This article was compiled after much deliberation on the Swashikshan online e-group, following individual responses to a questionnaire prepared by the author. It reflects the diverse, unique and vibrant flavours of the Indian Homeschooling Community – a community that celebrates learning and growing without school.
Different Flavours of Homeschooling
When P. Aravinda, from Mumbai, Maharashtra (who has a nine year old daughter) was asked what inspired her to homeschool her daughter, this is what she had to say, “My daughter inspired me – she was clearly learning, discovering, surprising us with the connections she made, observing things in ways that we could never have dreamed of teaching. But often, parents who go gaga over their little one’s little explorations may dismiss their responses as biased or indulgent. They may not see or let themselves see that the child’s innate curiosity will lead them to learn. Thinking school is required, parents modify the environment even at home so that it will prepare the child to conform to the expectations of school.
Fortunately when my daughter was young, even though I had not thought about homeschooling, I was not thinking about schooling either and had time to keep the home environment free from timetables, eating and sleeping times, no expectations of keeping clothes clean, no need to recite shapes / colors / English names of vegetables etc.
So after seeing a child grow up this way for 4-5 years, and in the meanwhile also observing the other neighbourhood children who did start school at age 3 or 4 and spent a year before that preparing for the ‘interview’, it was pretty difficult to imagine giving up what we had for what the schools had to offer.”
She also says that books like How Children Learn by John Holt and Continuum Concept, Unconditional Parenting etc., exposed her to new ideas and also helped her to know that she was not alone in the way she interpreted what she was seeing. That emboldened her to protect it from being devalued by prevailing concepts of teaching, learning, living and growing / child-rearing.
And certainly she is right, as she is not alone. Disillusioned by the way schools impart knowledge to pupils all over the country; many parents have chosen to not send their children to school and taken on the sole responsibility of their learning. This group of parents is small in number, compared to the billions who send their children to schools to be taught to behave and learn, by teachers who are trained to instruct young children to join the competitive world and stay ahead of fellow human beings by out-performing each other at the cost of their own inner truth and well being and those of other fellow human beings.
When one asks this handful of parents what inspired them to homeschool their children, each had their own perception and reason. But one common underlying thought was the lack of faith in the assembly line method that is used in schools across the board.
Ann and Ashley Manning of Navi Mumbai have children who are now adults, a daughter aged 24 and a son aged 28. They were both homeschooled from 1994 until they both got certified for the Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSC) from National Institute of Open School (NIOS). They homeschooled for about 12 years or so. Ann and Ashley homeschooled because they believed that children are given to parents, for parents to steward and bring up into mature adults; the home being their best environment and the best method of learning being tutoring one-on-one. “With home schooling, which is school in the home by parents, our philosophy was to give our children the best teachers, in the best environment, using the best method of education. Our vision was to form character over academics and in the process raise children who are secure enough to perform without competing with no one but themselves, growing better each day, and fulfilling their own unique calling in life by discovering their unique strengths and using them to their full potential.”
Ann is satisfied now to see them grow into adults who have the right perspective and focus on education, academics and career. “Seeing them both now as independent business people, financially independent, able to interact with all age groups and wise beyond their years…Seeing them carry themselves with confidence and not threatened by competition…Seeing them plan to homeschool their own children when the time comes, because of the benefit they see it has had for themselves,” says Ann, is so fulfilling and rewarding that if she had to do this all over again, she would homeschool her children all over again.
Dr. Mathew and Vinita, from Mumbai have three children aged 13, 10 and 9 (who they have been homeschooling since eight years now) have their faith in Christianity to inspire them to homeschool. With Ann Manning and the Word of God as an inspiration for them, Dr Mathew says, “giving the best possible education to our child has been our motive. Philosophy is based on the Bible which says that it is the parents’ responsibility to train up their own children. We as parents desire the best for our children, wish for them to succeed in life, and we believe the family is the best place in the world to be for this to happen.”
While there are many who homeschool for religious reasons and their faith, there are many who homeschool because they want their children to have all the time and space to learn whatever they feel inclined to learn without the pressure of term end or grades at school.
