Disillusionment with extant schooling system and better understanding of studies done in the west on the subject has started prompting Indian parents to think of alternatives that take care of actual learnings and pursuance of interests of their wards rather than just filling up projects files and models just for submissions ahead of some deadline.
There are no black and white answers to questions that
challenge present day rules, predominant social outlook and prevailing wisdom. But
ambiguity attached to it does not make these questions any less relevant. Voids
shall have to be filled with answers, for if left unfilled it widens the
possibility of something dangerous occupying it, and there is no denying to the
fact that it never happens to be a cakewalk. The class of privileged people at
the helm of power do not really care about obstacles, as offered by status quo,
for it possesses enough means to go through and survive whatever situation they
are being put up in.
Amidst much talk about reforms in country’s education
system, in particular school education, the conversations surrounding
alternatives to it has started grabbing a significant mainstream space. Alternatives
being unschooling, home-schooling and other specially designed schools with
separate strategies of learning but a sole aim to encourage kids to walk the
street of self-exploration without being made to face rigid and tough each year
based evaluation system.
To reach to the masses, this idea of new age took
dramatic successes of some children following this methodology such as that of
a teenager named Malvika Raj Joshi who got admission ticket for world famous
MIT without a formal secondary or higher secondary board certificate. With
time, the alternatives have reimagined its relevance for society for they are
out now on their own. The idea is flourishing both in terms of its recognition
by people as well as increasing count of people actually believing and moving
ahead to adapt to it.
There has been growing concerns about inadequacies of
Indian schooling system, as many have criticized the system for it is not
really suitable for employing creative learning techniques at learning spaces
and is also detrimental to self-explored creativity of any going kid itself.
The evaluation based education system, as it has been the case with modern
education, has travelled a long period and unfortunately giving up on its
actual essence it has taken up a character of some kind of a toxic race.
Disillusionment with extant schooling system and better
understanding of studies done in the west on the subject has started prompting,
and actually attracting, Indian parents to think of alternatives that take care
of actual learnings and pursuance of interests rather than just filling up
projects files and models just for submissions ahead of some deadline. The big
metro cities such as Bangalore, Mumbai and Hyderabad etc. have seen a keen interest
of people wanting to indulge in, with equal proportion of parents wanting to
opt new ways to shed off unwarranted burden of their wards’ shoulders.
Alternatives such as home-schooling or unschooling are
an imagination quite close to community schools. These learning spaces let kids
to play, eat, sing, dance and learn whatever they want; the places where
learning piano equals reading Wikipedia. The alternatives have all in it to
enhance basic human qualities among children such as empathy, love, respect and
above all human bonds. Imposition of a system with burdensome performance
pressures don’t really help a child to be a responsible citizen or one who
understands value of consent in relationships. Free will at grassroots’ level,
that is, at tender age help in fashioning a generation that is sensitive to
real causes.
Alternatives, as such, have a touch of serenity and
peace, it cannot takeover all at once and it should not, for most of them are
based on intensive parents’ care, which does not make it a viable way for
everyone and financial constraints in a country like ours affects prospects of
such a system. However, these models present a vision for reform in prevailing
system of mass education. Walk on, there is much to learn, way to go!