LIFE SKILLS

“There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats

its children.”

(Nelson Mandela, 1995) 

National Curriculum Framework 2005, NCERT states that the School Based Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation system should be established to:

1.Reduce stress on children and to make learning without burden
2.Make evaluation comprehensive and regular
3. Provide space for the teacher for creative teaching
4. Provide a tool of diagnosis and remedial action
5.Produce learners with greater skills.


In 1994, Danish and colleagues defined life skills as “skills that enable individuals to succeed in the different environments in which they live, such as school, home and in their neighborhoods”.

Life skills-Commandments to Remember 

I read-I forget, I discuss- I remember, I do-I inculcate and I teach to others and I own it.

1. Life skills are essentially those abilities that help promote overall wellbeing and competence

in young people as they face the realities of life.

2. Life skills are the beginning of wisdom which focuses on behaviour change or developmental approach designed to address a balance of three areas- knowledge, attitude and skills.

3. Life skills enable individuals to translate knowledge, attitude and values into actual abilities i.e. what to do and how to do it, given the scope and opportunity to do so. 

4. Life skills however are not a panacea of “how to do abilities” as they are not the only

factors that affect behavour. There are many factors such as social support, culture and environment that affect motivation and ability to behave in positive ways.

5. Effective acquisition and application of Life Skills can influence the way one feels about others, ourselves and will equally influence the way we are perceived by others. It contributes to perception of self confidence and self esteem.

6. Life skills for psychosocial competence needs to be distinguished from other important skills that young people will acquire as they grow up such as reading, numbers, technical and livelihood skills.

7. Life skills education involves a dynamic teaching process. The methods used to facilitate this active involvement includes working in small groups and pairs, brainstorming, role plays, games and debates. 

8. We all use Life Skills in different situations such as: 
a) To negotiate effectively at home, school or work place, we need to have thinking skills as well as social skills

b) When faced with difficult situations we tend to think critically , to analyze all the pros and cons of the situation to think out of box to find a solution to seemingly difficult problems.

9. Many life skills are required to manage a particular situation effectively. In a way, various Life Skills work best in conjunction. In fact, the appropriate combination of Life Skills in a given moment is an art.

10. Children learn their Life Skills from parents, teachers and significant others who act as their
role model. They gradually learn to use a particular skill effectively in diverse situation to cope with challenges of life.

World Health Organization (WHO) has defined life skills as

“The abilities for adaptive and positive behaviour that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday. They are essentially those abilities that help promote mental well being and competence in young students as they face the complexities of life”

10-Core set of life skills identified by World Health Organization (WHO)

1.Problem solving
2.Decision making
3.Critical thinking
4.Creative thinking
5.Communication
6.Inter-personal relationship
7.Self awareness
8.Empathy
9.Coping with stress
10.Coping with emotions.

Guiding principles of life:

1.Attraction- Discernment, Self awareness, Courage
2.Devotion-Concentration, Calmness and Focus
3.Faith- Trust , Hope and Patience
4.Forgiveness- Compassion, Mercy and Understanding
5.Gratitude- Generosity, Magnanimity and Appreciation
6.Harmony-Optimism, Co-operation and Enthusiasm
7.Humility-Modesty, Unpretentious, Gentleness
8.Integrity-Truthfulness, Courage, Sincerity, Honesty
9.Love- Self Esteem, Self Respect, Caring, Thoughtfulness, Kindness, Compassion, Nurturing
10.Moderation- Balance, Inner Peace
11.Perseverance- Striving, Effort, Confidence, Endurance
12.Purity- Perfection, Simplicity, Innocence
13.Respect For Life- Tolerance, Courtesy , Co-operation
14.Self Discipline- Determination, Obedience, Restraint
15.Service-Purpose, Responsibility, Creativity
16.Syncronicity- Alertness, Courage, Receptivity

What life skills basically deals with: 

Life skills basically aims to equip the students with the spirit of enquiring, communication skills, interpersonal relationship skills and self evaluative skills. In addition it also focusses on sensitising them about important social issues like gender discrimination, domestic violence, corruption, prevent substance abuse, hiv/aids, suicide, and promote a healthy life style

Main focus areas of life skills: 1.Value education 2.Tackling adolescence 3.Behavioural values 4.Mental health 5.Preventing corruption 6.Personality development 7.Gender discrimination

Value education: Important values- personal, social and spiritual. Building positive traits or attributes like ambition, contenment, courage, determination, diligence, honesty, dignity of labour, excellence, punctuality, maturity, simplicity etc.

