Unschooled Schooling

Covid-19 witnessed a lean towards homeschooling by parents who observed that “…all that money is spent in vain on upkeeping a tradition.” The eye-opener lay in the manner in which their children experienced home studying as opposed to mass education. Parents argued that they would be saving a colossal amount of money spent in vain on travel to and from school, imposed extras, tuition and a host of other expenditures when their children can easily sit before a screen and soak up the knowledge through on-line classes. Sounds like fun? Well, it was – initially. Then came the rumbles which turned into full scale grumbles and children began showing signs of acute behaviours which were alarming to their parents. 

Words - Shanthi Wijesinghe

As a concerned and interested educator I saw it coming way before the bubble burst. It’s not exactly rocket science if one has studied and experienced the psyche of young children. When I was approached, I began with parents who needed to understand that children needed variations. Sitting before a screen has its limitations. By then, children had figured out that turning the camera off has its benefits. They had the power to control the class. Boys would be lounging in bed, eating ice-cream off containers, parents/grandparents would be feeding them, they doodled, played with their mechano sets, the girls were a little more disciplined at the beginning but soon found out ways in which they could veer away from being bored. 

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