An 11-Year-Old's Journey: How and why I went Missing From School

As an 11-year-old, I often get asked the standard question, "Which grade are you in and which school do you attend?" While most kids would simply reply without a second thought, I've found replying to that question a bit more complicated. Why, you may ask? Well, that’s because for the last 8 months I’ve been Missing From School...

Welcome to my first blog post. I hope you enjoy reading about this incredible journey that I'm on.

It all began with a trip to Antarctica!

Thanks to my parents, I've been travelling from a very young age. In December 2019, we visited our 7th continent, ANTARCTICA. It was an extraordinary place and a life-changing experience. 

I was just 8 at the time and we were on a 20+ day journey with Quark Expeditions. Now, it was no fancy cruise! And instead of entertainment, the focus was on learning, exposure and education - at least to me. Our expedition team was made up of experts, many with different areas of specialisation and experience. As examples, we had an ornithologist (bird specialist), a penguinologist, a glaciologist and even a geo-political expert. Every day, there would be different lectures on board, based on what we were likely to see and experience when we left our ship. I found these sessions fascinating! Many mornings, I would wake up early and rush for these talks that began at 8am, often leaving my parents in our cabin.

By nature, I am rather introverted and don't open up easily. I found myself coming out of my shell. I was actively participating in these lectures. My curiosity led me to become more confident while interacting with others on the ship. We were just 200 passengers on board, and we created some pretty special bonds with people who we're still in touch with even today. I remember feeling like another person and I think my parents were shocked at the change they saw. Let's just say they thought this was Kiara 2.0

The light bulb moment! The epiphany!

Homeschooling might be a great idea! 

Having seen how much I learnt in such a short period, and how I interacted with well-read and experienced people from different spheres of life, my parents probably hoped to see Kiara 2.0 continue to evolve. However, once I got back, I was caught up with schoolwork, projects, and the old routine.

I think that's how the thought of homeschooling first seeded in their minds. Despite homeschooling in India not being as popular, they started to look at options where I could learn like that regularly. Plus, they had a strong opinion on the schooling system...

From the little that I understand, the educational system let's you focus on your interests or specialisations only when you are in college or later! Until then, while each of us is different, we still go through the same subjects, concepts, and topics over many years at school. Moreover, there is so much pressure with exams, assignments and homework.

Soon, the thought of me homeschooling had started to become a serious conversation at home! My dad even made a 60-slide presentation on what life would be like if I missed school. To be honest, it took me a while to imagine the thought of being away from my life in uniform and my friends that I had grown up with. And just as I started to get convinced, BAM...

The pandemic cancelled all that!

Like many things, the COVID pandemic soon ruined and burst all ideas we had. Travel was one of the most important aspects of our homeschooling program. So, while we were all getting used to the new normal, I stuck to school - as classes moved online. Though the rest of 2020 and 2021 home schooling seemed to be off-the-table.

Back to School and should I homeschool unschool?

After two whole years, life seemed to return to normal as schools in Mumbai became physical again. I loved seeing all my friends in person and spending every day with them.

Despite the perks of online school such as being in your pyjamas and not having to travel up and down with our city's traffic, you can imagine how excited I was to go back!

At that same time, the world started to wake up and travel seemed to be opening up too. That's when the prospect of homeschooling crept back in. By this point though, we had heard of the term unschooling, which seemed better fitted to what my parents wanted for me. Homeschoolers follow a curriculum that typically includes all the subjects you'd study in school, where-as, unschooling lets a child purely follow her or his interest.

I was very conflicted. I wasn't ready to leave school, after just getting back. I was starting to settle in, participate in school activities, and I had just gotten elected as a Prefect. Most importantly, I would really miss my friends.

Our family, for the most part, is democratic and my parents, where possible, allow me to have an equal opinion in decision-making. Of course, since unschooling was completely about me, I was reassured that the final decision was mine. I spent a lot of time weighing the pros and cons, but eventually, after five long months, decided I was going to do it!

A week later, I graduated from the Primary Years Program (PYP) at JBCN International School, Oshiwara. I was saying goodbye to a fabulous school after eight amazing years. Bidding farewell to my teachers and my friends was emotional, but I was very excited about the journey ahead.

Since I went #missingfromschool...

Of course, it was hard to leave behind such an important aspect of my life, but my parents and I were sure of what we were doing. Was I going to regret this decision? Some people were shocked and skeptical.

The amount of exposure and knowledge you can get through visiting different places is tremendous and many things coincided with topics being covered in school... While my sixth-grade friends were learning about the ancient Egyptian Civilisation in history class, I was able to explore many related sites in Giza, Saqqara and Luxor with an Egyptologist, learning and creating memories that would last me a lifetime. From engaging with the Aboriginals of Australia and the First Nations in Canada, I’ve learnt about how human tribes and communities have lived long before the pharaohs of Egypt. I’ve got to admit that this has all made me a bit of an anthropology nerd.

While my friends were learning about the classification of species, I’ve had the amazing opportunity of observing and learning about several of them in their natural habitats. Between Africa and Alaska and several places in between, I’ve learnt about mountain gorillas and chimpanzees, seen bears desperately hunting salmon and observed countless whales of different species. Sea Turtles are my favourite and I’ve had lots of amazing learnings by snorkelling and diving with them. I’ve also visited beaches where they nest and hospitals that rehabilitate these highly endangered key-stone species. 

During the past year, I’ve spent a lot of time in the water. That probably brings me the most joy! I’ve white-water rafted on the Nile, swam with manatees in Florida, snorkelled with amazing marine life in the Great Barrier Reef and tried my hand at free-diving, kayaking, surfing, stand-up-paddle boarding and so much more. And to top that all off, in January 2023, on a beautiful island in the Indonesian archipelago, I became a PADI-certified Jr. Open-Water Scuba Diver.

I’ve also been blessed with the opportunity of participating in a tiny-little volunteer project in a little village in Uganda, visited many amazing museums, been dazzled by the Northern Lights and got a taste of British boarding-school-life in Oxford. 

For both my parents and me, learning without going to school, was never a question mark. Was my social life going to suffer? Eight months in, I can say that whenever I meet my friends, it's been like nothing ever changed. I’ve had the chance to spend time with family across the world and hung out with all my cousins. I'm so grateful for all the places I’ve been to and all the people I have met. In fact, many of them have been my teachers!

I don't consider myself to be homeschooling or unschooling. Now, I simply believe I am worldschooling.

 

THE WORLD IS MY OYSTER SCHOOL

Please follow my journey on instagram

Well, that's it! Of course, I don't write such a long speech, when someone asks me what school I go to. 🤣 But hopefully, you enjoyed reading my story. Perhaps what I'm doing sounds crazy, so if you have any questions or thoughts for me (or my parents), please do share them in the comments below.