Real democracy doesn't come from having the power to choose one's rulers; real democracy can only come when we have the power to choose our own gurus - Dayalchand Soni
The Shikshantar Resource Center for Homeschooling, Unschooling, Gap Year, Walkouts, Self-Designed Learners was created in 1998 to help us reclaim control over our own learning processes and rebuild our own learning webs. We wish to help people of all generations (ages 5 - 99) and backgrounds come and explore many different ways of learning and swaraj living. We believe that self-designed learning is not an individualistic or isolated process. Rather, it happens more deeply and more powerfully when we are part of a community of co-creators. We have tried to nurture such a community of collaboration, care and trust in Udaipur. There are no exams, marks, textbooks or compulsion at Shikshantar. We see every human being as both a learner and a guru (source of inspiration).
If we can have 50 different brands of toothpaste to choose from, then why only one kind of education? We have more than a billion learners so we should also have more than a billion learning systems - Manish Jain
The Resource Center offers
- Guidance and Coaching Support: We support individuals and families who would like to engage in self-designed learning processes to develop their own Personalized Learning Plans, Portfolios and Local Learning Ecosystems (in their hometowns). We offer counseling for parents to deschool themselves so that they can better co-learn with their children. We also help connect learners with various mentors around the country.
- Internships in UdaipurÔÇÖs Learning Eco-system: We connect learners for short and long-term internships with interesting mentors around Udaipur who doing very constructive and creative work. We know amazing Artists, Artisans, Organic Farmers, Chefs, Filmmakers, Designers, Healers, Healers, NGOs, Social Entrepreneurs, etc. You can also intern in Shikshantar itself. There are no prior diplomas or degrees required to learn with these people.
- Swapathgami Library and Makerspace: We have a beautiful library with thousands of radical books and films in English and Hindi that can help your explore questions and things that you would want to go deeper into. There are also a lot of opportunities to get your hands dirty with our makerspace which features lots of tools and people creating new things all the time.
- Unlearning Workshops, Learning Journeys and Festivals: Workshops and Learning Journeys are regularly hosted in the Library for skill exchanges, perspective building and building strong relationships. We also host special festivals throughout the year as celebrations of our diversity and local knowledge systems. Events are posted on Facebook page of Shikshantar Andolan. We also host student groups who wish to come for a study tour or learning journey (1 day, 3 days, 5 days) to experience Shikshantar Andolan and Udaipur as a Learning CIty.
- The Incubation Hive: Got an amazing idea for starting up a project or social enterprise in Udaipur? We can support you with refining the idea, networking, skill development opportunities, mentoring, developing and launching a prototype and a crowd-funding campaign. We are supporting many inspiring projects and campaigns as part of the Hacking the Education System Campaign and the Udaipur Localization Fellowship with kids, youths and adults.
- Families Learning Together Gatherings: We have helped organize these gatherings with 8-12 families at a time in Udaipur, Panchgani, Goa, Indore, Delhi. We can support you in organizing a special families gathering in your community.
- Vimukt Shiksha Publishing House and Community Filmmaking Studio: We have published over 20 books and magazines, and hundreds of videos in English, Mewari, Hindi on decolonizing our lives and reclaiming our own learning from institutions. We have also developed the Nai Taleem Film Festival for screening in homes and communities. All materials are copyleft and available on our website is <www.shikshantar.org>. Share your experiences of SDL with us.
- Gift Culture Guest House: Come stay with us to experience Udaipur as a Learning City for a few days in our simple but clean guest house. The guest house runs on a gift culture basis - pay what you can from your heart.
To learn more about the Resource Center, contact Vidhi Jain <vidhi@swaraj.org> or drop by and meet us at 21 Fatehpura, Udaipur, Rajasthan 313004. Tel. 91-294-245-1303.
Listen to Vidhi JainÔÇÖs TEDx talk
Check out some of the Nai Taalim Film Festival films
Read inspiring stories of Swapathgami Magazine
Read Teenage Liberation Handbook
