Unlearning learning, to earn

Rushil Kirpalani with his powerpoint presentation of Lebanon. Pics/Aishwarya Deodhar

Laughter erupts inside the white-walled classroom in Skill Shakti Community, located in a quiet neighbourhood in South Mumbai. This interactive learning community is a fun-filled, non-judgmental space for differently-abled people. A session on graphic design is in progress, and colorful artwork is propped up against the wall. There are laptops and iPads instead of notebooks, and conspicuously absent is the pressure to form the perfect ‘A' or write in shapely cursive.

"There's no disability if there's learnability," Sangitaa Advani, the founder of Skill Shakti Community, emphasises. As parent to a daughter with Down syndrome, she knows all too well how the mainstream education system handles people with disabilities. "Neurodivergent students are actually good learners; they just file information differently," she says. "They require an educational environment that does not stress on academic milestones and completing work as per standards of perfection. This gap in the curriculum design and teaching methodology excludes students who need a different approach to teaching. Then there's also the constant bullying when all they need is an understanding learning environment."

Teachers Ananya Parthasarthy and Ateka Tambawala interact with the students at Skill Shakti Community

The pivotal moment for Advani came in 2015, when colleges in Mumbai refused to enroll her daughter. But she was accepted into Pathway, a program at the University of California (UCLA) designed to provide individuals with learning and developmental hurdles the opportunity to live, work, and study in a collegiate environment. It teaches the skill of self-advocacy, and that spark led to the creation of Skill Shakti Community.

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Advani, who has co-created an exchange program with St Xavier's' College and a school in Tamil Nadu called Shikshayatan, drew on her experience to create a fun and accessible system of learning that goes beyond the plain old rote-learning. The core of this system is stress-free learning. "The biggest shutdown to processing is when you're frightened," Advani says, explaining how most students had bad experiences with regular schooling.

Skill Shakti Community, which was started in January 2020, offers a diploma in employability and life skills. It equips students with functional skills such as graphic designing, social media marketing, video editing, and financial management. All subjects are broken down into fun-sized bits of learning. The aim is not just to send students off for a job but help them to grow in a profession. Once they're deemed ready - there's no set time frame, it could be within a month or up to two years - they're placed in internships with a ‘buddy on site' to help them dive into the nitty-gritty of corporate life.

The current class strength is 10, but they were able to reach over 200 students from different parts of the world during the pandemic when classroom learning shifted online. Rushil Kirpalani, a graphic design intern at SNM design, tells us how his original drawings have been used by Sketch the Collection, a fashion apparel brand, on their on shirts and scarves. Almost all of Skill Shakti Community's learners love art; the team is heading to the Snowball Studios for Mul Mathi, a showcase of embroidered textiles based on the artworks of artists Madhvi and Manu Parekh.

Sangitaa Advani, founder and director of Skill Shakti Community

Ramnath Ramesh, after singing ‘The Word' by Beatles, says he enjoys the social aspect of the classes. Mihaan Dhall, on the other hand, says, "Skill Shakti Community is both a school and a home." His mother, Moneisha Dhall, says her son has become more responsible. "He has learned the importance of earning something and being a contributing member of society," she says, stressing on the need for schools to enroll different types of learners. "It seems more difficult than it is, but with a few small adjustments, one can accommodate people who are slightly different from neurotypical people."

Maya, Sharan Advani's grandmother, says that if you send neurodivergent children to mainstream schools, the chances of them being more like the others is higher. Ateka Tambawala, a Skill Shakti Community teacher, agrees, "Neurodiversity is very misunderstood in academia; students are placed in boxes that limit their potential. It's only because of Skill Shakti Community that I've been able to learn how to make teaching inclusive." Tambawala, who studied psychology from St. Xavier's college, teaches topics like empathy, emotional intelligence, self-awareness, and communication skills. The aim is interactive learning and using technology extensively: the students aren't compelled to learn concepts or rote-learn, but instead, are encouraged to create presentations, explain ideas through art, or simply discuss what they're curious about.

Advani believes that special educators aren't required for students who are not that different from other learners. The teachers are sensitised and taught how to interact, but for the most part, they come from industry backgrounds or are volunteers. Visual learning is key, as is learning through art and music - it helps them process information better than just using words. "You need a place in the heart, to begin with," is all Advani says, "and belief that everybody should learn."