Tell me about the most educated families you know

[feralunderclass]

And what their homes are like? This isn't a class thread BTW, as obviously 'educated' can be very subjective. I just love hearing about different people's (nice!) homes.
My parents both left school at 16 and worked their way up to management in their mid 30s. They both did higher qualifications along the way. We lived in a very white, provincial town (that is considered MC). Little to no exposure of different races/religions.

Our home was very ordinary, both parents read a lot, but we didn't have any non fiction books. At weekends we visited relatives and on Saturdays I would have gone to the hairdressers with DM and then food shopping. Saturday night Chinese takeaway in front of the TV. Mum watched all of the soaps, Dad liked history, but none of this was ever conveyed to us, if that makes sense?

We went abroad on holiday but didn't really leave the resort, might have gone on a few organized day trips but nothing historical. I can't ever recall going for a walk or to the park with either parent, and I hadn't heard of NT until I joined MN.

Parents were supportive of education but not pushy in any way, they would have been happy to pay for books, tutoring etc but they never instigated this. I did go to the local grammar. Neither asked about my UCAS form (it's very possible they didn't know what it was) or pushed us in any direction.

On paper, we were an educated, fairly MC family. But after joining MN I don't feel like we had an educated upbringing, when I hear stories of families eating around the table and discussing world events (I don't think we knew that there was life beyond our town!) it just seems so lovely, and weekends spent in NT properties with lots of nice books on the coffee table.

Not really much point to this thread other than to hear nice stories of families who talk about what's going on around the world and what their houses were like. Books, travel photos, holiday souvenirs etc.

I once did a course with a lovely woman who amazed and inspired me. She was in her late 60s at the time, a retired health visitor. We became good friends, despite a 20+ year age gap. She's now in her late 70s and is a feminist, socialist, involved in charity work, alongside spending time with her growing number of grandchildren! Her cosy, welcoming home is full of books and interesting magazines and the conversation is always interesting and stimulating. I love spending time in her company and used to daydream that she was my Mum!

I think a lot of this is how people present themselves. For example I know people who have been to Oxford and Cambridge who let everyone know about it. However as an example one of these is now taking an accountancy qualification (also talking about jt a lot) yet in reality it's very low level qual compared to my husband who has been CIMA qualified for years and has numerous post grad quals in accountancy as well. Yet because this person went to Cambridge it's perceived as "oh wow they are doing another qualification how clever" (by their social media followers at least!) and I imagine most people would view this person as far more academic than my other half.

Personally I come from a happy middle class household but made middle class by good earnings in a sales career not through academics. My household could certainly talk over dinner although whether it would be the intelligent variety you are after I'm not sure!

Just to reiterate, this isn't about money, big houses or what qualifications people have, or whether or not their dc went on to do academically well or not.
I mean those who are educated in the world, can talk about a wide range of topics, take a keen interest in education/welfare of the next generation. I'm interested in how they live (I doubt most people I'm talking about book a resort holiday and lie on a sun lounger all day sunbathing).
And this certainly isn't a woe betide me post, I had a good childhood but as I said very sheltered in terms of what was going on around the world.

I grew up in a pretty intellectual family. And the only thing they really valued were intellect/academic pursuits. Lots of reading and discussing current events, history, politics, philosophy and all sorts of other topics was common. We were read to lots and books were generally a super important part of our lives and we didn't have a TV. It was always assumed that we would go to university and there was lots of discussion about what we'd like to study. We were also taken to museums, galleries, historic places and classical music concerts, the ballet etc. We listened to a lot of classical music and the America equivalent of Radio 4 (NPR that often had BBC world service programmes). Our parents also just generally spoke to us about anything and everything and there were lots of lively debates at the dinner table. My parents we're always reading philosophical texts to each other and discussing all sorts of different things. The downside of my upbringing is that I don't have much understanding of pop cultural and can sometimes struggle with to connect with people from more 'normal' backgrounds. So now I'm a parent I'm trying to give DS a more rounded childhood.

