Innovations in Shiksha

Innovations in Shiksha is a term given to diverse experiments outside the Factory models of Schooling and Education. We believe these Innovations act as catalysts and can inspire many new ideas/ experiments world-wide. Most of these experiments have sparked alot of imagination and creativity in us and keep our spirits alive. They also constantly help us unlearn and re-learn what we need to for the 21st Century. Please feel free to share your own Innovations in Shiksha.

Shikshantar Resource Center for Homeschooling, Unschooling, Self-Designed Learners

Visit the Shikshantar Resource Center in Udaipur.

10 Lies My School Taught Me

What lies have you been taught by your school? How have you been trying to unlearn them?

Swaraj University and Self-Designed Learning

Swaraj University was designed and birthed in 2010 as a two year learning programme for youth.

Creativity in Education Conference

100 educational leaders came together on March 14-15, 2024 for the Creativity in Education Conference at Delhi which was hosted in collaboration with UNESCO Delhi, shikshantar sansthan, new earth f

Glimpse into Reimagining Education Workshop

A glimpse into highlights of the Reimagining Education Workshop hosted by Manish Jain and Swaraj University.

Unlearning the Money System

"To be considered relevant and innovative for our times, every visionary education project should have a pedagogy to engage with the larger money system, in other words, interrogate and re-imagine

Ideological or Dialogical

"The modern university trains us to be ideological rather than dialogical.
Taking an absolute position to win the debate.
Judging people through black and white categories.

Child-led Learning

International organizations like UNICEF brought out the framing of 'child-centered' education as an attempt to bring more focus to each child's needs and diverse learning styles more than three dec

The Real Purpose of School is Self-Hate

I keep meeting many friends who are valiantly trying to fix or reform the education system with all kinds of super new curricula and shiny technologies.

A Day in the Life of Unschoolers Ecovillage

The Unchoolers Ecovillage is based in Udaipur, Rajasthan, India. We invite families to come explore natural learning and living with us. Film by Traingunya Bhale. Copyleft 2023.

How to learn that which cannot be taught Story

We come to understand in the Chandogya Upanishad that SHVETAKETU learned everything that could be learned, then there was nothing else to be taught, so the master said, “You have known all that can

Reimagining Nai Taleem - What is meaningful education?: A Conversation with Jyoti Bhai Desai

Jyotibhai Desai is one of the most creative and radical Gandhian educationists in the world. This film explores some of his ideas and experiments.

#KindnessKarma

Beautiful video by students of Creativity Adda, government school Dariya Ganj. What are your stories of random acts of kindness?

A Little Reminder about the Paradoxes of Life for My Daughter

You are super special AND you are not.

What you achieve in life is important AND it doesn’t really matter.

You will have lots of choices in your life AND you really don’t.

Why You Should Design Your own Learning

Vidhi Jain, in her eye-opening TEDx talk about unschooling, talks about how we can break from the culture of schooling and design our own education.

The Educator's Unlearning Oath

(offered in the spirit of the Hippocratic Oath)

Homeschoolers in Creativity Adda

This is a documentary video made by the Community Media Lab students in Creativity Adda Delhi on Harjas Singh and family.

Pitaara Memoirs

When I look back at it, I feel Pitaara was like an idea that found me to help me unleash my own treasure. It gave me a deeper peek of my own abilities.

Vimukt Shiksha Yatra

Creativity Adda: Interview with Ashish Tiwari

"Those who are dejected and have tired feet choose to walk the well carved path. I love all the raw paths I have created for myself through my journey." - SD Saxena

Shikshantar Learning Resource Center

Come visit Shikshantar Resource Center for Unschoolers, Free Learners, Walkouts, Misfits ito learn more about how you can reclaim control over your learning.

Awakening at Sadhana Forest: Interview with Rajesh Goswami

An awakening of a simple curiosity, took newly-wed Sheela and Rajesh Goswami on a life changing journey.

Reviving Conscious Connections at Weddings: Interview with Arti Bhandari and Parth Dave

Arti Bhandari and Parth Dave are a recently married young couple who not only thrive on their individuality, but also on their togetherness.

Is Unschooling in a Government School Possible?

Prabhakant Jain shares his experience with unschooling his son and helping to launch Creativity Adda Delhi.

Re-imagining Nai Taleem: Rajendra Singh on Education

A short interview in Hindi with Shri Rajendra Singh, Gandhian environmentalist and 'waterman of India' on his thoughts on education. Re-imagining Nai Taleem series.

