Home Schooling - Is it An Option in India?

Lately, these statements have become frequent!

Schools teach nothing nowadays!

Schools have become money minting machines!

They want our money but not the responsibility of our children's safety!
Recent incidents of violence and Murder in Schools have made parents sit up and question a system well entrenched in our psyche.

They are in unison considering, "Do their children really need 'School' to meet their future Goals?"

As a Homeschooling family we asked these queries half a decade back and opted out of school!

We homeschooled our two kids who were in seventh grade and second grade back then.

Today, my elder one is gearing up for Grade 12 and again reconsidering 'not pursuing' further studies in the conservative sense. He finds College a colossal squandering of Resources!

As parents we are again in the "Rethinking phase" We will innovate like we did. We love Challenges.

My younger one is happily home learning. Infact, he is in the sixth grade chronologically but he takes up Eighth Grade Academics and is doing a fab job of it.

Do we as parents teach them?

Far too lazy we are!

They fend for themselves, sit in all our Lectures of various subjects we undertake. More the whole life is a platform for learning.

They study, debate, attempt papers, cook with us, clean with us, fight and make up with us. They learn from every fibre of life.

Their shining and purposeful lives are a far cry from lofty claims of just "getting educated".

So, naturally when there is turmoil, parents who are exploring this path connect to us and many like us who made homeschooling as a way of life.
We as a family attend to it as frequently as we can but sometimes it does get Repetitive for us. So I am putting down regular queries and see if it helps.

What is Homeschooling? Is it allowed in India?

Homeschooling is when your child is no longer enrolled in any school and opts to stay at home to learn. Allow? Like whose permission can we ask?

We need our own permission to step down from our deep conditioning of a system that is not serving many needs. We need to give ourselves and our Children the freedom to loosen the Shackles which are no longer needed. We do not need permission, we need a Decision.

Related Article: On The Threshold Of Homelearning- Being Unconventional or Being Natural?

Do you think, I should homeschool my child?

That is a personal Call each family must take after careful deliberations of Goals, needs and desires.

How should I start Homeschooling? What do I teach my children?

If you consider homeschooling, I suggest go on a quarterly sabbatical. Do nothing academic for three months. Enjoy the freedom this new Decision brings. Just let loose. You will be surprised to  Discover lots of faulty "musts", "shoulds" that you have held and can happily let go. Besides the break with tiffin, uniform ironing, homework, tests and all of that will be absent! Also, the competition, hurry, comparison would rarely raise its ugly head. What fun! Think about it.
As to what to start teaching? Pick what is important to you and interesting to your child. These days, resources on internet and bookstores are tons, use them creatively.

Related Article: The U-Turn and Unlearning

Where do I register for homeschooling?

As yet there is no legal body where you can register. You do not need to notify anybody. You simply opt out of school and choose not to send your child for any schooling. There are voluntary homeschoolers group all over India. You can look them up on Google.

Who will Discipline them, like school?

Are you talking of Obedience "Do as I say" or Discipline, "Be a Self Learner?"

Think carefully about what kind of Child you wish to send out. A child can be moulded how you want. If you feel school will do a better job, well, stick to the school. If you have faith in your abilities to Bond and Vibe with your child, only then Insource your child's Future. For I cannot reiterate enough. Opting out of School is a Choice with no outside influences. Do not follow it as a fad or Craze. It is serious Adventure which you as a family will undertake. If you do not derive satisfaction out of it, it is in Vain.

How much does it cost?

As much as you wish to spend. No more no less.

On the practical side, there will be no fees, no tuitions, uniform, no extra curricular activities and payments.

As humans but we wish to jump from one system to another. In that case, you will meet plenty of scamsters waiting to prey on your Anxieties. We are looking for a free approach to how we learn, what we learn, what we spend. Why hand over money to such Alternate Launderers.
Autonomy is the key. Spend on important stuff that gives the whole family  pleasure and sense of Control.

How will the Child Socialise if he /she does not go to school?

Hmmm! Child goes into the same bus, same class, same environment. At times is witness to cuss words, bullying, gang behaviour. Is that truly socialisation? In that case, why the social elements of school not present when the murder happened. The child must have called out for help. At least screamed once, scuffled once!

When the girl was raped, why did thr mother discover it only when the child reached home? Why did the socialised elements not reach out for protection or even reportage? The affected Girl must have gone through tremendous trauma through the day till she reached home?
Why did the socialising friends slap so hard that a child lost his hearing ability? This happened in the locked Washrooms or Attics of School but children did have certain part of day left to come home in last two cases?

Is discipline, education or literacy imparted in schools worth losing a 7 year old just like that? Why no friends accompanied him? What Socialisation are we still wishing to Materialise?
The child ridiculed for Menstrual stains died of mortification. Why did none of her social friends stand up for her and Call out the teacher?
Where or what kind of Socialisation are we looking for?
(That was a tirade of an angry mother. I have kids too and when one kid is hurt, It feels deep.)

On a lighter note, you as a parent can create healthy opportunities by enrolling your children for activities that interest them and can be supervised.

Since you have, homeschooled your children, can you teach mine?

No!

Your Goals are unique. Homeschooling is a self autonomous stance we take for self development. Have your flexible goals. Carve your own path. Create your own Paradise. Solve your own problems. Is life not about that? At key junctures, employ tutors to get through public exams.

How can my child appear for Grade 10/12 exams?

Your child can avail of various options. Foreign boards take External Candidates (At a fee), but yes, at age 14 your child can! Look up their website please.
NIOS also has an option to give grade 10/12 at the child's comfort and leisure. Look up their site. They have Centres around you for Guidance. Look up and Ask around!

Your State Boards too have Form No. 17 whereby your child can avail of suitable public Exams.

My kid did and scored 93.6%!

Related Article: Decision Validated, Yet The Journey Continues

Can we go back to school if we cannot adjust?

Yes. Under Right to Education your child cannot be denied Admission. They may take relevant entrance tests and ask you to begin a Grade lower, since certain competencies that school tests may need, may not be fulfilled by a non school going child. Schools of Foreign Boards too are willing to take in kids as they are open to children from all backgrounds as long as willingness to rules, instructions and fee structure are adhered to.

What will be their future? Will we deprive them?

That anxiety is normal when you embark on a path that is against the norm. Stay with it. It will dissipate with time. As you will swim forward, enjoy and create new pathways, you might be the one carrying the Homelearning torch forward to illuminate others fragile heart. There are as many solutions as problems. Point is to enjoy while resolving them and live to tell the tale.

Related Article: A Year Into Homeschooling and Finding Ourselves

This blog is a flip crisp responses to regular queries to homeschooling we encounter. Connect with us if you wish to know more or follow us on social media to see our day to day adventures. We sell possibilities of Freedom and Serendipity and we charge nothing.

Is that not a bonus?

Authors of Homeschoolers Brigade!

Sonnal Pardiwala (Mom)
Nozzer Pardiwalla (Dad)
Shahen Pardiwala (16 yrs old)
Shahaan Pardiwala (11 yrs old)

P. S. - If you have any further queries regarding homeschooling, or if you want to see an answer to a frequently asked question, please post it in the comments below and we would be glad to answer it. Thank you!