Tackling adolescence :1.Physical and psychological development 2.Identity crisis 3.Generation gap 4.Emotional balance 5.Discerning infatuation vs true love 6.Conflict management

Behavioural values: Good manners, Ethics, Etiquette, Social behavior , Good conduct, Table manners etc

Mental health: Anxiety disorder, Stress, Stress management, Counseling, Problem solving process, Developing communion with god through prayer etc

Preventing Corruption: Corruption in society, Consequences of corruption, Role of students in checking corruption, Positive and negative influences of media etc.

Personality development: Knowing oneself, Building up a positive self esteem, Elements of personality, Psychological stages of personality development, Goal setting etc.

Gender discrimination: Feticide and infanticide, Role of education, Offences against women’s dignity and global outcry against dehumanizing women, Rape, incest and abortion, Dowry menace, Divorce and broken family problems, Sacredness of marriage etc.

Child’s first education: Inchoates with mother’s affection, Reinforces with a father’s approbation, Strengthens with a sister’s affection, Concretises with a brother’s reproof.

How should learning take place: Known to unknown, Local to global, Concrete to abstract etc. 

“The mistake of a doctor is buried in the grave, the mistake of an engineer is cemented with bricks, the mistake of the lawyer lies in the file, whereas the mistake of a teacher is reflected in the nation.”

What a teacher has to adopt: Visualize, Practice, Actualize, Swat( strengths, weaknesses, analysis and testing)

Inspiration from Lord Ganeshjee: 

Lord Ganeshjee’s big head inspires us to think big and profitably.

Big ears prompts us to listen patiently to new ideas and suggestions.

Narrow eyes point to deep concentration needed to accomplish a task well and quickly.

 Long nose tells us to poke around inquisitively to learn more

 Small mouth reminds us to speak less and listen more.

 Mouse as a vehicle-Control of desire

 One tusk (ekadanth) -Retain good, throw away bad

Small eyes-Greater concentration

Rope in his left hand-Pulling closer to goals 

 Trunk-Higher efficiency and adaptability

 Modak-Reward for penance or sadhana

Life skills from Holy Quran: Honesty, perseverance, tolerance, firmness, punctuality courage, charity, justice, chastity, forgiveness, repentness, faith, inherent purity, knowledge, sanctity of labour, personal judgement etc.

Life skills from Ants: Fearless persistence, hardwork, self motivation, effective communication, team work, leadership, patience, coordination, integration, flexibility, organization, versatility, saving for the future etc.

Seven deadly sins listed out by Gandhiji: Wealth without work, Pleasure without conscience, Knowledge without character, Commerce without morality, Science without humanity, Religion without sacrifice and Politics without principles.

Important attributes or traits for success in life: Ability to take decisions, Leadership, Integrity, Enthusiasm, Imagination, Willingness to work hard, Analytical Ability, Understanding others, Ability to spot opportunities, Ability to meet unpleasant situations, Adaptability, Willingness to take risks, Capacity to speak and write lucidly, Ability to administer efficiently, Open Mindedness, Will Power, Single minded devotion, Keenness to observe and learn, Curiosity, Skill with numbers, Capacity for Abstract thought, Scientific Attitude etc.

Ten commandments for a teacher:

1.Teacher who teaches should also be ready to learn to teach today’s children with tomorrow’s skills.

2.Bring the world into the class room. Do not make the text book and class room as world.

3.Prepare to accept change and change with changing times as a torch bearer o transmit knowledge, values, culture and heritage from one generation to another generation.

4.Do not be stereo-typed in teaching

5.Set new bench marks for achieving perfection in what you or students do

6.Do work with belongingness, honesty , truthfulness and sincerity

7.Never fail to smile. Smile is a curve which make many things straight

8.Control temper and avoid scolding children

9.Children are like flowers; precious and beautiful. Never hurt them with thoughtless words or deeds

10.Avoid criticizing or condemning students since every student is having some hidden talent.

