Alternative schooling

I was super-fortunate to get into an independent secondary school when I was 10, thanks to connections of my then-headmaster (who I sadly never got the chance to thank) and support from my local county council (which definitely wouldn't happen now alas). It was still stressful, especially because it was a boarding school and I was away from my parents, but I wouldn't have gotten nearly half the qualifications I did if I'd stayed in the state system.

Personally, I think the best alternative to the current state system is… a state system that's properly funded and supported. Private education remains a luxury that's beyond the reach of most folks.

I had experience of both state and private education and sadly I can't say that private was a luxury. They even more wanted me to conform to what they wanted me to be and had ridiculously strict rules that I was expected to obey with no flexibility. Horribly uncomfortable uniforms. Same level of bullying. No understanding for my needs. It was a very unpleasant experience.

I just hated school, right from the start, from my first day at infants, I think it was partly my parents fault for not preparing me, in that I rarely played with other children and regularly only one other, so I was totally overwhelmed, that never went away.

I think less group work would have been good for me, more independent study. I still hated working in groups at uni.

Definately no uniforms, or running about in your underwear for PE at primary school. Rules that made no sense, the social gap between the teachers and pupils seemed unbreachable, we were all working class kids who had our main meal during the day, we'd never heard of lunch, but were made to call it that, lots of little things like that.

I do agree with EP about the need to learn basic English and Maths, but I hated them, I coulldn't do maths at all and being dyslexic my English wasn't very good either. 

Overall I think classes or schools divided into learning styles would be better, trying to teach someone who's visual in a verbal style dosen't work nor does it vice versa. I also think we need to ask what are we educating people for? On the surface its obvious, but when you scratch below the surface it isn't. The world has changed so much since I was at school, I dont' feel that school prepared me in any way for the adult world, it didn't teach me how to learn, it was so segregated into who would work in a shop, who would work in a minor clerical role and who was factory fodder, but most of all there was no amibition for us beyond a couple of years of work before getting married and having babies. It didn't seem much better when my children were at school either, they couldn't cope with the bright ones who found the work easy, who got bored and they just couldn't seem to cope at all really. Schools seem to be so focused on those of us who sruggle to learn at the expence of those who don't, those who don't struggle seem to be left to their own devices and aren't stretched.

I think schools and FE colleges could do a lot more to prepare students for university, it's so different to college or school, so many struggle and many of the people I saw struggle the most were the ones who were privately educated, they were so used to being spoon fed so they'd pass exams and keep the schools reputation up they couldn't work on their own.

I just hated school, right from the start, from my first day at infants, I think it was partly my parents fault for not preparing me, in that I rarely played with other children and regularly only one other, so I was totally overwhelmed, that never went away.

I think less group work would have been good for me, more independent study. I still hated working in groups at uni.

Definately no uniforms, or running about in your underwear for PE at primary school. Rules that made no sense, the social gap between the teachers and pupils seemed unbreachable, we were all working class kids who had our main meal during the day, we'd never heard of lunch, but were made to call it that, lots of little things like that.

I do agree with EP about the need to learn basic English and Maths, but I hated them, I coulldn't do maths at all and being dyslexic my English wasn't very good either. 

Overall I think classes or schools divided into learning styles would be better, trying to teach someone who's visual in a verbal style dosen't work nor does it vice versa. I also think we need to ask what are we educating people for? On the surface its obvious, but when you scratch below the surface it isn't. The world has changed so much since I was at school, I dont' feel that school prepared me in any way for the adult world, it didn't teach me how to learn, it was so segregated into who would work in a shop, who would work in a minor clerical role and who was factory fodder, but most of all there was no amibition for us beyond a couple of years of work before getting married and having babies. It didn't seem much better when my children were at school either, they couldn't cope with the bright ones who found the work easy, who got bored and they just couldn't seem to cope at all really. Schools seem to be so focused on those of us who sruggle to learn at the expence of those who don't, those who don't struggle seem to be left to their own devices and aren't stretched.

I think schools and FE colleges could do a lot more to prepare students for university, it's so different to college or school, so many struggle and many of the people I saw struggle the most were the ones who were privately educated, they were so used to being spoon fed so they'd pass exams and keep the schools reputation up they couldn't work on their own.

TheCatWoman said:

PE

I would have liked that to be optional even when young - I deeply hated gym + sports etc partly because I was undiagnosed as acutely short sighted so I was as likely to run into sports equipment as jump over it.