My mother tried to teach me to drive manual, but it didn't work so well. What did work was Dad tossing me the keys and saying "Go practice, don't wreck it." I just went out and did what I had seen him do over the years and I was road worthy in no time flat. Of course the fact that he tends to drive manuals a bit aggressively seems to have colored my approach to driving. I think my time between gears could almost be measured in micro-seconds...
I've never actually owned a car with an automatic, and I have no intention of breaking that streak any time soon.