Urmila Samson - Long time Indian Unschooling parent from Pune India
Profile & Journey | Videos | Associations |
Urmila Samson has been a long time Indian Unschooling parent from Pune India. Urmila has facilitated unschooling for her 3 children who are grown adults now.
Urmila has been major contributing figure in Indian homeschooling community. Urmila has been cofounder and one of the major active contributor for 'Swashikshan - Indian Association of Homeschoolers'.
Urmila has been facilitating online sessions as well as activities / gatherings in Pune of / for families homeschooling / unschooling / alternative education / living.
Profile of Urmila Samson and her Unschooling Journey
Urmila Samson felt schools were the worst place for children to spend their childhood. This was pre internet, so she had no idea that there was anyone else consciously not sending their children to school.
Several years later, over the then new internet, she was excited to learn there were others, and that this was called homeschooling! To her surprise, when eagerly connecting with families in Pune, around 2008-9, she discovered what she was doing was referred to as unschooling, which was very different from homeschooling.
Influenced by the power of large events like two unschooling conferences in the US in 2009, and the Learning Societies unConference in 2011, Urmila initiated the national Indian Homeschoolers Conference in 2014, later renamed Swashikshan Annual Meet, and the Pune Urban Village unConference, later renamed Pune Urban Village Gathering.
From 2014 to 2017, Urmila was part of Pragati Foundation's Poorna Pune initiative, co creating the Principals Round Table, later renamed Education Leaders Movement.
Since May 2022, she has been co creating large events for homeschoolers, unschoolers and people living alternative and diverse Ways of Being on the planet.
At Enterprise India Fellowship, she is currently working in Outreach for the expansion of their successful part time Fellowship program into a full time Degree 3+ 1 year Entrepreneurship Degree program. A new concept in Higher Education known as a Working Degree.
Answering a heart call for enhancing mental health in youth, Urmila is working closely with Youth Collaborating for Compassion, to bring all the Arts, Play, Storytelling, Kitchen Gardening and Listening Circles to schools in The Joyful Schools Program!
She also loves holding workshops for parents, guided relaxation sessions and Listening�Circles.
Videos of Urmila Samson
TEDx Talk of Urmila Samson, an Indian Unschooling parent, at TEDx SalisburyPark, Pune, India. Talk covers unschooling journey of her family as well as Unschooling consciousness.
Associations
- Swashikshan - Indian Association of Homeschoolers. Urmila was co-founder and one of the primary contributors in Swashikshan community of Indian homeschoolers.
- Pune Homeschoolers - Group of families homeschooling in Pune. Urmila has been one of the cofounders of the group and has been associated with this Pune homeschooling group in Pune in the role of admin.