School often brings back fond memories. More often than not, none of them involve the rebukes of strict teachers, the pressure of exams or the panic that precedes assignments and seminars. As schools steadily amp up the load, parents all over the country are slowly looking at alternate options to break free from the rigid structures of the educational system.
“Learning is not something that happens at a particular place, in a particular way,” says Priya Desikan who turned to homeschooling five years ago. Her son, Raghav, disliked school. There were restrictions on what he was allowed to eat, who he could be friends with and what skills he had to master. At the age of four, even before he’d seen enough of it, Raghav found the system too rigid and stifling. He wanted more flexibility and freedom, but the school expected him to fit into the mould they’d cast for the thousand others they educate.
Now, a little over nine years, Raghav is no longer the shy and withdrawn child his teachers claimed he was. He’s self-assured, and has taken charge of his own education. “He knows what he wants to learn, why and when. Also, how much he wants to delve into each subject,” says Priya, who trusts her child and believes in having open, honest conversations with him regarding his education.
“Children are naturally curious and they constantly want to understand things,” says Anita Balasubramanian, who wasn’t keen on sending her daughters to school right from the start. She sent her eldest to a Montessori school, anyway, just so she could decide for herself, only to have her come back and say she wasn’t ready to go to school yet. “The school wouldn’t let me observe her in class, and help her settle into the new environment either,” says Anita. So now, she educates her children at home, through what they call “life living”. The Balasubramanians take their daughters wherever they go — be it to work or to watch a performance — so that they learn through observation and questioning. Everyday is an opportunity to learn and every activity teaches something. Though their five-year-old daughter is yet to learn the alphabet series, she understands gardening, composting, dance, music and more. “I don’t think she’s missing out on anything,” says Anita.
For Manav Sreekumar (13) who has been playing tennis for the last four years, homeschooling with a tutor gives him the flexibility and opportunity to focus on the sport he loves. Till last year, his school hours would be sandwiched between practice sessions, meal times would be spent in the car, and when he returned home after a long, tiring day, it was only to pick up his books and head for tuitions. This year, his mother, Nandita Sreekumar, felt that “even if he writes 30 additional sheets worth of essays for each exam, how is he going to learn anything if he isn’t interested?”
Jerry George, whose two sons are musically gifted, also arrived at the conclusion that homeschooling would be a more convenient, flexible option for his sons who have already found their calling. “Education is necessary, but we are doing it without sending them to school,” says Jerry.
Sampoornam Gunasekaran has been homeschooling 11-year-old Siranjeevi for the last one year. Her soft-natured son, who was diagnosed with ADHD when he was two years old, was often bullied in school. She now teaches him herself using the school’s syllabus and other study material which goes beyond the curriculum. “I’m confident that his learning is on a with other children,” she says, adding that he is happy to be out of school.
While parents move their children away from established structures, they create new and flexible ones which work for them. Decidedly, there are many challenges to it and it isn’t for everyone. Children need the time and attention of their parents, or the financial backing to hire help and tutors. They need to be occupied and kept away from idling and hours of television.
Yet, this recent phenomenon is gaining traction as parents are increasingly thinking about the happiness and individuality of their children. Priya says she’s come across 30 odd families that have jumped onto the home-schooling bandwagon just in Chennai, a city that regards education the first pillar. Swashikshan — Indian Association of Homeschoolers, an online forum for home schoolers from all over the country, has over 1,000 parents coming together and engaging in conversation to learn from each other.
Though these children are missing out on the joys of school life, they get to pass up on the pressures too. Tough times and trials during school years often forge and cement friendships between children in the same age group. While Nandita says that the lack of a peer group was a major concern while deciding to pull her son out of school, Anita says that school only confined her daughter to interact with kids her own age; she now has friends who range from toddlers to thathas. “A child, if they grow up this way, will be a different person than if they go to everyday school,” says Anita.