Priya Desikan who has a seven year old son, Raghav, lives in Chennai and says, “our greatest inspiration has been our son! He suggested flexibility in going to school when he did not want to go there, and when that did not work, he just said that he wanted to be home! And I just went with my heart. I did not read much or research much on homeschooling before we decided to pull him out of school, simply because he had already decided (and he was less than 5 then). I realised then that he knew exactly what he wanted in life. So we listened to him instead! It was only after that, that I read John Holt and others. John Holt and Ivan Illich’s Deschooling Society have been great inspirations to me and once we started this journey, we realised that we were part of an inspiring and loving community of homeschoolers in India.”
Priya and Srinath do not follow school at home for their son as some homeschoolers do. “We have no real philosophy as such. I like to call what we are doing as ‘living and learning’. That is what we do every day – we live, we are aware of ourselves and what happens and whatever life unfolds for us, we take and learn from it. We learn from everything around us – the people we meet, our own thoughts and emotions, the things we do, places we travel to. I feel that our role as parents is much like the soil that a plant needs to grow. When a seed is planted and germinates, the soil has to give way to allow the shoot to push itself upwards, to come out and grow into a plant,” explains Priya.
Urmila and John Samson from Pune have three children, Sahya a 20-old-year young woman and two boys of 15 and 12. None of her three children ever went to school. “At first I had no idea what I was doing, as there was no internet when we started. Much later I found that what we ended up doing after a whole lot of trial and error, is called radical unschooling. We don’t really like labels, but it helps others to have at least some general idea. Of late I have been using the term ‘whole being learners’, because during our self learning process (learning led by the self, as well as learning more about the self), we have discovered that there is more than just a physical, mental and emotional self, and learning happens through all parts of the being if one understands how to open one’s whole being,” says Urmila. Some years ago, her daughter felt the need for structure and a holistic kind of higher education. She is now doing a 4 year course in Eurythmy, an art of movement created by Rudolf Steiner that engages the being at every level – a course which she got through without any form of formal schooling or school leaving examination. Urmila’s 15 year old son has for a year and a half now created a diet and exercise routine for himself, to train for his passion, which is football. Her 12 year old son does not follow much structure, but has recently introduced some structure that he adheres to, which is gym training, football coaching and squash.
Deepali and Shankar have a daughter Ria who is almost six years old and they are from Mumbai but currently living in Dubai, UAE. They use as a guide, a loosely held Waldorf Education module for their daughter. “I believe that many times people who are new to homeschooling believe that without structure there can be no learning. We are not trying to recreate school at home. We just want to instill in our child, a love for life-long learning, to be creative, to stand up for her rights and for the rights of others and to have a good judgement of right and wrong. I would like to say that it is very important to have a natural rhythm to your life. But not as hard as a cane school structure. Just like the rising/setting of the sun, our days flow easily and our life goes on smoothly,” explains Deepali, with confidence in the choice she made, when she was disillusioned at systems that she felt were violative of her and her child, when she went to give birth to her child in a hospital in India. She was pretty sure that if right from delivery and birth, she and her child had no rights to their well-being and choices, school would be pretty much the same.
Overcoming Challenges
When everyone around is clamouring for good schools, good grades, good colleges and good jobs, parents who chose to not send their children to school are obviously going against the tide that is prevalent. This in itself brings many doubts and raises many fears in the parents themselves and also those in extended family and friends. The whole journey of homeschooling is not only path breaking but also extremely challenging at times.
Anne says, “The biggest challenge we faced was from friends and family accusing us of messing with our children’s futures and lives. When our children’s friends accused them of not going to school, we helped our children handle such situations by giving them common sense answers like: We don’t go to school, but we have school at home. Building relationship bonds with them which would never have happened if they had gone the regular school way, spending 6 hours in school, 8 hours asleep, another 4 to 6 hours studying and us left with the dregs of their time, energy and motivation…. Seeing them grow into people of character with right priorities and focus, a vision and dream for their lives and already on the way to fulfilling them, make us want to homeschool all over again.”
Urmila and John had to face even more challenging questions as their children did not even have the readymade answer like “we do school at home.” As for unschoolers, learning is not structured and it is often not easy to pinpoint what the child learnt in one day or in weeks or months. Learning for unschoolers happen very organically and slowly and internally. Often it is not visible or tangible but if observed in continuity, then one can easily observe the blossoming and learning happening uniquely with each child.
