Week 47

Another week passed by and what was achieved in this week is difficult to pinpoint. The one conversation everyone seemed to be having revolved around CoVid-19 and the causes and impact of the same. Some of the theories were plausible and some were extended based on the beliefs of the people. The only thing I seem to really believe is that the impact would be more severe than we anticipate and we are underestimating the impact irrespective of whatever we think it to be. Most of the commentators are not taking into account the second and third-order impacts of the disruption of a global supply chain - a country impacting one-third of the global economy virtually shutdown for a month more than planned, will in the worst case affect global economy by at least ~1% (1/11 months). But given the impact on travel, meetings, fairs, conferences, etc. this will get exacerbated and that also needs to be factored in. We will wait and see how it plays out.

Week 46

Yet another week passed and as we inch closer to the anniversary of this experiment, I realize that it is difficult for us to follow any plan at all. And most of the blame for the same is mine for a plan needs a firm mind while mine roams everywhere. This week included a trip with friends and lots of discussions around entitlement of the kids. It was funny to note that when I look at my own behavior with others, there are a lot of elements that shout hypocrisy. There is a lot of work I need to do on myself before I can tell my kids what is right and what is wrong - accountability has to start at my level before I can expect it from them.

Week 45

This week was spent in weighing the pros and cons of sending your kid to a good school and homeschooling. Though there are no definitive answers in my mind, one thing in favor of a big school is access to a bigger social network and that brings some diversity into your social circle. In case you do believe that life is unpredictable (2019 nCoV in China is an example of a "black swan" event that can completely alter your life plan), you need the flexibility of being able to associate with some broader networks that are part of the mainstream and that give your family the option to ease back into the common stream easily.

Week 44

How things change in one week! My daughter got accepted to another IB PYP curriculum school and my wife is now worried about how expensive such schools are. I guess we will take up the admission as it fulfills the desires of the child to go to school.

As for my son, he participated in the arts festival that I mentioned he was working towards. It was quite eventful as the initial structure that was put up could not last even one day and had to be replaced the next day with something sturdier. I was skeptical that homeschoolers would not be easy to convince about something suddenly because I presumed that homeschooling is pursued by a few outliers of the society who are assertive and strong-headed. But then one thing I had not considered is that they become quite flexible as they need to make new associations quickly, not having the luxury of a fixed large circle. This flexibility means stripping down to essentials in order to generate solutions rather than any fixation to an established precedence. If this skill can be developed further, I would be really happy as it would prepare these kids well to survive the 21st century. Yuval Noah Harari, a famous thinker about the past and the present, has highlighted this need to adapt and learn quickly in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG6WnMb9Fho