humane Architecture every other Tuesday at 4 p.m. on Think Tech Hawaii. Hey, hello everybody. Thanks for joining us on Think Tech Hawaii. I'm your host Andrew Lanning, the security guy. I host a program called Security Matters Hawaii and I hope you'll join us on Fridays. We are at 10 a.m. and we're going to be talking about those security things that really should be important to you and maybe get behind the scenes on some things that you may not know about the industry or about products or even about your habits. Security is all about people, processes and products. We hope to bring that to you in an informative and hopefully a useful way. So again, 10 a.m. on Fridays, Security Matters Hawaii on Think Tech Hawaii. Join me. Thank you. So soon after you got to Singapore, you started a business. I'd like to learn more about this business that you started. You mentioned that it's an international school. Seven. Before I started international school, I studied tuition. When you said tuition, is that like supplementary classes for after-school essence? Seven out of ten Singaporean kids go to tuition. It's a culture. From school, you go to tuition because it's a very high standard, difficult and they need support. Then I created like a personalized approach and I had before... Just to interrupt you there, is that something you found out before you moved to Singapore? You always knew that you were going to come to Singapore instead of a tuition center. Yeah, because I'm a child psychologist and I'm interested in specializing in education and accelerated learning. I set up a five-step system. Five-step system. I applied here. It was very successful. And more and more kids, just because of world of mouse, they came here. Right. And that's the best kind of advertisement. Yeah, I don't have places for the full house. And it cannot extend here because I used up all the area. How many students did you have when you first started? When I first started, I didn't have any students, only my kids. Your kids? Then some people just go back and forth here. Then join here and you can see the results and talk to another kids. And then they come here more and more and more and more and more and more and they're closed in the world of nature. And when your child became the youngest to... It was also the booster for the business because he became... Just one overnight he became the famous... So he was in the newspapers and everything. Yes, several newspapers wrote about him. Is that record in Singapore or the world over? Singapore record. In Singapore. Because there was one more kid who passed a GCC at the age of 9.2. Okay. And my son is 9.11. I see, I see. No, the world record. And this exam that you're talking about, what age do students usually take it at? What age are they usually when they take this examination? Usually it's 17. 17. Wow, so that's really a 7. Normally in our school, international school now, kids finish school at 12, 13. 13 is enough to finish all school syllabus with the right approach. Have you had him tested for giftedness? Do you think that is something that's... No, no, no. Yes, my elder son is a little bit gifted. But... Not the one that made the Singapore record. Yeah, that's one. That's his one. Elder son. But every child with every intellectual ability can finish school at 13 with the right approach. Because in most schools, they just waste time. That's a problem. A lot of unnecessary activities. And very strange, the teaching process, they learn some subject, some topic in January, another topic in February, another topic in March. And by the end of the year, they forgot what they learned in January. They started over again. So we don't... This is unproductive. So I created a new system, a five-step system. We take a big chunk of syllabus and go through the simple level. So just concepts and simple formulas. Then next level, we immerse this concept into very simple texts, text question. Then multi-step questions. There are questions which involve several different topics. Then next level is research. So for younger kids also, they can do research. They can do it at the show and count, for example, the number of items which price has below three dollars, for example, something like this. So you believe that, given the right teaching method, that every child can finish school at age 30. In small classes, yes. Eight students per class. This is very important. Even Jesus Christ had 12. So it's impossible for a human being to teach more than eight, actually. But in class of eight, the kids can enjoy the dialogue. That's very important. Because no dialogue is very difficult to get them involved in the process. And a little noisy, especially. Imagine 40 students, primary one students in the class. Difficult. The teacher complained to me because I know a lot of teachers complain. They say, Alex, I spent 90% of my efforts on time just to make them sit quietly. Management. Class management. Sit quietly. Just sit quietly because you cannot focus them. But our kids, each one, follow his own learning plan. It's very important. But still other kids support. Still a group. They support the club. When they reach milestone, they stand in club. And the kids are very proud. And this supports the scholarly environment. So how do you group your students? I mean, obviously you have different age groups coming in, different abilities. How do you group them into these classes? Still we group by age. Because if students 12 years old, they have different group dynamic. So we use different approaches. But from 5 to 8, they can sit in one room. Is that the youngest that you take five years of? Normally five, but we have one student four years old. So it depends on the individual child. Because some students at four can sit and do their work. Some students at 12 cannot. I agree. I agree with that. So run me through a typical day at your school. I mean, from the time a child walks into here, what kind of curriculum does he go through? For younger kids, three languages and one math, that's all. And they study for 14 minutes, then 20 minutes break. And again, so that's why 40 plus 20, one hour. One hour, one hour, one hour. Then after fourth lesson, we have CCA activities. Now you mentioned three languages? Yes. What are the languages