ABOUT HOME-SCHOOLING

ABOUT HOME-SCHOOLING

Some time back, I had read an article by Freny Fernandes in TOI, wherein she has reported how more and more parents are opting for home-schooling. The article starts with a seven year old Aditi Choudhary, who is home-schooled for the last three years. Her mother feels schools prepare students for a mad rat race without imparting knowledge and it is all about rote learning. So she has donned the hat of a teacher. Like Aditi’s mother there are other parents who are opting for home-schooling for their children, thus keeping their children away from – over -crowded classrooms with 1:60:: teacher : students ratio, ‘rote’ learning rat race, carrying heavy school bags, tiffins and water bottles. Many parents (either both of them or one of them) have even given up their lucrative careers and jobs to be teachers to their children. The article states that these home-schooled students could subsequently appear (as external students) for X and XII examinations of any State Board.

Home-schooling, also known as home education, is the education of children inside the home, as opposed to in the formal settings of a public or private school. Home education is usually conducted by a parent or tutor. For much of history and in many cultures, enlisting professional teachers (whether as tutors or in a formal academic setting) was an option available only to the elite social classes Many families that start out with a formal school structure at home often switch to less formal and, often, more effective ways of imparting education outside of school. ‘Home-schooling’ is the term commonly used in North America, whereas ‘home education’ is more commonly used in the United Kingdom, elsewhere in Europe, and in many Commonwealth countries.

Prior to the introduction of compulsory school attendance laws, most childhood education was imparted by the family or community. In several countries home-schooling in the modern sense is considered to be an alternative to attending public or private schools, and is a legal option for parents. In other countries home-schooling is considered illegal or restricted to specific conditions, as noted in the Home-schooling international status and statistics. According to the US National Household Education Surveys, about three percent of all children in the US were home-schooled in the 2011 and 2012 school year. The studies found that of these children, 83 percent were White, 5 percent were Black, 7 percent were Hispanic, and 2 percent were Asian or Pacific Islander.

Parents cite two main motivations for home-schooling their children: dissatisfaction with the local schools and the interest in increased involvement with their children's learning and development. Parents' dissatisfaction with available schools includes concerns about the school environment, the quality of academic instruction, the curriculum, and bullying as well as lack of faith in the school's ability to cater to their child's special needs. Some parents ‘homeschool’ children in order to have greater control over what and how their children are taught, to better cater for children's individual aptitudes and abilities adequately, to provide a specific religious or moral instruction, and to take advantage of the efficiency of one-to-one instruction, which allows the child to spend more time on childhood activities, socializing, and non-academic learning. Homeschooling may also be a factor in the choice of parenting style. Home-schooling can be an option for families living in isolated rural locations, for those temporarily abroad, and for those who travel frequently. Many young athletes, actors, and musicians are taught at home to better accommodate their training and practice schedules. Home-schooling can be about mentorship and apprenticeship, in which a tutor or teacher is with the child for many years and gets to know the child very well. Recently, home-schooling has increased in popularity in the United States, and the percentage of children ages 5 through 17 who are home-schooled increased from 1.7% in 1999 to 3% in 2011/12.

Home-schooling can be used as a form of supplemental education and as a way of helping children learn under specific circumstances. The term may also refer to instruction in the home under the supervision of correspondence schools or umbrella schools. In some places, an approved curriculum is legally required if children are home-schooled. A curriculum-free philosophy of home-schooling is sometimes called unschooling, a term coined in 1977 by American educator and author John Holt in his magazine, Growing Without Schooling. The term emphasizes the more spontaneous, less structured learning environment where a child's interests drive their pursuit of knowledge.

But I am very much apprehensive about this whole concept. Let’s consider a hypothetical case of seven year old boy whose parents have donned the role of his teachers ever since the boy was home-schooled. (Let’s say, for the last three years)  All these years the parents themselves have assessed him, and they will continue to do so till he is ready to appear (externally) for X, when he is around 15 or 16.So for nine years or so the parents will be teaching and preparing their son for the X, upgrading themselves each year, learning or upgrading themselves with additional subjects progressively each year and will go on assessing him till he finally appears for the X. When the child is seven years they are also young, energetic and full of enthusiasm and ideas. Nine years is a very long period. Anything could happen. Their health may not permit them to continue or they may find it difficult to keep themselves abreast with changing academic advances or even understand different subjects that are being taught.  In short, circumstances could change and home-schooling would not be sustainable. Further, I do feel that an ideal   environment both at school and home will help a child develop a wholesome personality. Both the teachers at school and parents play an important role in a child's life. When teachers become facilitators, every child gets the attention and assistance the way each one of them needs. And as they get equal care and support from parents too at home, they will be able to explore things beyond school text books. Kids also need to be with their peers at least till the age of 16, as they influence the child positively at many instances.

    Vinay Trilokekar