“I used to have many fears and doubts to the point where I was getting emotionally off balance! We had no support, there were no others doing what we were doing, and having children home the whole day doing whatever they want whenever they want was driving me crazy. There were times when I would get very argumentative with others, defensive about my decision. Over the years I got over these fears and learned a lot from my children. Now I am experiencing people praising me, turning to me to hear my experiences, and being treated as an inspiration!
“The freedom without, and from within. The letting go of conditioning and old ways of thinking and being. The tremendous increase in health and happiness. The feeling of ease rather than fear. The opening up to unbelievable possibilities. The closeness in the family. My own personal growth, continued learning and increased self knowledge which helps me understand others and the world more deeply,” is what Urmila had to say about her journey through challenges.
Most homeschoolers will tell you how the very people who criticize them when they started with homeschooling, end up praising and appreciating the decision. Deepali says, “When we initially started off on this path, we were met with lots of criticism. But over time, people have realized that we are serious about homeschooling and our child is a very happy, social, kind, loving girl who is equally at ease with children of her own age as well as adults.”
“The amount of time that we spend together as a family is a huge bonus. The bond that I and my husband share with our daughter is so powerful and strong, it can’t be explained in words. I have seen children as young as two and three years old, who are begging for affection from their parents/caregivers and this is misconstrued to be dependence. When in fact what they are craving for is attachment, which is a primal need as a human being. Being abandoned and neglected from early on, these children then hang on to their friends (peers) for this attachment and they become peer-oriented. The same kids who then grow up to rebellious teenagers have parents who seem to be wondering what went wrong!! The parents pushing them away to make them independent from a young age is what went wrong!! As a homeschooling family we get to go on holidays as we please, we go to the parks, museums, beaches on weekdays and avoid the mad rush of weekends! Having a child who is healthy, loved and content is the best part about homeschooling,” says Deepali, and is what keep her and husband rooted in when challenges come their way.
Padma and Rajappa from Chennai have a son who is six and a daughter who is four, and they find that the most fulfilling aspect of homeschooling are that the whole family is in love with learning; learning is not limited by time, place, activity etc..it goes on wherever they are and whatever they do. They also feel that this way they are able to focus on values needed for life and appreciating finer aspects of life like appreciating the tiny caterpillar chewing on the leaf or how spring has come etc. They also feel they are able to nurture their bodies, spirit and mind as there is no rush to achieve or reach any place.
For Priya the journey of usnchooling has been more of an exercise is self awareness and self knowledge. She says, “every day poses a new challenge – the challenge of understanding oneself a little more, the challenge of being there with my child the way he wants me to, the challenge of getting out of my child’s way so that he can blossom the way he wants to, the challenge of unlearning what one has been conditioned to learn and conform to ever since one was born. To me, that is what this journey of “living and learning” with my child is about. The greatest fear and challenge that I face every day is to let go of what my mind and heart are so used to clinging on to. The way I deal with both my fears and challenges is to try and look at what is happening without any coloured lens and look deep within myself. Very often, I have found that when I free myself of those old patterns and habits, I free my son.”
Aravinda’s challenges are closer home as she feels that “the main challenge is that we don’t have enough other kids around to do things with; but I am often amazed to see the way the thoughts flow according to their own course and inner curriculum.”
Curriculum and Homeschooling
Speaking of curriculum, most homeschoolers use a mix of structured studies and unstructured studies. Some follow standard curriculums like NCERT, CBSE, IGCSE or Accelerated Christian Curriculum. Some do only those subjects in which the child has shown more interest. Some focus on the basic reading, writing and arithmetic and some other extra-curricular activity and leave the child free to make her own curriculum. Some do not adhere to any structure at all. Unschoolers like Urmila Samson and Dola Dasgupta, have never taught their children to read or write or do math.
“My son learnt to count and recognise numbers simply by observing his surroundings which include books, internet, TV, films, drawing, painting, outings with me and by asking questions and having conversations with me and other adults and children,” says Dola Dasgupta, a radical unschooler who lives in Pune with her daughter Gourika who is 11 and son Ishaan who is six. “When I am reading a book, my son comes up to me and asks me to see how many pages are there in the book. He is happy when there are more than 500 pages. He asks me number related questions like, how old is the earth, how many years ago did dinosaurs walk the earth, how old is India as a country, how many floors are there in our building, how many floors does the Empire State Building have, etc. Gourika reads fluently online as she plays a lot of online games and looks up YouTube videos of films and music. She is not yet writing with pen so much, but when she needs to she manages pretty well with simple words. If she is stuck with a spelling she asks me and I tell her matter-of-factly,” explains Dola on how her children learn and that though she never taught them any of it, she never stopped answering when they asked.