We are here to complete each other: Peer to Peer Learning in Creativity Adda

This essay explore the concept of peer-to-peer learning in the Creativity Adda Delhi.

Reclaiming Learning Spaces for Intrinsic Motivation

This essay explores the power of intrinsic motivation in unschooling spaces like the Creativity Adda.

Out of the Box

This is a little behind the scenes film about the Jail University Band, Out of the Box, performance at the Udaipur World Music Festival.

Re-imagining Nai Taleem: How Do We Transform Education?

Key mindset shifts for reimagining education narrated by Nariman Moustafa.

Nai Taalim Film Festival

Named after Gandhi's call for a new vision of education, this festival inspires viewers to dream beyond the dominant model of factory schooling.

Seekhne ka Safar: A Film on Natural Learning

A beautiful film on natural learning made during the Swapathgami Filmmaking Workshop.

Tribal Creativity Adda

A short film on the Creativity Adda unschool in a government school in Surata tribal village, Dungarpur. This project was initiated in June 2018.

Reimagining Higher Education in the Jail: Interview with Manish Jain

For the past six months, a small team from Shikshantar has been going to the Udaipur Central Jail and spending roughly five hours per day facilitating workshops and interacting with the inmates and guards.

Unschoolers Camp Playbook

Here is a little playbook on our experiences with co-designing and co-hosting the Unschoolers Winter Camp at Shikshantar, Udaipur.

Creativity Adda Girls Summer Unschooling Camp

This special Summer Unschooling Camp was held in Delhi Lancer Road government school for girls as a prototype for a new Creativity Adda

On Families - Hobbies - Pastimes

I am the the youngest of three BRATS (Born Raised and Transferred) kids from the Defence background who reminds my kids that I spent the first nine years of my life in eight locations across the co

Families Learning Together Gathering Udaipur 2018

Families learning together is a four day living together and learning experience at Swaraj University, Udaipur.

The Unschoolers Winter Camp 2017

A little glimpse into the Unschoolers Winter Camp held at Shikshantar, Udaipur, from Nov 1-Dec 30, 2017. This film was shot and made by the unschoolers themselves. Special thanks to Qudrat.

Making Our Own Natural Home Products

A couple of years earlier I had many ideals and ideas of how I wanted to live, raise my children, where I should live and what the world ÔÇÿshouldÔÇÖ be like.

The Unschoolers Winter Camp

Frequently asked questions about the Winter Camp. Check out the Unschoolers Winter Camp film.

Facilitating reading, writing and math in unschooling

I am 44 years old. I live in Pune with my daughter, Gourika, and son, Ishaan, my parents and our dog, Goldy.

From Pyaar Hona (falling in love) to Pyaar Nibhana (honouring love)

Bollywood loves that particular phase when a man and a woman are falling in love. Over 80% of our film music can be mapped to this pink phase (including at least one of your favourite numbers)

Our First Family Trip to India

The decision to spend two months in India ÔÇö for a first visit ÔÇö felt exhilarating and terrifying at the same time.

Families Learning Together Magazine

Inspiring stories of South Asian homeschoolers, unschoolers, and creative families creating learning environment with new experiments.

The Power of Self Healing

Our search for natural health and other related matters started with the birth of our son. Actually, it started a little before that, when we were looking for a sympathetic gynecologist.

My Unlearning Journey: An Interview with Manish Jain

Claude Alvares interviews Manish Jain, co-founder of Shikshantar Andolan, Swaraj University and Learning Societies Unconference, for the Alternative Learning Sourcebook.

Re-imagining Nai Taleem: Norma Alvares on The Pedagogy of Open Houses

Some stories about families learning together from social visionaries Norma and Claude Alvares during the Swaraj University Wisdom Weekend

Re-imagining Nai Taleem: Norma Alvares on the Pedagogy of Lights out

Some stories about Families Learning Together from social visionaries Norma and Claude Alvares during the Swaraj University Wisdom Weekend.

Social Innovators of Udaipur: Interview with Vidhi Jain

Interview with Mrs. Vidhi Jain, co-founder of the ÔÇÿShikshantar Resource Centre about her vision of education

A Week in the Life of Creativity Adda

Imagine a space where government school-going children have freedom to pursue and develop their interests everyday without textbooks, exams, or marksÔÇª

A University With No Classrooms, No Teachers, Degrees, Curriculum, and Exams

You are welcome to Swaraj University to experience the joy and aliveness of learning.

