Nirupama Raghavan: A testimony

I have a complex relationship with Shikshayatan. I grew up studying in it and teaching in it,
watching my parents run it and being involved wtih it myself. Shikshayatan was and is a liminal
space for me, one that contained elements of school and home and work without ever
completely being any of those. I sometimes think that makes me more  qualified to speak on
it than anyone else - and sometimes worry that I am less so.
The founding principle of Shikshayatan, in my opinion, is the recognition of the child as a
learning individual. The school's approach towards learning acknowledges the strategic value
of incorporating governmental standards and syllabus content without letting those logistics
compromise the importance and centrality of the individual learning needs of each child in the
school. Students here have the freedom to seek their own organic levels and climb quickly
higher in the subjects for which they have a natural propensity, without losing their footing
on the basic requirements in subjects which present them with more of a struggle. As a
person with both physical and neurological disabilities, who grew up studying and working
here, I found that I was able to keep moving ahead in the languages and humanities and social
sciences, and was given significant leeway to work with my talents in these areas, while being
given much more help and structured learning in maths and sciences. The beauty of
Shikshayatan's system is that it is only as structured an environment as any child needs; the
stronger their talents in any area, the greater their freedom to grow and experiment and
assert their individual talents.
My own skills extended from teaching to learning in my stronger disciplines; this is not an
uncommon arc at Shikshayatan. This is the other great strength of this school: rather than
buying into the mutually destructive and competition-oriented educational system that
cripples the self-esteem and individuality of children in our society, Shikshayatan encourages
a culture of collaboration, where children aim to succeed together rather than alone. This
success does not come at the cost of individual children being trapped into being responsible
for their peers; rather, it is a system that actively rewards children for collaborating and
helping each other, while instilling the importance of individual achievement in a way that
makes each child responsible for their own work. It is uniquely capable, in my opinion, of
encouraging the growth of self-discipline and planning skills that will serve children well in
later academics or careers, while also giving them a  concrete sense of the importance and
advantages of collective labour and achievement. The children I taught went on to teach
others, reinforcing their own learning while strengthening their group bonds and avoiding the
one-upmanship inherent to the traditional education system.
The apparent contradictions of the two values I have outlined - the value placed on the
individual child, and the value of collaborative and mutually beneficial work - are resolved
seamlessly in the fact that it is impossible for the individual to be truly valued except in a
society where everyone is valued and helped, and it is impossible to help a child succeed in
society without creating an environment that encourages collaborative achievement. These
values have formed the core of my worldview and educational philosophy, as they form the
basis of learning for hundreds of current and past students at Shikshayatan. It was my
privilege to learn there, and to teach there.