Aravinda has a lovely take on following a curriculum. She says, “The curriculum is that which flows from our minds, through our conversations, leading us hither and yon, back and forth to various experiences, resources, projects, ideas. With respect to specific books or websites that reflect a curriculum that someone else has developed, we may interact with some of those as well as everything else that we find along the way. Our own inner curriculum remains the primary driver. We are following a curriculum but I don’t know if you would call it ‘fixed’. I can observe that there is a structure. For example, my child often makes interesting connections and observations at some times / places, like in the bathroom, in the middle of the night, just before sleeping, soon after getting up, while playing with clay or blocks or water or sand, en route, while in a train or bus. So as a family we like to allow for the conversations that spring forth at such times.”
Padma follows the principles of Thomas Jefferson Education (www.tjed.org ) as it suits their family. According to this educational philosophy, children of ages 0-8 are in Core Phase and are in their prime to learn the core values necessary for life. “With this in mind, we have been unschooling while applying principles from Montessori, Waldorf, Charlotte Mason etc.,” explains Padma.
Many parents also follow the Waldorf Homeschooling Principles and curriculum at home for their children.
Some of the learning is also outsourced to tutors and mentors. Especially the children who take exams spend a few hours each day with tutor mentors. Shailaja Karanam and her son Tarun Maudgalya run an IGCSE mentorship center in Hyderabad for homeschooled children who wish to take the O Level and A Level exams. They also prepare them for the certification and do all the needful paper work for the children. There are also a few international schools in Bangalore and Pune which allow candidates to take exams as private candidates.
For homeschooled children who wish to take Indian examinations, the NIOS is the best options and many have passed exams through this mode and also taken admission into colleges in India. NIOS centers can be found in all cities of India and also all the information is available online. However, with the implementations of the Right to Education Act, the possibility of NIOS being phased out in a stepped manner is being discussed. But there is still some ambiguity on this front and till the final decision is taken, one can continue with NIOS.
Unschoolers like Urmila Samson, Dola Dasgupta, P.Aravinda, Priya Desikan and many more are not worried about exams and certifications. They say they will cross the bridge if they need to or when their children wish to go that way. But for most unschoolers, life and learning is about tuning in with new and not known creative livelihoods, that are perhaps yet to be found. Some unschoolers do get into colleges and institutes when they themselves set their minds to it, like Sahya, Urmila’s daughter. Most unschoolers have a trust that their children, since not so externally driven, often dive deep into whatever they wish to pursue and often find a way out.
Drawing Inspiration to Homeschool
The inspiration to homeschool their children for different parents came from different sources – for some like Mathew and Anne it was their deep faith in their religion and the Bible; for some it was their own poor experiences with school and with some others it was a soul calling for walking new and creative paths and opening up new horizons.
For Sejal, her own father was her inspiration to homeschool. “Having a father with whose support I myself had learned not to depend too much on school, never worried about curriculum, exams etc. until I myself realized need for more marks. So, today’s schools are not the place where I would like to send my kids. Reading Gijubhai Badheka, Jay Vasavada (who was himself homeschooled and has often written about his homeschooling and his mother’s contribution) and Kavishree Rajendra Shukla’s interview on TV who took the unschooling decision for their sons around 40 years ago”, she says inspired her with her own decision to homeschool her two children.
For Urmila also, her father was the inspiration, “my father’s criticism of the education system, books by AS Neill, John Holt, Ivan Illich, Paolo Freire, Maria Montessori, Sylvia Ashton Warner…my brother’s bad experiences in school, my own teaching experiences in several schools, inspired me to unschool.”
Anne says her faith inspired her, “Our Bible based spiritual values inspired us, which are to honor God and place Him first in our lives; but we were not able to live out our convictions, because our lives revolved around our children’s school schedule and demands. The pressure to perform and be boxed into a group of the same age, with no role model to follow to learn life. The non-personal touch of the school system. The wrong use of authority by teachers and school authorities, which were giving our children a wrong idea of authority. The many illogical teachings of science and the compromising of morals, all contributed to our decision. But the main inspiration came from the Bible and its teachings to train up a child in the way he should go, based on his temperamental make-up, natural talents and spiritual requirements, and then parents are assured from the authority of the Bible, that when the child grows up, they will stay in that way. It was tough going, but well worth it.”