Class room management and control: Humour, Time management, Relevance and coherence, Black board management, Emotional intelligence, , Connecting content knowledge to the life outside school, Non-verbal and verbal control etc

The teacher-who plays the most important role in molding the thought process of the students, needs to first acclimatize himself / herself to this change with a positive frame of mind. Life skills will be the most essential in helping them to rightly evaluate the co-scholastic needs of the students and guide them as required in the CCE norm.

Life skills enhance efforts to positively develop or change behaviour, as well as make an impact on knowledge and attitudinal components especially related to well being and healthy functioning in the society.

SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LEARNING

The classic "3 R's" of learning are, of course, Reading, 'Riting, and 'Rithmetic. For the 21st century, we need to add a fourth R--and it will help inspire the other three along with 6C’s of education for the future . The graceful “R” is self (emotional) Regulation. Emotional Regulation is Psychology’s new pet field. 6C’s of education for the future are shown in the below figure.

    0-7 are the make it or break it years, it lays the foundation of a child's socio-emotional development and personality; parents have a 100% role to play in it. The brain connections are made only up to 6 years of age that means the food, diet, sleep habits will affect child’s memory and intelligence. Frontal Cortex controls self regulation thickens during childhood.

     Two sets of value rubrics for social and emotional skills, derived from a longer CCE list, which indicate the skills that we want students to develop. Developing social–emotional competence is a key to success in school and in life.

(A)Social Skills

1. Helps classmates in case of difficulties in academic and personal issues

2. Actively listens and pays attention to others

3. Explains and articulates a concept differently so that others can understand in simple language

4. Demonstrates leadership skills, like responsibility, initiative etc.

5. Helps others develop independence and avoid dependency.

(B)Emotional Skills

1. Is optimistic

2. Believes in self and shows self confidence

3. If unsuccessful, gracefully tries the task again

4. Maintains decency under stressful interpersonal situations

5. Does the student recognize her strengths and weaknesses?

The following  skills listed can be involved and promoted in SEL:

1."Recognizing emotions in self and others"

2."Regulating and managing strong emotions (positive and negative)"

3."Recognizing strengths and areas of need"

4."Listening and communicating accurately and clearly"

5."Taking others' perspectives and sensing their emotions"

6."Respecting others and self and appreciating differences"

7."Setting positive and realistic goals"

8."Problem solving, decision making, and planning"

9."Approaching others and building positive relationships"

10."Resisting negative peer pressure"

11."Cooperating, negotiating, and managing conflict and nonviolently"

12."Working effectively in groups"

13"Help-seeking and help-giving"

14."Showing ethical and social responsibility.”

Social emotional learning (SEL) is a process for learning life skills, including how to deal with oneself and establish positive relationships with others, the capacity to recognize and manage emotions, solve problems effectively and  competencies that clearly are essential for all students as shown in the below figure. SEL also focuses on dealing with a variety of situations in a constructive and ethical manner. SEL targets a combination of behaviors, cognitions and emotions.

With regard to self-awareness, children in the elementary grades should be able to recognize and accurately label simple emotions such as sadness, anger, and happiness. In middle school, students should be able to analyze factors that trigger their stress reactions. Students in high school are expected to analyze how various expressions of emotion affect other people.

With regard to self-management, elementary school children are expected to describe the steps of setting and working toward goals. In middle school they should be able to set and make a plan to achieve a short-term personal or academic goal. High school students should be able to identify strategies to make use of available school and community resources and overcome obstacles in achieving a long-term goal.

In the area of social awareness, elementary school students should be able to identify verbal, physical, and situational cues indicating how others feel. Those in middle school should be able to predict others’ feelings and perspectives in various situations. High school students should be able to evaluate their ability to empathize with others.

In the area of relationship skills, in elementary school, students should have an ability to describe approaches to making and keeping friends. Middle school students are expected to demonstrate cooperation and teamwork to promote group goals. In high school students are expected to evaluate uses of communication skills with peers, teachers, and family members.

Finally, with regard to responsible decision-making, elementary school students should be able to identify a range of decisions they make at school. Middle school students should be able to evaluate strategies for resisting peer pressure to engage in unsafe or unethical activities. High-school students should be able to analyze how their current decision-making affects their college and career prospects.

