Kumon or tutoring for Year 9?

[hercules1]

Which is better? Fed up of not very good tutors. I like the idea of kumon being every day - maths and english.
Ds is bright/top group etc however I'm disatisfied with his school at the moment and the amount of homework he is getting.

Is kumon good for GCSE level at maths and english?

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I think you're not getting many responses because kumon is a system, and it's a system that starts young. V. few people start it at your stage.

On my understanding, it starts with lots of arithmetic and they are quite keen on starting the system at the start. So very few people put their dc into the Kumon system in later years because they would have to start with all the arithmetic basics (which they should have done, in some form,) before they get to all the GCSE-specific stuff.

I see what you mean. Would there be a benefit though to him doing it for at least this year and then tutoring for Yr 10 and 11 I wonder?

Why, when you say he is in top set, are you considering more study of the same?

Why not encourage a new skill in the time he isn't doing homework? Anything from a community group, like Scouts, or learning an instrument or - if he is a really academic child - an evening class towards a GCSE in Astronomy, or something.

He already does quite a bit non academic stuff. My concern is poor teaching at his school and barely any homework set. I want him to achieve his potential and this isn't going to happen without some sort of intervention. It's unlikely to come from him so needs to be tutor (cant seem to get a decent one) or Kumon.

What level is he working at?

Do you want consolidation or stretch and challenge out of the tutoring?

End of yr 8 was working at 7c. He did badly in the kumon tests for his age and said (which they reiterated) that he hadnt been taught that sort of stuff since primary.

I want him to do well at GCSE and I guess want consolidation and stretching.

GOt to go out now but will be back later.

What does your son think?

He would like something but doesnt mind if it's a good tutor or kumon.

I'd meet with all the options, and include a third option (which is asking the school for further intervention) and then having met with them all let my child choose (after all they are the ones that need to actually do the work).

I wouldn't personally stress with a child achieving 7c and I'd encourage them to do other things or have mates around to play rather than extra homework as I would be worried they may burn out of study at a young age - I'd prefer them to build up the emphasis on study as they get older and enjoy being a child. Then again, that's just me. Perhaps they absolutely need to get an A* to follow a chosen career path.

As I said he does lots of other stuff. My concern is he has hardly any homework.
I did the whole approach the school thing last year but it made no difference. I'm a secondary teacher also and I guess I'm a bit cynical about getting the issues sorted in the short term and long term as I can't see a solution upcoming.

Chance'd be a fine thing of him burning out! .
I'm lucky if he gets 2 hours a week h/w as it is!

If he is capable of achieving an A* then that is exactly what I want him to achieve.

Hi Hercules

did your son start kumon english and was it useful?

my son is going to start yr 7 and i am thinking about kumon english for him.

I'm a former Kumon instructor. I did have Year 7,8 9 and even year 10 students starting Kumon (mostly maths). It is harder starting at an older age, and older starters tended to leave after a year or so once their maths got to "grade level." I've written an article 8 Things To Hate About Kumon - A Review on my maths blog, which talks about the pros and cons and how parents can use the Kumon principles to tutor their own child.

Regarding the Kumon English program, I don't think I'd recommend it. Yes it is a structured, daily program,using a variety of texts, but it's essentially lots and lots and lots of comprehension exercises and although I'm no English specialist (I'm a former maths teacher), I'm sure you can just pick up some books from Amazon or WH Smith's and do 20 mins a day.

Have you thorght about using something like BBC Bitesize to compliment what he is learning in school.

Or a good GCSE maths computer programme. DD bought one from the school but it takes you through all the grades. What he will be learning in year 9 will cover the lower GCSE grades.

Hi
We did Kumon for a few weeks but then switched to tutoring for maths and science.

Was he 7c in everything at the end of year 8? If so he's doing very well indeed, and I don't think you need to worry about his progress. Many people don't think homework is particularly useful anyway. How about doing him a reading list instead of tutoring?