“I don’t want to go to school”, it’s right to say that every child has said this at some point in their childhood. and for most parents, this is an easy statement to neglect.
But that’s not what happened in the Govande household. Sharmila and Chaitanya Govande have three children – two sons and one daughter – all of whom are ‘Unschoolers’.
- As a concept, unschooling entered their lives when their eldest son, Aditya, insisted that he be taken out of school about two years ago, instead of neglecting their then 12-year-old son’s request, the parents decided to do some research.
- Once she began thinking to the idea of ‘unschooling’, she realised that kids only learn what they truly have an interest in.
- “In a classroom, you have to follow the rules that are set by the school management or the teacher. There is absolutely no freedom,” Sharmila added.
- “Once we understood the gravity of the situation and the intensity with which he was saying this, we tried to find out more about home-schooling and unschooling,” said Sharmila.
- Aditya, the eldest son, loves to travel and explore new places, and has been on quite a few trips aside from the ones he shares with his family.
- Aside from playing games in the society with his friends, Siddharth is a fan of YouTube content, he wants to create a YouTube channel at the age of only 11.
- The youngest daughter Tara is only 4, but she knows more about plants than most adults. She knows that some plants are monocot and some are dicot and she is also curious as to why certain seeds don’t grow into plants.
- The Govandes like to travel and explore new places every few months. It opens up the kids to new triggers that tickle their curiosity, thereby facilitating learning.
- The family’s recent trip to Goa was one such trip. They took up an Airbnb in a quaint village and spent a lot of time chilling in the water, playing family games, and spending quality time together.
- The Govandes, a family of three kids, two adults, three cats and one dog like to have their own space and freedom.
- Travelling has become an essential part of life for these kids. It not only teaches them new things by exposing them to new lifestyles, cultures and people, but also helps in bringing them closer together.
By: Abhinav Ranjan, Editorial Desk, DKODING Media