The best educated family I know were not well off growing up. Mum was a teacher and dad was an engineer. They lived in a very ordinary, non fancy house. Honestly, I think they were a little bit neglected. Low level and nothing awful, but they were left to their own devices a lot and they look back on their upbringing now and think it wasn't great. They don't have a good relationship with their parents now really and one of the kids is a full blown alcoholic. But they did extremely well at school and uni. One of them in particular did really well (not the alcoholic)

My DM basically modelled her parenting on an family she met when she was an au pair in Hampstead.

Both my parents were from working class backgrounds but read a lot of books. My DF got interested in classical music when he was in the Forces and got discounted tickets.

So there were a lot of books, meals around the dinner table and discussing world events - although my DM says they switched to the Daily Mail when I was young as I kept reading too many stories about wars, disasters and rapes.

They were also the masters of doing cultural activities on a tight budget, I think they knew every local children's free/cheap art class, free museum and we went out all the time.

A real hit which you wouldn't be able to do nowadays was finding local art students as childminders. It was fab, I got to do art all day

There was not a lot of money for holidays but a key rule was 'something for everyone' - so it would be one day railway museum for my dad, one day textiles for my mum and another day zoo for me.

My family was like this. My dad could never finish college due to health reasons and he was never supported. He is the most well read, rounded and sharpest person I know. My mum was first in her family to go to uni. They were wealthy but not necessarily 'posh'. They had me when my mum was 19 and dad 21. They were hellbent on me being educated. We debated and wrote, went to
demonstrations and museums.
I remember going with my mum to her lectures when she was 23. I was allowed to sit in the hall, by her feet and entertain myself with her rucksack. She would hide stickers, raisins etc. Then when we got home my dad would ask 'what I'd learned at university' that day.

My dh is from a working class family (parents from windrush generation). His mum used to look them into the bathroom (it was the only warm enough space) and read with him and his brother.

With our own children we do discuss/debate/read alot.
Mainly around equality and social justice. We do museums/plays etc
most weekends.

My Dss is a lecturer at Oxford.

He doesn’t read books apart from his subject, and goes climbing in his free time. He’s not stuck up and talks with a northern accent.

@Lollygaggle that sound wonderful.

Accademic branch live all over world, funny and always have really interesting dinner convo but about drier subjects but still interesting.other educated branch very wide in travel, interests and open minded.

My family isn't British and I grew up in continental Europe.

My parents were polar opposites (in many aspects), but chiefly in their political and world views.

DF is conservative, right wing, his mind is very STEM oriented and he's a pragmatic sort of person.

DM worked in child development is a published author and poet. She's now an elected politician for a (very) left wing party.

Our meals were punctuated by ferocious arguments about current events and sometimes more abstract discussions.

It wasn't a collegiate or friendly atmosphere though. It was loud, aggressive and I don't recall it fondly.

I was encouraged to pitch in and be interested in the world around me and I am thankful for that.

DF taught me many practical life skills, like car mechanics, boating, fishing etc.

DM taught me to cook, bake, took me to concerts, poetry readings and endless political conferences and volunteering events.

Our house was jammed packed with books and none were out of bounds, regardless of how old I was at the time.

I was also expected to learn a few foreign languages and practice organised sports.

My parents had a horrific relationship for 40 years (finally divorced recently), but I'm grateful for everything they exposed me to as a child and do strive to do the same for DC.

I'm interested in how they live (I doubt most people I'm talking about book a resort holiday and lie on a sun lounger all day sunbathing).

@feralunderclass I hate to break it to you, but I think you would find a fair few of us often sit on sun loungers 😁Apart from anything else a lot of us with academic/educated backgrounds have very stressful jobs with long anti-social hours and all need downtime occasionally. But I think that is the point though, like most things in life people don't fit into stereotypes. Interesting people are just interesting regardless of their level of education or background.

I'm loving all of these, sorry my phone is slow so I can't keep scrolling back to get usernames to tag.
I can totally relate to the poster who said they had little knowledge of pop music. I remember being on a bus on a school trip in year 6 and the radio was on and many were singing along to songs on the radio. I had no idea how they knew the words, we didn't even have a radio/cassette/Cd player at home.

