Kumon maths

[deontological]

I still don't understand why long threads about Kumon are allowed, when talk of any alternatives are scrubbed by the mods as a contravention of rules. Kumon is a profit making business. People purchase the franchise for their area, and it is very expensive for the amount of teacher time and materials that you receive. Why is it OK discuss Kumon but none of the valid alternatives?

Either ban the threads on Kumon too, or allow an intelligent discussion of the pros and cons of the various alternatives that there are.

First, I'll start by re-stating my position that the Kumon learning methods do not appeal to me and I wouldn't put my kids through them.

Whether we call it "Kumon" or some other names, the repetitive nature of the learning methods does seem to serve a purpose for certain groups of learners, particularly those who tend to have concentration problems and issues of self-esteem and confidence. I encounter far too many youngsters who fail miserably with the most basic of mental arithmetic work with numbers. And without first having a solid foundation, it's very difficult to convince the learners to go beyond their comfort zone and explore the more interesting aspects of mathematics through application and problem-solving.

I feel the current generation of school-children are too quick to give up when they should persevere, too happy to say "I don't understand" and "I can't do it" when in reality they're saying "I don't want to use my brain because I don't like/enjoy maths, therefore I won't do it". In turn, the home and school environments are too lax to allow the children to relinquish that very important personal learning responsibility too easily.

It is high time to re-educate our children that it is a personal quality (and almost a noble one) to be able to persevere and achieve than to give-up everytime the learner encounters a difficulty or something that they don't like.