DE-SCHOOLING, A CONTRADICTION
DE-SCHOOLING, A CONTRADICTION
By Mr.Harekrushna Behera
The author is a teacher in social science,
can be contacted through
E-mail- hare_321ku@rediffmail.com
Just few days back I saw an English news paper highlighting de-school concept through an article ‘Learning @ home is fun’. The article speaks about the fact that more and more parents in Bangalore, Mumbai and Pune those who are opting for Home Schooling. Children are provided all such learning equipments or tutors at home for studies and children are getting enough time to share in other activities and hobbies. According to them, there is no need to send children to school. At home they can be trained with a flexible scheduled time table which can prepare the child well. And that can help them in thorough research in any topic and understanding a concept very well. And on reaching class 10, the child can take the board exam privately by registering with the National Institute of Open Schooling or International General Certificate of Secondary Education. The degree is acceptable across the world.
The news paper also speaks about what psychologists speak. They speak, “Considering the system our schools are following, home schooling is a good option. A school is crammed- be it in curricular or extra- curricular activities. In a family, it’s a more relaxed environment and therefore more conducive for learning”
But as a teacher I can say, schools can’t be replaced by learning at home. A child at school now a day’s is more beneficial than a child can get in home learning.
- School provides one platform where children share each other and learn each other in their peer group. 90% of learning of the students takes place while sharing with their friends. And learning and sharing at home by using computers or other equipments or taking the help of parents who are not of same age is more burdensome work.
- Busy life of parents and relatives shows the shortage of time to spent for the kids speaks about the good option to send child to school.
- The time in summer and winter holidays, when children stay at home, it becomes very boring days and a period of headache for the parents. Is it not a burden for the parents to stop children to go school and learn at home?
- There is a danger even in sparing the internet for the use of the child as it can be very easily misused. Better option is a teacher but not a machine to train the child. Help of a machine can be taken by a teacher but a teacher cannot be replaced by a machine.
- It is true that in this internet age a child can be availed with computer both at home and school for global knowledge. But totally surrendering child to the computer is foolishness.
- There is a difference in learning from a personal tutor and in the class room. Learning in the class room is really a fun. Children enjoy each other. The change must be in the teaching style or curriculum of the school but not de-schooling.
- Many children have confessed openly the boring teaching that parents often assigned a personal tutor at home to teach. Child is over burdened with a personal teacher rather he is comfortable in a group.
- At home, providing personal coaching to child by a tutor should be more vigilant. Leaving everything to the home tutor and to be careless may have inviting physical and emotional harassment to the kids. Thus group learning at classroom is the best learning.
Better, it’s the children say more about the joy at school or home. Children come to school for enjoying- not only in class room learning but with their friends. A child learns more from his peer groups rather than teacher. The same environment cannot be given at home. Scholl has been providing a very comfortable learning environment since time immemorial. It is speechless to say about complete learning without school. Machines and other equipments can add the teachers in teaching but not meant for replacing them.
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Qualification- Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/homeschooling-articles/deschooling-a-contradiction-1756276.html
M.Phil,B.Ed,Vedanta
