By
Brian Taylor
, Oxford University
I Never Went to School
Ever looked out of the window early in the morning and seen the rain pouring
down, or the snow lying thick on the ground, and thought “I want to stay at
home today and not go to school”? Yes? I thought so. Well, that wish came true
for me when I was a child - every day.
No, I didn’t play truant, and no, my parents were not irresponsible
wasters. The reason was that I was educated at home by my parents. As the fifth
of six children, I was following in the footsteps of my brothers and sisters.
They had been to school and then decided they didn’t like it. Mostly it was
the teachers’ unsympathetic approach, but the petty competitiveness inherent
in most young children must have contributed to their dislike of the
conventional educational system. No doubt many children felt the same, but we
were fortunate in that we had another option. My parents had both been teachers,
so were equipped to teach us themselves, and their work commitments did not
interfere with the school timetable. My father ran his own business and was able
to organize his day as he wished. My mother was a housewife and so was able to
juggle her duties with “supply teaching” when my father was unavailable to
take us for classes.
It wasn’t the easy ride most people assume it to have been when they hear
about it. We did have to work, and our timetable and holidays corresponded to
those at the local schools. We learned all the usual subjects - math, English,
science, languages, and so on. But the atmosphere was far more relaxed than that
in most schools, if my friends’ accounts are to be believed. Our parents
expected us to do as much work as we could comfortably, but never drove us on,
not having league table and performance targets to worry about as the average
schoolteacher would. There were no exams and no deadlines, but we worked through
the textbooks at a steady pace. Because we were all at different ages, we all
studied different levels of textbooks, so there was no question of having to
catch up with the class or being restricted by slower pupils. There was no
competition and we were able to work at our own pace. This relaxed environment
did not make us lazy however - on the contrary. Natural curiosity and interest,
allied to Discipline was definitely better than in schools. Teachers have
limited means of punishing errant pupils. They can give them detention, but that’s
about it. Parents, on the other hand, can hit their children if necessary, can
stop them from going out and can impose similar punishments. But discipline at
home was mostly founded on respect. We respected our parents and this made our
working relationship much easier.
