Kumon???

[unsure1]

My girl is five. Many of her classmates are doing Kumon Math in the afternoon. I am undecided if I should send her too or would she be disadvantaged if I wouldn't send her. I am just not used to these afternoon tutorial sessions. When I grew up pupils would go for afternoon sessions if they were really bad at one subject. Now it seems that pupils are doing Tutorials to be better then what is asked from them.
My girls is saying that she wants to do Kumon just like her friends. (She doenst know very well what Kumon is about though). I just wonder if you could share some opinions on this. I remember that I was a very bad math student myself and wonder if I would have been better if I had done those tutorials. I am confused!

Thanks.

[teacher...]

Whether you send her to Kumon depends very much on whether you agree philosophically with drilling children in basic maths facts.  Some parents are appalled at the idea of extra tuition of any kind, others see it as a necessity.  You seem unsure so here's my view.

The western model of maths teaching is good at teaching the concepts in maths - lots of manipulatives and discussion about the meaning behind the operations.  This is good because when it comes to problem solving the children are more likely to know which operation to use and why.  However, many children can't calculate quickly as their knowledge of number bonds, times tables etc is weak.  This is where Kumon can be very useful.  Whether you think it is important to do quick mental arithmetic is something you will have to think about, but if you are concerned she may not keep up with the rest of the class because they are all doing Kumon, then you will need to factor this in. 

Kumon is not the answer for children who are conceptually weak at maths but is great for drilling the basic maths facts and ensuring their mental arithmetic is up to scratch.

[kate smith]

if you child is asking so not to be left out why not try it out? You must prepare her that it is a commitment for a long period of time. You also have to commit to doing homework which is investing time for it each week including holidays & weekends. When you go on holiday you take the work with you.

you have to commit to class twice a week and wait around to pick up. There is no fixed time for pick up so you need to hang around.

as previous post, it quickens mental maths. It also teaches discipline and dedication to the subject.

you will find your child lags behind in maths if all the kids are doing it. If you can't beat them join them....

[Alternatives]

Are there any alternatives to Kumon? If I am going to send my child to extra maths lessons I would like to send them to a reputable one. Any other recommendations apart from Kumon?

[Alternatives]

Sorry, I should have explained myself a bit better. The 2 previous posters have some very good points about grasping the basics. Sadly I feel that whilst my child's IB school is doing a great job on many fronts, I do not feel that my child has a good grasp of the basics in Maths. For example, whilst my son seems to be extremely bright, he doesn't even know how to do basic addition and subtraction. At 6, I think he should have been taught this at school by now. I am thinking of getting him some extra maths tuition just to get him over the basics, hence my question.

[qwerty syndrome]

If your son is in an IB school you are paying a fortune for educational advice- why come here for armchair educators ideas....and please why "should" he know all these basics at 6? Just because you did?