I’m from a fairly average working class family. My parents were a funny mixture of being ambitious for me, yet also thinking that certain things were out of our station in life. For example, we had Duke of Edinburgh award schemes at school, but I had no idea that I could join them.

As it is, I now have three degrees, and have had a very successful career. My husband is degree educated, and has excelled in his area of work. Our children have had music lessons, been to museums, joined sports clubs, had nice holidays, and all that standard M/C stuff. (And they have all done D of E!)

We discuss politics, and Scooby Doo, and my encyclopaedic knowledge of 80s pop songs, and history, and the environment, and all kinds of stuff. The important things for me are curiosity and enthusiasm; if you lose those, all the education in the world counts for nothing.

Placemarking for later. I love this stuff too, op.

We are a very educated family - husband has 3 degrees and speaks several languages, I have a degree from Oxbridge. DD aiming at Oxbridge, son also very bright but asd.

Live in a thatched cottage with a beautiful garden with lots of fluffy pets, cat, rabbits, silkie chickens bit like Beatrix potter's cottage though DS best friend said we are like Paddington Bear's family. 😂Lot of handpainted furniture. Classic cars.

We travel a lot and have visited Australia largely for the wildlife and Great Barrier Reef as well as Sydney / Blue Mountains, recently Mauritius where we also went on a tour of an island with lots of wildlife, history of dodos and ebony trees, Costa Rica, Lapland, brown bears in Finland, etc. Sometimes independently, sometimes in resorts. Lots of watersports, snorkelling, ziplining, remote islands. Do discuss politics and economics a lot. None of us are massive readers of books but do lots of research online, always non-fiction. Quite relaxed for dining. Did visit a lot of National Trust, English Heritage, RHS gardens and a few museums. Often do wildlife spotting trips. Love steam trains.

I suppose I have a family like you're describing. Books everywhere, from history to Dostoyevsky. Dad's a history nut and mum likes gardens, art and culture so we did NT places, art galleries, ballet and castles. Spoke about politics, religion and all the things you're supposed to avoid. Learned languages, lots of cheap holidays in France and we kids had to learn the language and speak to people. Mums friends were artists so we spent time throwing pots, painting and with folky people. Lots of bee keeping and macrame.

My dad was the first in his family to go to university, mum went to college. Both from single mum households, poor as church mice, we grew up in a not very nice part of South London. Local comp. But education, for them, was the 'way out'. The only way for kids from mining/mill towns to move away. You soaked up culture so you could fit in anywhere. Which also means you fit nowhere.

I'm very glad of the love of books, travel and culture. But not in a snobby way. I can't stand the horror on here when anyone has a McDonald's.

The people you describe sound really nice and, to my mind truly educated and cultured @Libraryloiterer...... can't help but think a lot of others on here sound pretty conceited and self important - not a way of life I would aspire to!

My dad was a mathematician at Cambridge then went into computing to earn money, and was also a gifted amateur (competitive) classical musician. My mum was a novelist and poet who taught literature at university. One of my first cousins is a geneticist who worked on the Human Genome Project and is not at Cambridge doing research into Alzheimer's. I have two MSc degrees and worked as a research scientist and now write popular non-fiction books for a living.

Our house was a standard three-bed suburban semi, but with books everywhere. Crowded bookshelves in every single room including the bathroom, kitchen, and landing.

We had a church organ in our dining room which is definitely unique.

I find this interesting. My family on both sides were educated lower middle class. Teachers and civil servants. My grandparents generation were very well traveled due to the War or post war empire (my great aunt sent 4 years teaching in the Caribbean for example). All had tertiary education. My parents were grammar school kids who met at university in the 60s. Books, classical music, politics everywhere.

My dad especially constantly learned, debated etc. we weren't too well traveled as we couldn't afford it but we did driving holidays to France or Scotland and visited museums and historical sites.

Dhs household very different. He was expected to leave school at 16 (he stayed til 17), expected to do a trade. Few books, tabloids. No debate. However he had grandparents who did nurture him a bit more so he's curious.

He's never learned to debate though and things get very combative which I hate.

