Parents Are Choosing to Unschool Their Children

Some parents are tired of the conformist educational code in the nation and are now taking the path less traveled. They are choosing to homeschool and even unschool their children.

Rayn Samson from Pune did little apart from playing video games for five years. The 21-year-old didn’t attend school for even one day. Today, he has completed his IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education) and is appearing for his A Levels (IGCSE is graded from A to G, with U stated as ‘Ungraded’) this year. He desires to become an educator. In addition, Rayn, being passionate about football and gymming, is also working with ThinQ which is providing curriculum support to schools to foster critical thinking abilities. He is a part of the teaching team here.

 

India is obsessed with formal education, degrees, and certificates. The mere thought of a child not going to school and instead of playing video games at home is one which will strike horror in the hearts of many parents. Few parents are now tired of the conformist educational code and practices prevalent in India. They are taking the path which is less-traveled and choosing to homeschool. In this path, children follow their own unique self-directed learning techniques.

 

John and Urmila Samson are the parents of Rayn. They have chosen this less-traveled path. They have three children: 26-year-old daughter Sahya, Rayn, and 18-year-old son Niom. They didn’t send any of their children to a traditional school. They instead choose the off-beaten path of unschooling for all three. 56-year-old homemaker Urmila says she felt strongly that school was not a healthy place to spend childhood in. Children should not be sitting quietly and listening to someone else according to her. Instead, they should play, have fun, move, and make their own path each day.

 

On asking about her children’s social life because of not going to school, she said that for Niom, it was easier as whom he befriended wasn’t restricted by age, class or gender. For example, his steadfast friendship is with their 70-year-old house cook Khala. She is one of his best friends since early childhood and they all affectionately call her Khala.

 

Interestingly, the primary challenge for Urmila in unschooling her children was not so much her own conditioning, but the conditioning of other people. She said that she dealt with it by living a largely non-social, isolated life from 1992 to 2009. They lived in a large semi-joint family, so that also helped her.

 

 

By: Preeti Narula

Content: https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/why-parents-are-choosing-to-unschool-their-children/1489915/