Not just another brick in the wall- that’s what the members of Calcutta Unschoolers have taken to prioritise the most, for their children.
A ‘fluid’ group of parents who believe learning can never be limited to the boxed understanding of a school — its regulations, curriculum and stipulations — have taken a beautiful call to let children find their own melody.
Last month, the group met at The Reserve Bank of India Museum in central Kolkata’s BBD Bag area, to have a fun day out for the kids and the parents, which saw a bubbly exchange of conversations, knowledge and laughs. My Kolkata was there to talk to the dynamic and zesty group, whose ideas drift away from the mainstream into a place which values a child’s freedom to explore more as topmost priority.
Vivek and Sarita Phumra with Eva and Ekansh
Vivek and Sarita Phumra shared ideas surrounding the idea behind not sending their children Eva and Ekansh to school.
“Every parent comes into the group with a separate mindset. We, as parents, did not want our son to be a part of the maddening rat race with marks, inclination and expectations. We did not want to disturb the natural growth of the children. We, both, want them to be sports people. It is completely their choice. If they want to go ahead with academics, they will. Going to school involves a lot of collateral activities like tuition classes, travel, leading to a considerable time being lost, away from positive thinking,” said Vivek. Sarita pitched in: “Learning continues. Even if they are not going to school, they are learning from some way or the other. Learning comes from the people they get at home, their grandparents and us. The cycle of knowledge continues to flow, outside the rat race. We really believe in the importance of travel. It makes you meet a number of people from across the spectrum. We travel a lot.”
Gayatri and her son Kuber
Gayatri, flanked by her son, Kuber, said: “I was homeschooling my child when he was in the fourth grade and it’s honestly a very different experience. The child’s expanse of knowledge increases by leaps and bounds. It’s not just restricted to what’s prescribed. For instance, my child went through an entire book on immunology. A child of nine wouldn’t usually do that, but since it’s beyond the stretch of the syllabus, the intrigue worked.”
“Prescribing them is like putting them in a cage. He went on to explore. And that has gotten him into astronomy, origami, et al. If more than half of the day is consumed by school, and the rest, by whatever is attached, classes and homework, there is really no time to explore. There obviously has to be a sense of discipline, and the parents should also be aware, proactive and open to new ideas. It’s been challenging, especially for a single mother like me, but a very good experience.”
The children browse through the exhibits at the museum
Pramit Pratim Ghosh was perhaps the only parent who came in without his child. It was his first meeting with the group. He went around talking, knowing and learning receptively. When asked about his idea surrounding homeschooling he said: “I became a father in August, 2020. I’m Bengali and my wife’s Tamil. So, right from the very beginning, life was never going to be regular, with the fair amount of travel that we could foresee. I stay in Kolkata and my in-laws are based out of Coimbatore. So it was understood that the child had to travel a lot. Travelling is a key aspect of unschooling practice. The more you travel, the more you learn. The concept of learning only in a school doesn’t really exist in my understanding of it. You learn on the go, from experiences more than books. Given how our lives have panned out, learning from the books hasn’t given us a lot to apply to our daily jobs. So, for our son, we were clear that we wanted to homeschool him from the very beginning.”
Talking about how his son would make friends and meet people, he said: “You don’t really take the idea of an institution all together from it. You just take out the idea of an institution called the school where you follow a set curriculum. The institution can also be a community, be it a housing complex or a village you go to. The child keeps learning and expanding his horizon, unrestricted. He could make friends anywhere, along the way.”
Paramita Banerjee accompanied by Ekantika
Paramita Banerjee has not yet had her kid, Ekantika, take to homeschooling but is friends with most of the group members. As a distanced participant in the idea, she observed: “I feel the reason, why the entire concept of Unschoolers works, is because the parents take it upon themselves to guide the kids the way they want, outside the stereotypical curriculum. I would have loved to homeschool my kid but I have my own business and was also not courageous enough. But with the expanse of the resources and books available, I think I would love to empower my child with knowledge without restrictions. My daughter finds solace in the bookshelves that we have at home, and personally, I feel a kid who is drawn to books, will find their own way.”
Speaking to the industrious duo who bring the group together, Iftekhar Ahsan and Shaheera Bano told us why they chose homeschooling for twins Isa and Sheherazad. On a beautiful note, they summed up: “At Calcutta Unschoolers, we are a bunch of parents whose children learn from life, their families and from this amazing city. You don’t need to shun school altogether to be a Calcutta Unschooler, there are no prerequisites. You just need to be open to the many possibilities of learning your family can have be it encyclopaedias, online videos or grandparents if you don’t outsource the entire learning process to an institution.”
About what would their children do on the threshold of college, Iftekhar said: “College entrance certificates can be acquired from the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS is a recognised board by the Government of India and is equivalent to other recognised education boards in terms of accreditation and validity of certificates). There are international colleges which don’t even need that but there are some criteria set in place.”
Iftekhar and Shaheera