Homeschooling

Mahatma Gandhi, the father of the Nation, said,” There is no school equal to a decent home and no teacher similar to a virtuous parent.” 

The home is the first school where we learn the lessons of life, virtue, honor, truth, self-control, the value of education, honesty, and the importance of life. Home is the best place for teaching and rearing children, and the failure at home cannot be compensated by success in any other form.

The advent of homeschooling education goes back to the time before the introduction of the modern education system. Homeschooling is an unconventional form of education, where educated parents teach their children at home instead of enrolling them in traditional schools. A homeschooled child acquires the quality of education, which is entirely dependent on the means and opportunities accessible to their parents. Predominantly, the quality of education also depends on the parent’s competence, who undertakes the full responsibility of a teacher. It is worth mentioning that homeschooling is legal in some countries only, and not all nations officially permit this type of education. 

As the saying goes, “the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world.” When education entirely becomes a mother’s responsibility, either because they live in a remote location or they have chosen to homeschool, the children excel academically as the mother knows her child better than anyone else in the world. The National Home Education Research Institute of India reports that, on average, homeschooled students have 15-30% higher grades than traditional school students.

In India, there is undoubtedly no awareness regarding homeschooling. According to RTI Act, 2009, India’s government states that compulsory education to every kid between the age group of 7-14 should be provided. However, the government has failed to clarify any fact regarding homeschooling, though this act intends to provide schooling for all the children, be it at home or school. But the dilemma lies in the fact that the government has never taken a firm stand on homeschooling. They legally do not allow homeschooling, but on the other hand, if confident parents choose homeschooling as the mode of education for their children, the government would abstain from interfering or act against them.

The year 2020 has changed the approach towards education due to the crisis generated by covid-19. This pandemic has resulted in the shutting down of Schools and Colleges across the world. Approximately over 1.2 billion children all over the world are out of traditional classroom education. Under these circumstances, homeschooling with online education was the only viable option available to the people. Ed-Tech companies like BYJU’S, Toppr, Great Learning etc have given millions of people the opportunity to learn online.

Experts believe that homeschooling restricts children from socializing and interacting with other children. This interaction is crucial to a child’s development, especially in developing social skills. Homeschooling requires parents to be far more involved in their child’s learning than traditional schools, which is often tedious and compels them to forego other activities and job opportunities to educate their children. It is a continuous learning process for the parents, too, as they have to organize class activities, develop curricula, and evaluate their children, among other things. This becomes even more challenging when the parents have more than one child at different levels of education. Some parents opt for homeschooling, assuming they can probably do better than fully trained teachers. This is not always true, and their children either obtain low-quality education or miss some key lessons and skills taught by professional teachers.

Prompted by covid-19, we are on the brink of a massive educational reset. Many families, who are back in charge of their children’s education, free from compulsory schooling constraints, might demand more educational choice and freedom. Inspired by the learning, growth, and reignited curiosity they witness in their children’s homeschooling, and parents might opt to withdraw their children from traditional school altogether.

I want to conclude with the thought that both these types of schooling have their pros and cons. Whether we believe that homeschooling’s strength outweighs its weakness, we must also admit that the practice is viable and is quite likely to bring positive results. 

Schooling may not be the same again when schools reopen after COVID-19.