Week 34

The highlight of the week was a birthday party. I met someone who tore into me because I was homeschooling my kids and without provocation, explained to me that I was where I was in life because of my conventional education and I should be thankful for it rather than trying to change the conventions. On my argument that the world has changed in the last 30 years, it was met by the argument that the sun/moon are the same and we were far ahead of our parents, so our kids would be ahead of us as well - that is no change. I was overwhelmed by the vehemence and was left wondering what provoked it especially when I had not even tried to justify our choices.

Week 33

This week passed by too quickly. My son went for woodworking class and my wife wanted him to make a cupboard. He and his guide obviously did not think that was a smart thing to do and that caused some consternation with her. They want him to develop some new skills with some other tools and she thinks that the class should be useful in some way for her too - after all she is the one taking the trouble to take him around. I agree with both sides - it is important for him to learn and I appreciate the fact that she wants him to make useful things!! I highlight this because this tussle is at the heart of our homeschooling vs regular schooling too. We want him to learn things that are directly helpful but sometimes it is important to do things that build skills too.. what is the right balance for both these things? More importantly, is there one? Will find out only afterwards.

Week 32

It was a good week overall. There was peace, and my son went about his classes and did his practice as would be satisfactory to a parent. My daughter goes for a school interview tomorrow and my wife and I are wondering about our reaction to the whole thing. We are trying to be indifferent, but a conversation around her getting an admission becoming an ego issue has happened. It is difficult to not get affected when the crowd around you wants you to act in a particular way.

Week 31

Days pass and weeks merge. His friends have been celebrating Diwali vacations and so he has been going out and playing with them. His cousins came over and he had a good time playing video games with them. His classes continue intermittently and I continue to hope that he is learning something valuable. Origami is something he had been keen about at the start of the journey, but has not picked up for some time. I guess I need to push him to pick it up again. And therein lies a conundrum I have not been able to resolve - should I push him?