JOIN UST here is a level of formality in the informality that prevails here. The students of Ananya Trust may have come from impoverished or broken families or run away from home, but after a few years of grooming they can stand on their own feet. Many have excelled in sports.
Some are already working. Others have gone for higher studies and are also working part time. All of them are emotionally well-balanced and have great interpersonal skills.
Jayanthi says that Ananya has been the root of her life. She, along with her sister Durga, have spent 10 years of their lives here. Today, Jayanthi is studying in I PUC, while her sister Durga is in II B Com in a college in Bangalore. Pallavi is studying in II year BBA and is also working part time in a corporate gifting firm. At present, there are 67 students at various stages of their life. These, of course, do not include those who have already taken wings and flown away.
Equipped with knowledge
Ananya Trust is a unique learning space for first generation learners located amidst a coconut grove in Chikkabellandur village in Carmelaram on the outskirts of Bengaluru. It is the students who decide what, where, why and when they want to learn. It allows them to find answers through enquiry and experiment.
Santosh Padmanabhan, a teacher-volunteer teaches maths and lifeskills here. As a long-distance runner, he also trains them in long-distance running. “It channelises their energy in a positive way,” he says.
Vidya, who teaches maths and languages, explains, “It is functional and theme-based learning. Last year, the theme was Africa. The students learned all aspects of the African continent. This year the theme is Karnataka. Students learn about all the districts, its geography, history, food, science among other aspects of the State.” She also teaches older
children lifeskills, such as handling emotions and interpersonal skills.
This may not seem like conventional education, because it goes beyond it. Explains Dr Shashi Rao, founder and managing trustee, “Today, conventional education is assembly-like and these are children who are rejected because they do not fit the mould and are called failures. Trust is, they have the potential. What does the education system do about this?”
Most children who drop out of school, do so because the schools do not cater to their special needs. Education has no meaning or relevance to these children. It does not provide them with the required skills to overcome psychological traumas or the mental and physical hardships they face every day. Ananya creates an ideal learning centre for such children.
Armed with a PhD in Education from the US, Dr Shashi Rao, supported by a group of individuals, initially started the school, with a few children, at her home in Jayanagar, in 1998. Later, it was shifted to a rented place in Kanakapura Road before it was finally and firmly nestled at a coconut groove in Chikkabellandur village, thanks to a benefactor.
Free and fearless
At Ananya there is a sense of freedom and security. Everyone, including the students, are encouraged to speak his/her opinion without fear of ridicule. Emphasis is laid on self-learning through a creative approach. The open classrooms with an adaptable curriculum caters to the
individual needs of the children and study materials are arranged by levels of difficulty and placed within easy reach of the children. There is no hierarchal division of children: they are grouped according to abilty rather than age.
Children who are found academically capable appear for the school-leaving examination, through the National Institute for Open Schooling as and when they are ready for it. They are not pressurised to do so within a given time-frame. Children spend the weekdays at the school and are required to go home in the weekend which enables them to maintain the family bond. This way the children get acclimatised to the fact that they will eventually leave Ananya Trust.
Networking has enabled Ananya to get support from various organisations. Volunteers and philanthropists may contact Ananya.
e-mail: asknact@gmail.com
Website: www.ananyatrust.org