Mathew and Vineeta who also are called by the Bible to homeschool say, “Our motive has always been based out of love for our children. The challenges have been basically related to the time and energy needed by us as parents to ensure that our children get a learning environment. Getting to know each child in an intimate way, building a relationship with them that is life-long, seeing them grow and learn the most important things in life.”
Whether parents homeschool by following ‘school at home’ or a standard curriculum or are radical unschoolers, the underlying motive and intentions is almost always increasing intimacy and bonding among family members and making learning in partnership with children the pivot. It is about increased self awareness and trusting in one’s own inner voice above all.
When asked about challenges and fears, most parents across the board say that despite the challenges, which are but natural, when one breaks free from the norms, it is a journey worth taking, every part of the way.
Home schooling is the best thing for a child. He can learn subjects of his choice at his convenience, and can pursue hobbies. Children can enjoy life,child hood and and study subject of interest in depth if he is a knowledge seeker. In regular school he can never get time and is un -necessarily burdened of projects and subjects of un-interest.
My husband and I were clear that schools would not go in well with our one year old… She seems to be learning what she wants, at her own pace at so young a age… Your article has opened up a whole new world to me. My husband has been thinking on the lines of home schooling, but I was not fully convinced. Reading this article has helped me a lot to come to terms with what education really means.
Inspiring! Makes being a parent less scary!
Hello,
I’m planning to homeschool my son, can some one please tell me how I should go about it, where I need to register? All of the nitty gritty that goes into home schooling… Please help
Thasmeena please send in an email through the mailer provided in the website..and we shall look into your request..Dola
Hello,
I am a father of two bright boys aged 10 and nearly 7. They go to school but my wife and I are not very enamoured with the school system. I myself never went to school till Cl 4 because we lived in a very remote place then. We are thinking of home schooling as we live on a farm. Personally I have no doubts that the boys will benefit. I just wonder what they’d do for making friends and company.
Also, do we need to follow a syllabus (well, the right way to put that would be, Is it advisable to follow a syllabus?) What about something like the IB system so they can sit a school leaving exam.
I am in the Army for another couple of years and my wife is a Home maker. We would be on hand full time from 2016 on, by which time our boys would be 12 and 9.
Would value your advice.
With regards and admiration!, Steve
ji, by all means u can unschool them.they actually don need to mingle with only their age group children.they will see society as a whole.provide them with more books of their interest,i think thats the basic requirement.
hi frds
my son is 4yrs old.he doesn’t like school.he has changed two to three schools.i m not in favour of school.i m also planning to educate my son at home.but which curriculam i should follow tht i dont know.school takes away lot of time from children.i want my son to get education but not at the cost of his childhood.Dimple Modi
Logically we all know that there is not that much advantage in formal schooling but as it is your own children you tend to be afraid to make a wrong decision. Courage is required and above all the child should not be confused or feel left out. Different children have different temperaments..
interested in homeschooling my son, pls help
For the past two months I have been reading extensively about home schooling and strongly feel to homeschool my daughter aged 12 years. All the articles are motivating and clear all our doubts. Want to be a part of this beautiful journey of self realization.
Hi
My son is 14 and in the 9th Standard. Of late he has become very very unhappy with his school environment. The more I tell him to relax, the worse it seems to be getting. How can I unschool him and how shall I get him to take exams in the ICSE stream in which he is now?
I can get Maths help and he is competent with most other subjects.
Eagerly awaiting your reply
Thanks
Hi Suchitra,
ICSE does not have the provisions for private candidates. He can opt out of school and take a gap year perhaps to de-stress and then check out NIOS or IGCSE. These are the only two options available right now for out-of-school candidates.
I feel what he is going through could have many reasons other than just school. School and exams simply aggravate the anxiety.It is normal and can happen to any kid his age. It is kind of you and courageous of you as a parent to take notice of it and wanting to do something about it.
If you want to speak to parents with kids around your son’s age who homeschool, then please write to me at [email protected] and I shall connect you to such parents.
