I was gifted and home schooled ask me anything

[Giraffapuses]

I was home schooled until going to university and identified as gifted by the National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth. Ask me anything.

[AlexaShutUp]

Why did you start this thread?

[plebsticle]

What do you do now?

[TrappedAndDepressed]

Had you heard of Myanmar before today?
Were you taught about the potato famine in Ireland?
Were you taught about the disgrace that is the British Empire?
Are you glad your parents didn't make you slum it in a state school?

[CoffeeRequiredNow]

Where does your lap go when you stand up?

[Giraffapuses]

@AlexaShutUp I started the thread because home schooling is a trending topic at the moment and I think there may be some misconceptions about.

@plebsticle I work for a sustainability consultancy in London, I make approx £65k per year and have a 'mid senior's job. I include this information as often when people ask what I do in relation to my education these are the details they want.

@TrappedAndDepressed I did not know about Myanmar before today and my history knowledge is bad. But this is less to do with homeschooling and more just a personal failing.

@CoffeeRequiredNow I don't know what this means.

[PrawnCorset]

@CoffeeRequiredNow

Where does your lap go when you stand up?

Lapland? Do I get a prize?

[Giraffapuses]

@PrawnCorset I thought it was a meme. My partner said it was a meme.

[thewinkingprawn]

@AlexaShutUp

Why did you start this thread?

I despair at how rude people are on mumsnet at the moment.

I think this is really interesting given current circumstances (although I am under no illusions that what we are doing is anywhere close to what actual home schooling is like).

My questions are: what did you most enjoy, did you ever go to mainstream school and do you feel you missed out on anything?

[Justajot]

What criteria did they apply to identify you as gifted? Curious because when schools used to identify 'gifted and talented' the number of pupils identified seemed huge to me, so I'm interested to know whether you are just one of them or genuinely gifted.

[KeyboardWorriers]

I am interested...
Any suggestions on good projects /topics etc.to stretch my very able son? I am working and he isn't set very much work by school.

Also what did you study at university and how did you find the transition?

And did you have formal teaching while you were homeschooled (tutors etc)? Did you follow a rigid timetable /subjects or how did it work?

[KeyboardWorriers]

(he's 10).... So far I have been using Outschool and a tutor for the "stretch " work but am interested in other ways too!

[Giraffapuses]

@thewinkingprawn I most enjoyed the freedom to focus on subjects that genuinely interested me and to form close friendships with other kids that shared my interests.

I did go to mainstream school. I didn't particularly like it so I went back to being home schooled.

I missed out on some common ground with other children and adults (e.g. my cultural reference points were often different).

[Giraffapuses]

@Justajot it was just the gifted and talented programme. I doubt i am gifted in the sense of being truly exceptional. However, I did have to work harder to prove it as I did not have any formal qualifications. I was required to write a load of essays instead. But, I'm nothing special and certainly no genius.

[Giraffapuses]

@KeyboardWorriers it might be interesting to look at self directed learning for your son. At first his self directed learning might be 'video games'. But, over time his ability to develop his own complex and challenging goals may expand. But above just have fun. He will only be 10 once! If you'd like to read more try John Holt's book How Children Fail

[SirenSays]

Would you choose the same for your children? Did you still have to take the same exams? I hated my mainstream school and begged my mother for a tutor/homeschooling.

[QueenPenny]

From what age? Did you then go back to school/ university ?
How sociable were you then and now?
How would you structure your own children's education if no holds barred
Any siblings, also home schooled?

[Giraffapuses]

@KeyboardWorriers sorry forgot to answer your other questions.

I studied politics and philosophy but I didn't put the effort in. So I only got a 2.ii. I was a bit done with education by the time I went and had other priorities at the time.

I didn't have a formal timetable just a set start and finish time which was more so that I wouldn't pester my parents all day than anything else. Learning time was about 3 hours. But, that didn't mean focusing for 3 hours none stop.

What I studied was mostly directed by me. It's pretty hard to learn anything without bumping into the 'important subjects' (maths, English etc). So, it worked quite well and peer pressure made me focus on tricky subjects like learning to read.

[grassisjeweled]

Were you left to roam around outside, unsupervised? Climbing tress, wading streams etc?

How did you learn resilience and autonomy?

[Hawkins001]

Some of the greatest minds from history were self taught, e.g. Ben Franklin, Einstein ect, sometimes i think home schooling can produce very intelligent and capable people.(I'm not implying that other methods of instruction and education can not,)

[Giraffapuses]

@randomusername2020 learning involved structured and unstructured study. Typical day looked something like this
9am maths with my dad (which I hated)
10:30 break

1pm - 3:30pm English and self directed learning with my mum (e.g. detailed exploration of a topic). The teaching methods varied in style. Everything from 'lets just Google it' to reading Plato.

Worth noting every day wasn't like this. Some days we would bin it off entirely and just go.to the beach and some days I was a little bastard and wouldn't do anything. For a proper view of this id suggest reading John Holt or Roger Scruton.

[ArosAdraDrosDolig]

Are you glad you were home educated?

How did you make friends? And did you miss the day in day our friendships that happen in school?

Do you feel you missed out on having a range of influences other than your parents?

I ask because I home educated my dc for a time and these are all questions I have asked myself.

Do you wish your parents had insisted on formal qualifications?

[Giraffapuses]

@SirenSays I have not chosen the same for my own children. I'm ashamed to say I chose my career over being their teacher. My compromise is that they go to a local Stiner school which is vastly more flexible than a typical school.

I'm sorry you found mainstream school so difficult. It (like homeschooling in the wrong hands) can be extremely traumatic. For clarity, by wrong hands I mean abusive parents, I don't mean making the odd mistake or not know every single subject.

[Giraffapuses]

@QueenPenny I was home schooled from 5-18 but the last 3-4 years were entirely self directed with little to no intervention from my parents (I found my own tutors).

I socialised fine until my teen years when I experienced a personal trauma that was unrelated to home schooling. This set me back significantly. However, now I am very sociable and have a group of friends.

If I could afford it, I would home school with the assistance of a tutor. I would allow my children to direct their own education as much as possible.

I was an only child which did make it harder sometimes as we also lived in the middle of nowhere. My dad did a lot of driving!

[Giraffapuses]

@grassisjeweled I roamed free a lot. We lived by a enormous wood which I would roam around in for hours supervised and unsupervised.

I learned autonomy through coming into contact with real problems (real for a kid anyway) and learning to solve them. At the time these challenges and setbacks felt like they had truly high stakes as they were thrown up by my own desires fears, insecurities and wants (they weren't invented by a teacher). I don't know what would count as proof of resilience or autonomy but I guess I've entered a fairly field of employment.