I always knew that a lot was expected of me, but because learning was important, not because I had to achieve XYZ. There were high expectations without insane pressure, and if a teacher was truly being unreasonable, they got that. My special interests were encouraged, but I was never made to feel like A Special Prodigy.
I think they could have pushed me a little more in high school, since I opted out of science my last two (!) years. However, I was a very difficult teen in other ways, and they may just have decided not to bother.
The house was full of books, TV was never a big element, and dinner table conversation was lively and intellectual. I was taken to museums and historic sites. All this was regarded as genuinely interesting, not a "supposed to do."
They actually did a lot of other stuff wrong, but in terms of this stuff, they did quite well. However, I'm not sure my sibs would answer the same way.