Warmth
Dola
THE ICSE or IGCSE are expensive. CBSE and NIOS can take students from Home school. In Tamilnadu state Home schoolers could not get a place to join the main stream schools for higher studies. There is a need for a change in the STATE educational policies throughout our country so that Min HRD can possibly have an uniform course recognition for home schoolers. Home schoolers should get the benefit of enrolling in employment exchanges, eligible for educational loan assistance @ nationalized banks, allowed to take higher studies in any of the Institutions in our country.
Dear Ms.Dola,
After the Vibgyor School incident, my husband and myself are totally against the regular schooling for our gals who are 9 and 6 now. They are extra-ordinarily bright and beautiful and we wanted them to become a good human beings before anything else. Also wish them to be successful in life but definitely not through this regular schooling. We wish for their safety than education from any school, which is not so guaranteed. Also since our school days itself, we had this idea of not sending our kids to school as we hated the regular schooling system and their pressure. How do we go about this. Lot many questions running in our mind. please help us by guiding us through this darkness.
Many Thanks & Regards,
Sashi
Dear Shashikala,
Please write to me on [email protected]
Warmly
Dola
hi dola iam from bangalore and wud like yo discuss with you for home schooling if have no issues can you please forward me your contact details. i was actually looking for a comfortable zone for my kid , he loves cars and very much in cars model make and technolgy of cars he has recently turned six, his next interest is music and football. today i am sending him to school but somewhere i feel that iam trying to push him the directions which he dont want to go. justif you can spend a little time shall be glad.
thanks
greeshma
Namaste
This article is very impressive. Motivating to know that there are many people out there, who has passed the uphill to fulfillment of great upbringing of their children.
I am in the early contemplation of home schooling my children, this article inspired me. Thanks for writing this.
srinivas
Hi I’m Sirisha Niketan
I’ve been thinking of home schooling my kids since very long time as I’m not convinced with the method of teaching children in formal schools nowadays and moreover those teachers seem to attend school only to grab their full salary and not interested in building a future for the student. I rather teach my kids at home myself in my own way. After all parents know very well how do their kids u der stand and learn better.
Could anyone tell me how to start and do I have to register anywhere for getting a certificate every year for my children after the academic year? Pls provide me these details as I want to know if I could opt for IGCSE syllabus.
SIRISHA
Hello. I’m a 17 year old boy who passed 10th grade from a cbse school. Due to stress issues and travelling purposes, I’m trying to get home schooled. But I don’t know where to start or where to apply. I don’t know where to write my exams or how to get certificates. My plan is to study IGCSE. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.
Nihal.
Kindly tell me if having a home schooling teacher can be available for Ladakh? what would be the costs? I expect the teacher (needed a female) as I have two daughters in elementary school. Looking for someone kind, retired and open to being in the mountains for at least one year. Winters we can take a break. Kindly let me know. I am in great need. Completely disenchanted by the schooling system.
Thank you,
Meenakshi Negi
Hi,
The article is quite interesting…!
How some one can manage with homeschooling with working parents …? Or it is not meant for them…?
I am planning to do homeschooling in Bengaluru for my daughter IGCSE Level O. Where all she can take up exams?
Also, is there any resource for private tutors? Thank you.
I’m a middle school teacher But with the raising demands of the education system and expectations from parents I don’t enjoy what I do. I have a 2nd grader who goes to the same school. Now, I’ve had my inhibitions but after hearing the broadcast and reading your article I’ve convinced myself enough to pull her out and start home education. Would like to connect with parents from chennai,please.
Hi Everyone,
Finally, I have started homeschooling.. I have a 6yr old daughter and she’s really crazy about drawing and art. But I have no structure and don’t know where to begin. Just to be safer side, I brought some books from India for learning. Again, I am not sure if this is the way to go forward. Please guide me. I live in Japan now.
Thanks much
Jessie
My son is 8 years old. He is very hyper active and does not sit at one place. We have also tried speech therapy for him. We have also checked with doctor’s,but they all say he is alright. Even today he does not communicate by speaking with us but through signs. I have recently taken admission for him at English medium( SSC board )in 1st standard. Just with 3 days of his joining the school,teacher’s complained about him being agressive in class and hyper. The have told us to take decision whether to continue the school. We don’t know what to do. Please suggest.
My son is studying u k g in cbse syllabus.He is not convinced to go to school.
