DS7's school is using EM. The teacher requires him to explain his answer and create a few different ways to come up with the answer. However, he doesn't like to explain his answer or create different ways to do the same problem. His teacher has been complaining about him. DS's psychologist doesn't think that the teacher should force it on him.
Also, some parents in school complain that EM lacks drill. I am not sure if it's true.
I grew up in an asian country. The style of teaching is just like SM. SM emphasizes on drills. I personally like SM. I can compute very fast with confidence as an adult. I might not be able to find different ways to solve a problem when I was young, but I can certainly do it now as my skills improve over the years. SM is one of my favorite choice to do afterschooling with DS next year.
