I'm soon to be 33 & I was taught at home by my mother until I was 15 & went to school.
My lessons consisted of working slavishly through English & Maths exercise books, reading excerpts from encyclopaedias & watching educational tv (e.g. wildlife documentaries, Sesame St, etc).
I'm now toying with the idea of teaching my own or going the flexi-schooling route, but here are my list of pros & cons.
Pros:
- I learnt lots of stuff at my own pace.
- I found the joy of reading
- I've additionally learnt (mostly by comparison with how learning happens in educational institutions) that you can't rely on just sitting in classes & waiting for "enough for the exam" knowledge to be spoonfed to you.
Cons:
- Though not exactly a shrinking violet or a must-have-my-own-way person, I've always felt that lacked social/people/reading body language skills
- I've never got out of seeing my mother as "mum" rather than "teacher".
- To this day, I still cringe at the sound of David Attenborough's voice (as well-meaning & interesting as he is).
Does anyone else have a similar experience & what are your pros & cons & what did you finally decide/come to that decision?
Happy to hear your thoughts, even if you haven't had a similar experience.
Thanks.