I know he is intelligent enough to grap anything.
But he simply goes to school.His miss doesnt care of.
him.He is missing every thing at school.He doesnt know.
a single rhyme among smart class can i try home schooling?
How? Reply me.
I have been waiting and searching long for home schooling as the right mode of education for my son too. Can you guide me. He is eleven years of Age and verycreative and scientifically inclined but the school has diminished his abilities to zero by enforcing strict academic evaluations which he just gave up on
I want to give my child that freedom which montessori saw !
Can you guide us please.
My husband now wants him to come out of school and do home schooling to give him peace and space for his inner abilities to grow and blossom
Hi ..I am a doctor by profession n my son is a national badminton champion .he is very passionate about his badminton n literally want to Persue career in sports ..bt i want that studies should also go side by side ..bt going to school daily is very tedius for him …cn u pls suggest …
From last year I started Home Schooling to my Daughter Mohini 6 yrs old, As we r in music field ,my Elder Daughter Swamini age 15 yrs is born Artist ( She is Singer, Harmonium player ,Katthak Dancer ,she acts also , Drawing is too good.) Swamini suffer lot of bad experiences in her school life as an Artist ,so I took decision of Home Schooling for Mohini. & Now she is Happy doing well.
Regards!!
Hi Dola,
Can you please help me to understand the concept of home-schooling. I am very much interested to opt for that, but not sure how to start?
Shall I send you a separate mail to know the process better at [email protected].
Thanks,
Debanjana
Hi,
I would like to homeschool my 7 years old son. I relocated to India from Srilanka and it is very difficult to get admission in any of this good schools.
Please share the details of home schooling with me, how to go about it? what are the procedure etc.
Best Regards
Sheena
Hi we have 2 years old baby me and my hubby planning to home schooling to me kid we don’t know any details about it so plz let me know the clear details about it thanku
Hi,
i am parent of 14 years daughter and 10 years old son. i want to unschool my son, he never likes school but he is a bright kid. But my problem is that me and my husband both are doing full time job, so we will not get time to teach him. So in homeschooling is it need to teach him whole syllabus only at home or is there any other option?
Hi,
I’m a single working mother. My son is 10 years old. I enrolled him in a boarding school. But I’m know feeling guilty about it. Please guide me on home schooling.
Thanks
Poornima
Hi Poornima, I do not know your specific issues and so please take my comments for what they might mean to you. I am a boarding school product 1970s-80s. Life was tough then and no phones and stuff. My son aged 14 is in a good boarding school. Year one (class VII) he had major problems and was very unhappy. My wife and I supported him all the way but helped him to see that backing out of a challenge would only make that his preferred option through life.
We kept telling him that any situation has at least two sides and that he was at least half of any problem he was in and encouraged him to view things from this perspective. He dug in and a year on was well adjusted and happy.
The trouble is we have often raised our children on the fiction that life is about being ‘Happy’ and “untroubled”. This is a sure recipe for frustration and angst in life, because it is not true. A good life has to be about having the skills to deal with ups and downs, disappointments and not so nice people. A boarding school teaches this, something home schooling or day school does not.
That said, one needs to select the school carefully to see there is adequate supervision and pastoral care. That is important.
At the end of the day a bit of struggle builds character and prepares youth for life in the real world.
I want my twins daughter to opt for home schooling.Looking at safety breach in schools.pls advise.i
Hi,
I am not happy with the education system and want to home school my 11 year old daughter. Currently she is studying in cbse board. I need help in understanding the board and exam format for homeschooler. Also want to know from where we can register.
Hi Dola and team,
I and Vasoo and working as a S/w engineer at IBM ,Bangalore. I have a 3.7 yr old son and am planning to quit my job to become a full time mom and wife for a better life style and giving the best to my son (my precious one after 12 yrs of marriage :-).
I love the concepts of alternate education, growing children independent ,conceptual learning ,being more sensitive human being with values and morals etc..
I am at the same time not having enough confidenc to homeschool my child as I have fears of missing out his social skills and my own fears of being accepted as a teacher and mother .. I live in Jayanagar 1st block and wish to know if anyone can hand hold me for some time with your experience.. My contact number is :8123473539
Please call me at your conevenience if u can guide me in any possible direction.
Thanks,
Vasundhara.
