Here is the transcript of my speech given at the National Institute of Open Schooling’s 25th Anniversary celebrations at Chennai, where I was recognised as the all-India topper for the Senior Secondary April 2013 exams. Each time I open an NIOS textbook, I am greeted with the words – “Congratulations! You have accepted the challenge […]
The power of open schooling Read More »
The much awaited second Indian Homeschoolers Conference (IHC ’14) is here – a gathering of like minded souls at Khandala to share their experiences, learn from each other and rejoice the company of the amazing homeschooling community. If you have not been to the conference before and want to know more about the experience please
Indian Homeschoolers Conference 2014 Read More »
My son Megh, eight and a half, and I were lying on the floor and talking of fireworks, during the festival season of Diwali. I told him about my childhood and how crazy I was for fireworks. I told him I would run for more fireworks as soon as the earlier lot was used up.
Say NO to fireworks but not to fire experiments! Read More »
Twenty one years ago, a princess of the flowers was born to me. My friend gazed down upon the little baby and declared her princess of the stars. We laughingly agreed that she was a star-flower princess. Sahya knew nothing about our secret, yet, three years later, she returned from a walk in my ancestral
Healing Relationships, Healing Mother Earth Read More »
When I decided to present a paper for The Homeschool Conference (http://www.homeschoolconference.com), I was not sure what would be the theme of the paper. Each day for a month I sat down at my lap top and opened a blank word document and stared at the screen, with nothing coming forth for me to write.
How do I explain Unschooling to skeptics? Read More »
Sejal: Hello, Ruchir! Can you briefly introduce yourself? Ruchir: My name is Ruchir and I live in a small village half way to Gandhinagar from Ahmedabad. I am 24. I have never been to school. I learn from things and people around me in that order! I love to travel and talk to people. My
I am Ruchir and I never went to school Read More »
Even before we had a child, back in summer of 2008 I met a child who was like most of her peers, but yet different. Confident, expressive, loud and free are the adjectives that come to my mind. It was fascinating for me to watch her and somehow she made me feel very happy. When
Most of us feel uncomfortable when our children exercise their freedom to be silent, walk around seemingly doing nothing of importance. This is because most of us feel uncomfortable ourselves being silent and doing nothing. Modern culture, which is obsessed with activity and productivity, calls it ‘laziness’ and conjures up proverbs like ‘An idle mind
Please don’t disturb the still pond! Read More »
Shaju Philip of Indian Express writes about 13 year old Minon who won the National Award for the best child actor this year for the Malayalam film 101 Chodyangal (101 Questions). Minon’s father is sculptor-craftsman John Baby and mother Mini John is a painter. They wanted their children to enjoy life and the freedom it
Learning to be Free Read More »
We have a log cabin set that our kids play with, building different kinds of log cabins or other structures or sometimes combining it with other construction sets, giving form to their imaginations. There are three kinds in this set – small, medium and long. This morning after breakfast, Aniket as usual put away the