The Student Room Group

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I agree with this, and probably could have self-taught by the time I was in year 10 if I was given the specification and resources etc. and may have done better without the distraction of certain troublemakers in class. what do you class as amazing grades though? cos I certainly didn't achieve any A's, like ever - I do blame the school system for this though, because some people distracted the teacher in lessons which they couldn't control, frustrating.
(edited 3 years ago)
Yeah I agree. Especially in A levels.
the student room would be a useful resource if schools were ever to be abolished though and everyone learnt from CGP and TSR, lol :smile:

certainly agree with your statement apart from the statement where TSR is a place where ``all students achieve amazing grades`` - NOT TRUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! `all students achieve amazing grades` is a TSR stereotype across the study boards I have picked up on and I would like to make this aware it isn't always true.
like at gcse, because TSR helped me achieve BETTER grades than i normally WOULD have done - if amazing grades are all A*-A's then I guess I can't reply to your thread because at gcse i got 3 b's, 2 c's and the rest d's and 1 e, plus a retake in maths was required, plus d's in ALL science's. I am a fairly hardworking student, but have never excelled at any proper academic subject, I have struggled with maths since primary &exams did not suit my learning style at all either not helped by the education system, coursework is a saviour but a curse also :smile: (sorry for the rant btw but it a fact that unfortunately not everyone is Einstein)
(edited 7 years ago)
I felt school was a waste of time when it was mandatory, but after that point it's been worthwhile. The people who obviously don't want to be there are eventually filtered out to leave behind the people who actually want to get on with their studies rather than waste time and distract their peers. To get the most out of school you actually need to want to be there and aspire to do well!
I've never met someone who was home schooled that had even remotely good social skills.
I've also not ever had any managers with poor social skills.

I'm not saying this is always the case, but being around your peers as children improves your social skills, and people with poor social skills do not do that well in life. If I had to choose between having great grades (but poor social skills) and having great social skills (but poor grades) I'd take the social skills.

Also good luck trying to convince your average primary school student to self teach.
If you think about the kind of students who disrupt classes and loiter after school, chances are they won't have the discipline or capability to self teach. Even with school, I know one guy who got a U... in History.. at GCSE. He was definitely in classes but none of it went in or he simply didn't care.
Reply 7
Self teaching is definitely more productive. Pretty much did that at uni and ended up graduating with a first. **** A-Levels too. Most teachers don't care about our futures.
Original post by UWS
Self teaching is definitely more productive. Pretty much did that at uni and ended up graduating with a first. **** A-Levels too. Most teachers don't care about our futures.


Most? Really? Some sure..
Reply 9
I agree 100% i even wish my parents actually encouraged this when i was younger. I've found school a complete waste of time, teaching is usually slow, there are various distractions and teaching in my area is really focused to those without academic rigour, so i always have to self teach the topics and make the links to get the A and A* grade. I've recently self taught a unit that would take 2 months of straight teaching throughout the day in 2 days. But i guess I'm just a quick learner. :biggrin:
(edited 3 years ago)
idk I think school gives you good experience and advice in a way that self-teaching and tutors can't provide.
U also make so many good friends and some people learn better together/in groups.
Its definitely not a waste of time imo anyway :wink:
Original post by Just a Bloke
While autodidaction may be educationally better I can imagine entirely home-taught children grow to become socially retarded.


I'm friend with someone who's been self taught for most of their education - I personally think they've been very well socialised in some ways, but not in other ways, They're not `socially retarded` though the phrase is mean, but I can tell they're going to get a shock when they go to our local FE college though, but its not a bad thing it'll be more of a culture shock than anything
I think I was that quiet kid in class who could be quiet and well behaved enough, not to be taken noticed of by the teachers - that was definately the case in primary school - never ever spoke- had speech&language therapist when very very little, because of shyness, so avoided talking in class etc, never liked doing maths - was in a group where we got help to understand maths, because everyone who knew me was focusing on trying to help me to speak, so everything else was less focused on (wasn't helped i was socially excluded by everyone in my class by girls who were generally petty people), so maths got generally better in high school, but maybe not so good grades because I was mainly in bottom sets because of the social reason as I was more confident in small classes...

despite being an advanced reader from a young age. but hey I was one of the highest scorers in my health and social care AS level - top 0.5% scorers in the country
Original post by Just a Bloke
While autodidaction may be educationally better I can imagine entirely home-taught children grow to become socially retarded.


Yes, you are imagining it. I home schooled my grandson - he never went to school. He's 17 and at college now. All his tutors say he is well-adjusted, well-mannered and achieves well. However, just like you, I might be generalising here. The kids in his year are, for the most part, a bunch of semi-literate hooligans. If that's what the school system does for them, you can stick it were the sun don't shine. The college itself had an awful OFSTED report, much of it to with the behaviour of pupils and the inability of college staff to deal with it.
Of course, there are families I know whose children were home taught and were definitely not well socialised, even go so far as to say were feral and were allowed to run wild, but they are the extreme end of it.
Depends on your character really. If you are the kind of person that can self teach an entire subject then it might be. It also depends on how enjoyable your school life is. Personally my social life at school is better than that at home, i laugh more often compared to when i am home. My life at home is constantly repetitive, i actually appreciate the college i go to, there is still stuff i dislike but the things i enjoy outweigh all the other moments that make me feel dull. I go to boarding school btw.
(edited 3 years ago)
Two words:
I agree
Yeah it is in a way. However I like going to school to see my friends and teachers and what not. In addition to this most people are unable to self teach as they do not have the motivation or resilience required to do so.

I will have self taught myself M1 in about 2 weeks so I am proud of that! :biggrin:
I think that it depends on some factors. If education system is poor then school is definitely a waste of time. I remember from my childhood that I would only look forward to go to school for select 1 or 2 subjects because there were good teachers who knew their stuff.
Even though I've had a rough public school experience I would probably send my kids to a public school. It builds character and the kids who want to do well usually excel. To people on TSR getting B's and C's is "under achieving" but in the general pool of students it's exceptional. Plus people with excellent academics aren't automatically well-rounded individuals. Bad experiences allow us, in my case particularly, to be more tough and headstrong. I was once the quiet kid who just went with the flow then I realised I wanted to leave my mark on this world once Im not here anymore. Although I do accept some schools in the country are appalling but I don't blame the kids. The so-called people who "don't care" sometimes don't have the spoilt lifestyle we expect them to have. There was a girl in my class who was really disruptive and we all thought the usual oh she's just spoiled - turned out her mum is a drug abuser and she's been in several different care homes - kicked out of many. She's an incredible person once you get to know her. Point is these kids "who ruin your education" are human beings with perhaps more challenges than yourself. Not to critisize your opinion but it's worth consideration.
Reply 19
Grammar schools are no different, other than the pressure and anxiety to do well. I go to one, I'm really miserable and everybody I know is really miserable, and there are just as many people who don't care and mess about in class and just as many teachers who simply don't care. Grammar schools are a joke, all schools are.

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