Last month, an article published by the BBC caught my attention, and was ultimately rather disheartening to read. The article claimed a study found that people in their early 20’s are more likely to be out of work due to ill (mental) health than those in their early 40’s.
The Resolution Foundation said that this is “radically different” from the past, when the older you were the more likely you were not to work due to sickness. Sadly, I am inclined to agree as the majority of us are not blind to the fact that poor mental health amongst young people is on the rise.
What is the real problem here?
Naturally, this raises alarm bells on how much (or if) young people are taught about resilience, mindfulness and self awareness throughout their time at school. Personally, I remember leaving school without a clue on how to manage my finances or my time. Throughout my final years of school and into university, struggling with bouts of anxiety and not knowing how to manage my emotions left me reflecting on what I learnt at school. In addition, the internet, whilst it is becoming increasingly innovative within the education system with information becoming faster and easier to attain, on the other hand it is extremely unfiltered with a wide range of stimuli which is leaving young people emotionally confused.
In a world that is increasingly dominated by social media and external distractions that limit social interaction, some students have fewer opportunities outside of school to participate in learning social and personal skills. Therefore, it is important for schools to take advantage of the time that they have with their students to teach more than just traditional subject matters.
Managing our emotions and the ability to understand the feelings of others are critical to human development, and adolescents can use their time to learn these skills and build positive habits just as well as they learn reading, writing and mathematics. This includes teaching students critical skills such as effective communication, personal decision making, time management, realistic goal setting and even conflict resolution.
Defining Life Skills
The WHO defines Life Skills as “abilities for adaptive and positive behaviour that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life”.
Here, Life Skills is not just understanding how to clean, cook or iron your clothes - but it’s about overall personal development and communication skills to better cope with the challenges of life.
UNICEF and the WHO list the ten Life Skills as:
How can we bring Life Skills to the classroom?
In order for Life Skills as a subject to have an impact on our students, we have to ensure that students are actively involved in a dynamic teaching and learning process.
An example of a life skills curriculum has units of lessons that focus on the following topics:
Studies have proven that active participatory learning activities for students are the most effective method for developing knowledge, attitudes and skills together for students to make healthier choices (Wilso et al., Tobler, 1998). Examples of methods used to facilitate this active involvement include the following:
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Classroom Discussions: These open discussions provide opportunities for students to learn and practice turning to one another in solving problems. Develops skills in listening, assertiveness and empathy.
Role Plays: Along with it being a fun activity for the whole class, to be active and participative is an excellent way to practice life skills, for example, how to handle particularly difficult conversations, or using the right vocabulary to express feelings.
Group work: This is helpful when time is limited as it also maximizes student input. It also allows students to discuss topics openly and honestly with one another, creating shared experiences and enhancing team work.
Additionally, three key processing questions should be used to structure life skills lessons and to ensure student involvement is maintained as well as what is being taught is being reflected on and APPLIED in their everyday lives.
What are the benefits?
An obvious benefit right? This goes beyond just learning to have a hot bubble bath or go for walks outside for ‘self care’. Teaching life skills can help students with self control, self awareness and resilience which can help us cope with mental and physical stress that occurs throughout life.
2. Fosters healthy communication and interaction
Students who learn communication skills learn to speak freely and assertively whilst also respecting the opinions of others. Good communication skills are about listening and avoiding misconceptions and assumptions while communicating with others. This also prevents misinterpretation, miscommunication and overreacting. This applies to building healthy relationships with their family, friends and within the workplace.
3. Promotes effective decision making
Making big decisions is crucial in everyone’s life. Let’s take the example of peer pressure; it is alarming that most teenagers are ill-equipped to handle it and its negativity. Peer pressure can lead to students displaying unhelpful behaviour such as violence, bullying, and sometimes drug abuse, in order to appear cool. Life skills, whether major or minor, allow students to evaluate situations from a logical and emotional standpoint and improve their decision-making abilities.
4. Promotes awareness of wider health issues
It’s also vital to ensure students recognise the importance of life skills and how it links to overall health. Linking particular life skills to help address certain health issues that children and young people can encounter in a school setting, including the use of alcohol, drugs, nutrition, reproductive and sexual health and the prevention of violence brings a holistic benefit to learning life skills.
Life Skills = Set for LIFE
Students spend just over 90% of their waking hours at school. So why not redirect a small percentage of that time towards implementing life skills into the curriculum? Students deserve more than just an exam grade at the end of their education journey.
Schools have a responsibility to use their time with their students to not only teach them valuable academic skills, but to ensure they leave school at 18 with the knowledge and confidence to face and handle any challenge, whatever life throws at them. In today’s world, developing life skills is essential for the success of an individual. Schools are fundamentally in the best position to ensure students are learning and developing these important life skills. With the right allocation of time, tools and resources, teachers can create engaging activities and lessons that teach students how to communicate effectively, manage their emotions, make decisions and become solution based thinkers. What’s more, this can increase pro-social behaviour in a tech-based world, and decrease behavioural, social problems and self-destructive behaviours.
Let’s bring Life Skills into education in 2024!
