Self-study

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Has anyone found they prefer this over classroom environments and coursework? What are your strategies for structure and meeting goals?

Just curious for any bonus tips, as I've found it to be the only way for me to learn some subjects and the best way for me to learn in general. Especially in elementary school, I struggled to understand what my teachers were asking of me (other times, I taught my classmates). Arithmetic in particular just sounded like gibberish.

Yes. In most classes I just sit there, run my mouth here and there to make sure it's noted that I'm participating, and then read up on it on my own outside of class. With very few exceptions, most of them happening in lower level classes where they tell you what will be on tests, the classes were worthless.

I've learned the most in independent studies, where I found all the course matter myself.

I do prefer self-study but I would also have to know where the appropriate material is, so I can actually get to work with it.

Usually, I find classes not very stimulating. Most of the time they want you to absorb theory or you listen to solutions given. This also exhausts me because I turn up to study but nothing eventually gets done. Over half a day has been wasted to listening and being inactive. It makes it worse that I have apnoea, too.

The annoying thing of self-study, however, is that when you use the course books, some publishers hold back the solutions for you as a student. You can only access those as a teacher. Also, some have additional online material, which are very useful but you can only access it for one year. This may sound like enough but it isn't when you failed a course the first year and need to wait a full year to take the same course again. It's all very inefficient and wasting my time.

I'd rather take control of my own studying. I'd rather ask a teacher what I need to know to become an expert at this and that and the teacher would give the resources to master it. If I would have any questions, I would be able to go to the teacher and ask for an explanation or perhaps extra practice. I only wish it was possible if you're someone who doesn't have the bankroll to pay for it.