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Photo K. Ananthan

A DIFFERENT SCHOOLING The Eswars learn from home

No scouting for the tie, no pressing the uniform, no lugging school bags, no waiting for the school bus, no facing the angry teacher, and, we might as well say it — no going to school! Welcome to the world of home-schooling. An increasing tribe of parents in the country is moving towards educating children in the luxury of their homes. And, the reasons are plenty.

Take for instance, Raajiv Yaduvanshi and Smritee in Goa. When they were in Puducherry, they chanced upon a non-formal school and were impressed with the system. “We were convinced that there was no other way we would bring up our children.” However, transfers took them to other places, and without non-formal schools, they decided to home-school their daughters Surabhi and Urvy. Similarly, Kanwarjit and Yashodara, who were teachers, home schooled their son Anant after they moved out of the school they were working in.

However, for Coimbatore-based innovation and strategy consultants Krish Murali Eswar and Radha Eswar, it was the frustration with the current education system that forced them to pull their children out of regular schools. “The system kills the spirit of an individual,” regrets Murali.

Vineeta Sood, co-founder of Bhavya, an alternate education and learning centre in Bangalore, opines that one of the reasons that her son Nitye Sood was mostly home-schooled was because she wanted her children “to grow into individuals who are in touch with themselves and grow into self reliant, sensitive, sensible and creative human beings. Children have their own agenda. The regular system expects them to do what we think is right. It deprives them of their own base, and creates dependence of a life time”.

But can home-schooling work even if one of the parents disagrees with the idea?

Murali, whose children Achyuthan, Janani and Aditi have been home-schooling for a year, asserts that it is important for both parents to look for what is good for the home environment and the children. “Consensus in decision makes a lot of difference, for, conflict between the parents will affect the children.”

All of them agree that there is no need for a set syllabus for the lessons. The focus is always on the child’s interest.

Says Smritee: “I never could relate to ABCD as a child, so I never taught my children that. They were exposed to Nature, and were comfortable with animals, birds, and climbing trees. Travelling taught them more than a classroom could.” She adds that there were frequent field trips, visits to the library, the beach, movies, and exposure to theatre, dance, music, and participation in workshops on art, craft, mehendi, etc.

She stocked up on workbooks, and they built up a ‘colourful library’ for the children. Vineeta believes that the purpose of education is to keep children’s curiosity alive. “For instance, when we were in Assam, near Kaziranga, there was plenty of elephant watching, sky gazing, and even walking after the rain to look at mushrooms.” She narrates how even math (addition, averages etc.) and geography (looking up various countries) were learnt during the cricket World Cup!

Opinions are divided on whether home-schooling is an expensive proposition. While a few point out that it is a continuous process of adding resources, others say it is much less expensive considering how school fees have skyrocketed. But, most of them are swift to add that it does require a lot of investment in terms of time, energy and patience.

What about examinations? Home-schooling children have the option of taking up examinations in India through the likes of National Institute of Open Schooling or Cambridge International Examinations. Nitye (18), son of Vineeta says that mock tests and tuitions prepared him to take the board examinations. “Examinations are made an enjoyable experience, for, they are not bigger than the child,” says Vineeta.

One common complaint is that children taught at home fail to socialise. However, most parents of home-educated children disagree. They strongly believe school is not the only place where socialising happens.

Shalini Somesh, consultant rehabilitation child psychologist, says: “Even if home-schooled children found friends, they may lack the academic interaction that a classroom offers. Further, lack of comparative assessment may result in lack of motivation.” On the brighter side, though, it lets children learn at their own pace, and no comparison only means less pressure, Shalini adds.

Finally, does home-schooling put pressure on the children? No, says Nitye. “The learning process was smooth because I decided what to learn, and had the liberty to choose what I wanted. There was help from mother, when I needed any. And, I always had the time to focus on my interests such as music and tennis.”

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