Please share your experiences of being home educated

[milou2]

I am a home educating mother now, but I went through the school system in the conventional way as a child/young woman.

What was it like being home educated and what are your thoughts on it now you look back?

No holds barred, just say what you think.

I was home educated and it was a really positive thing for me because school didn't work for me. I got bored very easily, wound up the teachers, played staff off against one another and generally was a giant pain in the butt.

Home educating with tutors gave me the freedom to work at my own pace, and the time I so badly wanted to do other more interesting things than sitting in class messing about. So for example, in the first 6 months I read a book a week from a list devised by my dad and I together, learnt how to scuba dive and got a job earning real money.

It meant I was able to take exams, even if I didn't do spectacularly brilliantly in them. But then I never used them to get into university because I could demonstrate practical elements of what I had been doing with my time off to get into the course I wanted.

I now run my own business after working for 10 years in the media industry and a lot of the self-discipline and motivation I have is a direct result of being home schooled.

Had I stayed in school? You'd find me in a dole queue somewhere...

Would I HE my kids? Yes, if it was the right choice for them as individuals. HE is not to escape dealing with getting along with other people or avoiding doing stuff you don't like doing. It's about motivating the child to be interested in learning overall.

hi thair i was reading your blog about how you were in school my son is 9 and he is the same way, he gets board easy and takes temper trantrums, it a good thing in the long run to home school, the teachers have asked me to do this, to me i think its an easy way out for them thanks morgsn

Hi mumsweet, you have asked quite a complex question. Please can you start a separate thread for it on the Home Ed board. It will get consideration and attention from more readers that way.

Just to add I've been wondering about asking this myself. Really would be interested to hear about HE from HE'd child's perspective after they've grown up.

I was taught at home from age 6 to 16 - i did half my gcse's at home over 1 year, then went to college to do the other half over another year.
I can imagine how useful it is for potential home educating parents to see examples of grown up HE kids (although we are a self selecting group; you might not find too many unemployed young men who were taught at home giving their opinions on here).
After GCSE's (some of which I learnt on my own, with a text book, some of which were learnt in groups of HE kids with a tutor), I did 3 A levels at college then went onto university. I have found that as time has worn on I don't get asked about nor mention the fact I was home educated, its just not an important thing anymore. I'm holding down a fairly well paid job, as are both of my best HE friends. I have a mortgage, a fiancee, I'm fairly normal! I just have a different outlook on life which I think makes all the difference.
As NorthernGirl said I'll definately be educating my own children at home if that's right for them. In fact my mum cannot wait for that day, so I go through some of the same trials and tribulations she did!
Its not going to be easy, its expensive, you get marked out as a freak (although less so now i think) and I can imagine having the kids around all the time can be a blessing and a curse.
I always find it amazing how many teachers home educate. Don't you find that particularly insightful?