My kids have a mix. Lots of books in every room , one plays an instrument, lots of museums and castles and NT but not much travel. They will watch quite complex stuff like the NT plays that were streamed or ballet or opera and love going to the theatre but then watch love island and big bang theory.

It's a nice mix I think. I would like them to learn to debate better - dd1 is very sharp but it descends to rows too quickly.

My parents are both professors, my grandfathers were both professors and my grandmothers were both lecturers. I have 2 siblings with PHDs who are senior university lecturers.

I am the black sheep of the family as I only have a masters!

We had books EVERYWHERE. Piles of them on side tables, bookshelves all around the room. Lots of fiction but also loads of non-fiction and massive reference books for everything you could think of. Totally normal for people to get up from mealtimes and come back with a giant encyclopaedia of something so they could check a point.

Days out were to national trust places/stately homes/museums. Holidays were with the landmark trust (they preserve old historical buildings and rent them out to cover the cost).

As hobbies we learnt musical instruments, painted, and learnt random new subjects or languages that weren’t covered in school but struck our fancy.

Mealtimes were full of what we’d all read about/learnt that day, politics etc.

Looking back this was all lovely and I certainly have no complaints about my childhood.

But…..we focused so much on academia that we didn’t do any sport or active hobbies, our house was messy and dusty to the point we were embarrassed to bring friends over, and we all spent our teenage years studying instead of socially/emotionally growing up. So it’s not the life I’ve chosen for my kids.

The only non graduates in my family going back several generations are my mother and my son. DP is the first graduate in his-although 5 of his 9 nieces and nephews are graduates.

3 of my 4 children have degrees with one on her 2nd bachelor's now, she left school with nothing due to undiagnosed dyslexia and ADHD. She did Access after working for several years. I have a degree but went at 49 as my parents forbade me at 18.

My kids studied education, sociology, politics and I did a health care qualification.

My ex husband is uneducated.

Without him we went to museums, art shows, and watched period dramas. Anything that was free. We were on either full benefits or top up ones and due to living in the West county with no car couldn't access galleries but I would save and we went to London to the nat history museum. I read classics and art books and watch similar.

I still live in social housing. We are DA survivors.

We talk about Socrates and Aristotle, the foundations of democracy (not v democratic) and also art and political movements. When we changed our name 3 of us chose the name from a classical novel and my GS has this as his surname.

We have been under class until recently, financially, socially and educationally. My own family hated that I read as a young person and I have been LC or NC for decades.

Realistically we don't fit in with our wider family or our neighbours and it has caused isolation and conflict in both.

If I was a teen today, I'd probably be a Taylor Swift fangirl, which is fine, but when the rest of your family is discussing which Gregorian Chant recording is the best...

This made me laugh. I relate! I grew up with parents who listened to endless classical music and the Canadian R4 equivalent. When I was 12 or so my mother took me to see a one-woman play about Julian of Norwich. You get the drift... they had no frame of reference for pop culture. I love R4, but I also love popular music, and I knew even before I had children that one of my parenting goals would be to find shared cultural reference points with my DDs. So we listen to a lot of Top 40 together. Luckily there is lots of pop music we all love.

And there it is, the anti-intellectual strain that runs deep through British culture.

I find this really fascinating. On paper my parents are much less educated than my in laws or my extended family (think everyone else going to Oxbridge, my parents having left school after A-Levels).

My extended family are much more into social justice issues I would say so their houses were always very exciting because of that.

My in laws are much more classically middle class in interests - think classical music concerts and mention key concepts or names. A lot of cultural capital. But aside from the music they just have what I’d call an educated dinner party knowledge about a lot of things. If you asked them to talk about a favourite book they could answer but without much fervour.

My family and a lot of friends family will talk a lot more passionately about certain intellectual interests - think playing instruments, Shakespeare, theatre, wildlife, Dickens, Thomas Hardy, history, books in the broadest sense.

I think a lot intellectual pursuits are coded by class in the UK despite it being little to do with it in a lot of cases. Think of the weird reaction to Angela Raynar visiting Glyndebourne.