Kapil Sibal recently announced about the non compulsion to send children to school. Parents can, if they wish so, refrain from sending their children to school and can instead opt to teach them at home. He won’t interfere with the parents’ choice, even if it means going against the “Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009”. The compulsion is not on the parents but on the state, he clarified.
There are many who will fret about this move, and crib about Americanisation of our youth who will spoil their future etc. However, there are equal numbers of parents who have greeted Sibal’s opinion with a smile. In fact, there are many parents who have been practicing home schooling; and their children have done well.
While there is a flip side that children may not learn to socialize or be compassionate, or may become egoistic or over dependent on their parents, there are many brighter aspects to homeschooling.
Most importantly, the child can learn and pursue something that is of his/her interest, while gathering sufficient but not mandatory knowledge about other things. Parents can opt to teach more about the life-skills than teaching them about the dead ones; what is important today is to learn how to preserve our independence and not be redolent about Babu Genu, Savarkar, Gokhale etc. It would be a good idea to teach them about reformers and thinkers than the freedom fighters. Look up any school book today; none talks anything about Swami Vivekanda except the famous religious conference of 1883. It would, rather be worthwhile to teach about his philosophies and thoughts than just “My dear brothers and sisters” to the children. It is a great opportunity to teach the children about the thoughts in the Bhagvad Gita, Upanishads, and Vedas than teaching them about the Boston Tea Part or French Revolution or Hitlers and Mussolinis. Rather than tutoring them about in which latitude and longitude the Tunga lies, it will be more commendable to teach our children about more of moral science and environmental & personal hygiene.
All this will give ample amount of time for the children and the parents to judge what they are best at and evolve as a better and successful person than just competing with other children in schools and building up unnecessary pressure. Wouldn’t it be nice to see our children smiling with no strain in brain and no loads on their back? I would love to teach my children what they want to learn and not what the education boards want them to learn; I am sure they will evolve as better people full of empathy, focused on aspirations, and content with basic needs. A practical approach to education would be much better than a formal setting.
Fathom this – after all the run for marks and shining at the brightest spot on the merit list, is a job of our desire still guaranteed? Also, it means a lot of saving on the school fees that are galloping northwards today. Homeschooling though requires lot of patience and acceptance today, will certainly see a horizon of success very soon.
Just for reference, a homeschooler has graduated from Fergusson College, one of the best in the country, and is off to Oxford, one of the best in the world.
There are many who will fret about this move, and crib about Americanisation of our youth who will spoil their future etc. However, there are equal numbers of parents who have greeted Sibal’s opinion with a smile. In fact, there are many parents who have been practicing home schooling; and their children have done well.
While there is a flip side that children may not learn to socialize or be compassionate, or may become egoistic or over dependent on their parents, there are many brighter aspects to homeschooling.
Most importantly, the child can learn and pursue something that is of his/her interest, while gathering sufficient but not mandatory knowledge about other things. Parents can opt to teach more about the life-skills than teaching them about the dead ones; what is important today is to learn how to preserve our independence and not be redolent about Babu Genu, Savarkar, Gokhale etc. It would be a good idea to teach them about reformers and thinkers than the freedom fighters. Look up any school book today; none talks anything about Swami Vivekanda except the famous religious conference of 1883. It would, rather be worthwhile to teach about his philosophies and thoughts than just “My dear brothers and sisters” to the children. It is a great opportunity to teach the children about the thoughts in the Bhagvad Gita, Upanishads, and Vedas than teaching them about the Boston Tea Part or French Revolution or Hitlers and Mussolinis. Rather than tutoring them about in which latitude and longitude the Tunga lies, it will be more commendable to teach our children about more of moral science and environmental & personal hygiene.
All this will give ample amount of time for the children and the parents to judge what they are best at and evolve as a better and successful person than just competing with other children in schools and building up unnecessary pressure. Wouldn’t it be nice to see our children smiling with no strain in brain and no loads on their back? I would love to teach my children what they want to learn and not what the education boards want them to learn; I am sure they will evolve as better people full of empathy, focused on aspirations, and content with basic needs. A practical approach to education would be much better than a formal setting.
Fathom this – after all the run for marks and shining at the brightest spot on the merit list, is a job of our desire still guaranteed? Also, it means a lot of saving on the school fees that are galloping northwards today. Homeschooling though requires lot of patience and acceptance today, will certainly see a horizon of success very soon.
Just for reference, a homeschooler has graduated from Fergusson College, one of the best in the country, and is off to Oxford, one of the best in the world.
- P. K. Dastoor
Categories:
Education System,
Homeschooling,
India,
Lifestyle,
P. K. Dastoor
