Was your education a non-traditional delivery method?

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Eg. Montessori, Waldorf, Steiner, Sudbury

I was in a traditional gov't curriculum public school, but perhaps you were not.

I am curious about what type you were in, and how you regard your experience.

I went to a normal state school. It was pretty small, less than 100 kids in my year, many of whom I'd known from a very young age. Honestly this probably contributed to my late diagnosis, since I was relatively comfortable in my surroundings and routines and I knew what to expect most days. I think I was lucky like that really.

That said, I obviously did find things difficult below the surface, as it were, since I would stim, and I developed an ED (which I still have ) to kind of numb me from my surroundings. I didn't always understand my friends, and my interests didn't mature with theirs, but I was still in the popular crowd and my closer friends got me.

Educationally I was usually bored; I thought the work was not challenging enough and would daydream and doodle a lot. At first this annoyed my teachers but I got top grades so there wasn't much they could do . Every report card would say I needed to talk more in class, and that used to piss me off, because why.

The only subject I was bad in was gym, because I don't get team sports. I'm really into fitness now, but individual challenges like cycling, kickboxing, ballet etc. I was in the lower group for gym, which I didn't mind, but one time my teacher started patronising us as a group, and I lost it ; just because you're bad at sports doesn't make you an idiot (and actually, the teacher was an idiot). I flipped out and went on a massive rant at her; I can't stand to be patronised. The way I see it, the people in that group were there because they lacked confidence, often socially as well as gym-wise, and the school wasn't building confidence by separating and patronising people. I became a bit of a legend briefly because no-one could believe quiet little me could speak like that to a teacher . I didn't get into trouble because my points were valid, and because I was otherwise a model student lol. Anybody else hate gym class? It doesn't seem autism-friendly to me.

Thanks for replying.

Mostly, I went to "special schools." Occasionally, I went to "normal" public school.

Education was delivered to me in a didactic, traditional matter, mostly.

I'm a bit of an "auto-didact," so, until high school, I didn't learn much within a traditional classroom setting.

Even when I went to college, I believe I had enough background knowledge not to have to study or take notes very much. This might not have been a fortunate thing---for I never acquired academic discipline, precluding me from acquiring a professorial-level of knowledge, suitable for teaching the subject at hand.

I had enough knowledge to gain "A's," but I didn't synthesize it enough to be able to translate it for others. That's the crux of my problem when it comes to teaching.

When I was 14, I attended a non mainstream school for 2 years. A lot of what I know comes from my own research.

My education was traditional, I quess.

Nursery since age 3, near my grandma house.

Preschool and summer school ages 5-7(just a normal preschool). Bullying. I remember crying next to the teacher while I waiting for grandma to take me home.

Elementary school "Number 1" grade 1-3, near my grandma house. About 150 children a grade. Bullying. I remember loud school hall, hiding in "haunted" basement entrance because I preferred "ghosts" to the other kids(ghosts presence guarded me from bullying because other kids were afraid of ghosts and wouldn't come down there) and I was collecting fossils at school grounds during sports education outside when other kids played ball.

Elementary grade 4-6 and middle school (same building, just class shuffle). Mass school "Number 1" near my house (and away form my grandma house, me=latchkey kid at that time), 200-300 students a year, lots of bullying and noisy halls (we had to change classroom for every single lesson and we were not allowed to enter classrooms without a teacher). I used to hide in the cleaning lady room during school breaks. People from my new class thought I spent my 1-3 grades in special ed (there is a special ed school "Number 9" in the city my grandma lives) and wouldn't believe me when I insisted I was attending a normal school.

High school - private school, all grades, 6-20 people a grade. First time I experienced school life without bullying and got friends. Also the school bell was a melody, not mechanic one and we had most of lessons in the same classroom - you didn't have to leave them even during school breaks unless you wanted to go to restroom or cafeteria. You could leave your stuff in class closet and you could eat cafeteria food in classroom. It was perfect!

I never had any trouble with learning (except History of Poland, it was just too boring and complicated, all those politic relationships, wars and kings...). Actually I found most subjects too easy and had no idea what other students complain about. My only issue were bullying and noise.

I'm fortunate that I went to a rather small, private college.

I hate to say it: most professors thought I was smart enough not to have to take notes---so I was never asked about it.

You, obviously, have more academic knowledge than I do....so I can't see why anybody would have questioned you. Sour grapes, perhaps? You find that a lot in academic settings.

I took lots of notes in classes which required memorization (e.g., Anatomy and Physiology of the Speech Mechanisms).

When I did papers, I did them in such a distinct, idiosyncratic style that plagiarism was never even suspected. I always had my sources available, should questions have arose.

One kid, though, in my freshman year, wondered whether "I actually knew the meaning of the words which I was uttering."

Still.....despite all my "smartness," I have difficulty communicating material in a manner which is understandable to an "average" student. Thus, I'm not as "smart" as I think I am LOL

I went to public school till 5th grade when I went to a Catholic school. I struggled in those schools ALOT. I went to a school for dyslexia from the middle of 6th through 8th grade & I did really well there. We averaged around 30 students & there were 4 teachers The learning format was different & things went at a much slower pace. I was the best student around my age. I went to a Catholic high-school after that & I struggled in lots of my classes but did good in a few of the electives.

I have some experience with Steiner and Montessori pedagogics. What I can say is, some of these schools are very small and organized in an informal way, which means that a lot depends on the people running them. I've seen a couple of really horrible examples of these type of pedagogics, and some that are unusually good.

At best, Montessori schools are extremely good at unlocking academic potential in kids. On the other hand, the fact that there is a lot of one-on-one teaching can lead to the teacher ignoring group dynamics, which can get ugly.

Steiner schools have produced a lot of great actors, writers and artists, but seem less able to prepare kids for the world. I've seen some real Lord-of-the-Flies-situation because of the hands-off approach to social dynamics.

My employment has ZERO relevance to my tertiary education.

It's an ideal job for me, though. Lots of repetition, social interaction optional.

I have somewhat improved socially, though, because of my college education.