that's being taught? Russian. Russian and English and Chinese. Other students, some younger kids are very outstanding. They want to learn science at 7 years old. No problem. We can adjust the syllabus for them. Because it's an individualized approach to school. So we can create any syllabus. Some kids are interested in music. For example, one of my kids, he was very interested in studying music in the piano. So we increased the number of hours for him. So we just try to capture and use the surge of motivation. The innate motivation. The innate desire to learn. In a big class, you cannot do this. But we can adjust. For example, the child says, I like biology. I want to study biology now. So on this top of his motivation, he can read the whole or level book in two weeks. So there are other kids who are dragging, reading this for the whole year. So then he switched to some other subjects. Very interesting for him. He also stretched this subject in our syllabus. So for the younger guys, they come in, they do one math and they do three languages. And then you mentioned CCA. What's in a CCA program? Music, arts. We have karate lessons. Karate. And even girls study this. And coding and chess. So music, how deeply do you get into it? Do you introduce any instruments? Normally piano. So the teacher shows how to play. We have a very small group of show one by one. They learn how to read notes. They learn how to listen to different composers. So you and your wife, they're from Russia. Where are your other teachers from? Are they local or are they... Local, we have a teacher from all different countries. We have English lessons conducted by American teacher. So native speaker. Chinese teacher. I see, I see. So coding, you mentioned coding. What age do you start teaching them coding? At what age? At five. At five? But we approach to coding from the point of algorithm. Algorithmic thinking. Because if you know algorithms, it doesn't matter which language you use. If you master one language, you can use a lot of language very fast. That's sort of like mastering Latin and then you can understand the Latin basically. This is exaggeration, but for coding it's true. Because if you know one second language is already half time. Third language is already 10% of the time learning the first language. Algorithmic thinking, we use applications for kids very funny. So they can use procedures, loops and all this stuff. Wow. And then we use... If a child is very advanced, we start learning real language. If not advanced, we use scratch. You know scratch? Like blocks. We use Arduino. You know Arduino? It's a special kit with electrical parts. They can create the chains, electrical chains. For example, you can create yourself. Any child can use itself like a device to measure the distance from your hand. And you can do robots. It's like a robot. Oh, that's amazing. My daughter did a coding class last week. She really enjoyed it. They use a little wooden robot. Cubetto, have you heard of that? Yes, yes, yes. She really enjoyed it. Lego robots. But the real coding starts when they start learning languages. It depends upon child because it kills motivation. Very dangerous zone. If you see the child can endure this tough work, we continue. If not, we switch back to some fun. The best thing is to keep the motivation and to teach the key self-learning techniques. If you have this tool, you don't need teachers. If you know how to teach yourself, if you have motivation, you don't need anyone. Only an expert can answer a very difficult part. I agree with that. I have always thought that the best teacher is one whose class will run itself, even if he's just standing quite at the back of the classroom, because the kids know how the lessons are conducted. The one who encourages. Encouraging is everything. Encouraging is a tool, a way to support motivation. And the best teacher always finds the time and the best moments to put some phrases is to encourage their motivation. So you're great, nice, good work, all this stuff. And not just to listen to me, I will show you how to solve this question because nobody cares why I need this question. When do I get out of school? I know none of your kids go to local schools, but what are your impressions of local schools? I know they produce great results, but do you find them to be somewhat stifling? You know why the number one reason we came to Singapore? Maybe number two reason, after safety. Safety, yeah. It was when we wanted to be in the local school. But after some months I started closer, I found one disadvantage. This disadvantage covered all the advantages, big classes. Primary 1 student class, 45 students. It's about 48, 45 years. Impossible to teach. So that's why I refuse this. Because I believe, strong belief in personal bones between teacher and student, in the dialogue. So you answer the question I reply. So why you think so? It's interaction and feedback, right? Yeah, it's conversation. You know Nietzsche, the German philosophy? Yes, yes, yes. When you are looking for a wife, take the look for a friend for good conversation. To make good conversation. If you have a good conversation, you become friends. So the same with the student. The good teacher is a personality. It's not just a sack of knowledge. Just an inanimate right. So the best teacher is a personality who influence students by himself. If you are reading a book, as a father or as a teacher, your kids or your students also will be reading, love reading. If you call yourself, if they like you. They model after you. To make them like you, you need to be a person who sees, who encourages them, who see the personality inside them. You see the potential inside them. And they will feel this. If they feel this, they will love you, or she will love you, and she will follow you. That's a secret. Now I understand that you also authored some books. Yes, on parenting. On parenting. Actually, in Russia, I was a host of a talk show on parenting. Very famous. So, still, I continue my research on this. Is this book available as an e-book? E-book and physical book already. In English now, on Amazon, you can buy 100 parenting tips. In one month, we will be in Chinese also. Thank you so much, Dr. Alex. Thanks for spending time with us today. Thank you very much.