If not schooling, then what? Learning Parks of Possibilities

Learning Parks was one of the first experiments co-created by Shikshantar in Udaipur in the year 2000

Udaan Creative Learning Park

Here are some 2013 glimpses of Udaan self-designed learning project with children from ragpicker community in Badgaon, Udaipur.

Indian Foreword to Dumbing Us Down

Many years ago, I had an idea of publishing a book full of confessions in which teachers asked for an apology for their crimes against children in school.

Thoughts on Resurrecting Nai Talim

If nai talim gets imprisoned into a system, it will be killed. If that should happen there will be no room for initiative, and people will spend their time contriving how this piece of knowledge can be correlated with that activity. We must steer clear of that kind of thing.

Re-imagining Nai Taleem: Preeti, Mukti, Abhivyakti

This film features the late Narayan Desai, writer, Gandhian activist, freedom fighter, chancellor, homeschooler from Gujarat, India. He grew up with Mahatma Gandhi.

Re-imagining Nai Taleem: Mera Atma Shikshak, Mera Karm

This film is about the late Sri Dayalchand Soni, a Gandhian thinker, writer, activist, educator, school principal, and owner of a flour grinding mill.

Wisdom and Salt Water

The film is a recording of a gathering of families and individuals that met in Deer Park, Bir, Himachal Pradesh in India in April 2011, to discuss and share there learning journeys.

Families Learning Together Gathering Indore

Glimpses of the Families Learning Together meet that was held in Indore in 2010. About 12 families gathered and played together in Indore, beautifully hosted by Dinesh Kothari and friends.

An Illiterate's Declaration to the Literacy Preacher

A beautiful radical poem critiquing the way 'literacy' has been framed by development projects.

A Day in the Life of Swaraj University

Rama Barhat shares her experiences as a Khoji at Swaraj University and also how she feels her learning has been different from other University students.

Children Being in the World

A film based on the research of K B Jinan which shows the richness of learning spaces and processes in daily village life.

Re-imagining Nai Taleem: Helena Norberg Hodge on Education

Interview with Helena Norberg Hodge, author of Ancient Futures and Economics of Happiness

Join the Tika Tippani Dialogue

The Families Learning Together group has produced this animation to raise a dialogue around the issues of vaccination.

Creativity Adda

The Creativity Adda is an unschool (innovative self-designed learning space) based in a government school in Mukherjee Nagar, Delhi.

Jail University

The Swaraj Jail University project began in October 2018 with the purpose of prototyping a self-designed learning program in the Udaipur Central Jail.

Creating learning ecosystems instead of schooling cages:Vidhi jain at TEDxLBSIM

Vidhi Jain talks about the power of learning cities and learning eco-systems

Multiversity Network | Experience with Self-Designed Learning | Arjun Aiyer

Swaraj University Khojis were invited to the Multiversity Conference in Malaysia

Multiversity Network | Experience with Self-Designed Learning | Aviral Mittal

Swaraj University Khojis were invited to the Multiversity Conference in Malaysia to speak about their experiences with self-designed learning.

3 secrets to practicing self designed learning | Lakshmi Gunashekar | TEDxBhilwara

This talk was given at a local TEDx event, produced independently of the TED Conferences.

What if learning was possible without degrees?: Rahul Hasija at TEDxMasala

What would happen if we went about pursuing education outside the walls of an institution; what can we learn from just travelling, writing, dancing, meeting new people?

TEDxSPSU - Reva Dandage - Adventures of learning in a real faltu University

Reva Dandage is the co-founder and director of Swaraj University, an alternative university with a focus on self-design learning, including exploration of basic entrepreneurial skills within the co

Growing with Kudrat

You are committing a sin.
You will spoil and ruin your childÔÇÖs life.
You are mad.

Towards an Organic Learning Community

There is no pre-set curriculum for the learning activists. It emerges from mutual dialogue among co-learners. However, some processes can assist in their deeper exploration.

Owning your Learning: Sakhi Nitin-Anita at TEDxYouth@Anaikatti

Sakhi has decided to take her education seriously and hence does NOT go to college.

Re-imagining MBA Education...

Imagine a group of MBA students... starting their own real green company and issuing a slow money IPO as part of their studies.