We have 3 amazing kids age of 11, 9 and 6. We stay in Bangalore and as any middle class family myself and my wife have worked hard to provide them the best education possible in pvt schools. From where we stand right now we have lost faith in these schools who are there just to make money and put kids and parents through stressful situations. finding this blog is like a blessing and would like to get connected with parents in Bangalore.
Regards,
Nishad
Hi Vasundhara, Nishad,
I have been trying to have homeschooler community in Bangalore. I can see you both are from Bangalore and it is possible for all of us to be united for common interest and betterment for our kids learning paths. Mrs. Dola is always there to be as supreme guider on various things. But we can take advantage of staying in the same place. If you are on the same page, let’s have the initiative. I can see Vasundhara’s number and I may call you. Nishad if you can share your number will be great. Alternatively, you can have my number: 82176 40877 & 98862 06282. If you agree with me, let’s make this happen.
Thanks, Debanjana
Note: Also, if anyone else from Bangalore is there, can start communicating.
Hi,
I like to know are there some essential legal conditions one need to follow before going for Homeschooling?
Hello
I wanted to know if there are any organization in Pune that provide tuitions for home schooling for year 10 student for IGCSE board
I am shifting from UK to India and not able to get admission in year 10 for any of the ICSE or CBSE affiliated schools and hence I am considering home schooling option. My worry is since I will not be able to personally teach her and hence looking for help , online or in person.
It will be very helpful if someone will help me on this.
Thanks and regards
Shyam
Hi Debanjana .. im in bangalore too and wud love to connect with you all . Please give me call at 8310388370 ..
Hi Dola .. wud be emailing you shortly to know more about homeschooling. Regards
hey! i’m a student of 11th grade, i want to take up homeschooling for 12th grade so i i know the procedures to sign in with swashikshan
I have a 10 year daughter and would like to explore the possibility of home schooling her, please advise use.
Thank you
Jude
Dear Madam,
After going through the reading, I am interested in putting my grandson for home schooling.
Could you please help me out in this regard.
We are placed at Bangalore
Hi Dola, my son is in sixth grade, exams due from tomorrow. I liked the idea of homeschooling. But i am unsure about it. Could you please guide me further.
Thanking you in advance.
Hi dola thanks fr ur response..u said u wil help me by letting ur daughter talk to my daughter.how can she talk to ur daughter.pls tell as per ur convenience.
Regards ritu
Hi
I would like to connect with homeschoolers of high school students in Bangalore. My son is in class 10 and returned from the US a year ago. Did 9th. grade in a Pvt school and this didn’t work for him and he refused to go back with the full load of their IGCSE curriculum. The school was unwilling to reduce number of subjects and is hell bent in the ICE certficate. So reluctantly we decided to opt for home school. I am looking for community to help us handle this (study guides,teachers) as my wife and I are both working and travelling parents. My son is independent, but homeschooling seems to be a great recipe for screen addiction, which he already has struggled with. It’s the lack of community that worries us most about homeschooling as the internet so easily seems to provide proxy social connection.
Hi Dola, my son is in seventh standard and football lover. I’m also thinking for homeschooling. But I have no idea. Could you please help me out in this. Thanks.
Hello Dola Dasgupta
Thank you for this article. Highly appreciate the effort taken.
Hi,
I have a daughter aged 11 years, 7 months. She is currently studying in Standard Sixth ICSE board at Mumbai.
My wife and I want guidance on how to proceed with Home Schooling. I have gone through the blogs, and have some queries to raise.
1. Where can she get admission for Home Schooling, which school supports?
2. what is the eligibility criteria to give 10th standard through hone shooling
3. What about standard 12th?
4. Is Home School certified by Maharashtra Board and Mumbai University?
We are bit desperate to get right guidance.
Request your kind favor here.
Best Regards,
Guruprasad
9833 8669 76
Savita
9833 9533 44
Hello,
We lived in US for 3 years during this time I homeschooled my 3 year old son (now 4.5) my 6 year old daughter used to go to school. The education system here has inspired me a lot and i want to follow the same kind of schooling for both my kids. I have seen major changes in my son whose i home schooled he learns in different ways. So even after gong back to India I want to home school my kids. But I need help with that. I want to know where I can get a proper curriculum or which curriculum will be helpful in India. In US my daughters school used to follow Cambridge curriculum. Please help me with this.