2003 research from  CASEL (Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning )found that 71% of students in 6th through 12th grade thought their school did not provide them with a caring, encouraging environment. Another statistic from the same study revealed that "at least 1 child in 10 suffers from a mental illness that severely disrupts daily functioning at home, in school, or in the community" and that 70-80% of struggling children don’t receive appropriate mental health services. Teaching social and emotional learning in schools aims to enhance children's understanding of themselves and those experiencing mental hardship and to encourage comfort in a school setting that values the development of knowledge, interpersonal skills and well-being in students.

The benefits of SEL can be found both in a school and home setting. For instance, SEL improves positive behaviors while reducing negative behaviors. Furthermore, SEL skills are maintained throughout life; even into adulthood, they can help to foster success. Moreover, SEL can help to improve several skills including nonverbal communication skills, socially competent behaviour, and social meaning and reasoning. 

Researches have shown that SEL has impact on 2 main areas – character and citizenship and also suggest a positive correlation among SEL and academic success. Character is values manifested in life with Social & Emotional competencies as its vehicle for manifestation. SEL changes attitudes, values, behavior and performance. Thus SEL enables students to develop the skills to succeed in life

Teachers, counselors and parents can play an important role in facilitating SEL. To begin, learning social and emotional skills is similar to learning other academic skills. Implementing a prevention program in schools can help to increase competence and learning in students which may be applied to more complex situations in the future. Teachers can accomplish this in the classroom through effective and direct classroom instructions, student engagement in positive activities. Teachers and parents can improve nonverbal communication skills through the technique of emotional coaching. Emotional coaching is a technique developed by John Gottman and can provide guidance about emotions for children through a step process. 1: One needs to be aware of the learner's emotions, 

2: Recognition of uncomfortable feelings can be a gateway for teaching and guidance opportunities, 3: Emotions exhibited need to be validated rather than evaluated, 4: Learners need help in labeling these emotions,5: Finally, the problem that led to the emotions needs to be solved. Furthermore, at home SEL can be fostered through the emphasis of sharing, listening, confidence etc.

LIFE

PRIMITIVE LIFE

        The primitive life originated in water bodies by a chemical evolution by a series of chemical reactions. Energy from lighting and sun made amino acids (building blocks of proteins) and other organic compounds. Organic evolution may be the reason for different of animals and plants. Life really is a form of chemistry, a particular form in which the chemicals can lead to their own reproduction.

          Even the Earth is referred to as "the blue planet" because of the abundance of water on the planet. Over 70 percent of the Earth's surface is comprised of water, producing a vivid blue color when viewed from space. The Earth's oceans contain about 1.3 billion cubic km of space, which is 95 percent of all habitable area on the planet. In addition to covering most of the Earth's surface area, the oceans provide a habitat to somewhere between 700,000 and 1 million species.

          Here on Earth, we take liquid water for granted; after all, our bodies are mostly made of water. Experts say that in future severe conflicts may take place for water. Already some conflicts are existing between different countries, between different states in a country etc. Glaciers are melting at rapid rate due to rise in atmospheric temperature, sea levels may raise and low lying areas may gradually submerge. Potable water, water for irrigation etc becoming scarce due to pollution of rivers due to industrial wastes without proper treatment.

          All humans in this planet are one species --- homo-sapiens. Outward appearances like features, skin color etc. make up only tiny portion of genes. Archaeological evidence shows that Homo sapiens evolved in Africa. All living beings today in the world may be related (siblings) to each other by a common ancestor. Early humans migrated to different parts of the planet in their quest for survival managed colonize every continent except Antarctica. Even all religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree.

MEANING OF LIFE

          As soon as writing was invented, ancient people inscribed their struggles to find life’s meaning. It’s a question that mankind has long struggled to answer. We’ve built philosophies and religions around it, gone to war over it, and debated it for centuries.

      The meaning of life is different for everyone and every species—the point of the existence of a plant is very different from the point of the existence of a fish. One thing that many interpretations of Darwinism agree upon is that part of the meaning of life for any living organism is to pass their DNA on to the next generation.

      Because everyone is different, the meaning of life is different for all of us. There’s no right or wrong meaning of life or any mysterious answer out there—rather, it is a mysterious answer within ourselves.

        The Epicurean’s meaning of life comes from: maximize pleasure, minimize pain. This isn’t as easy as it sounds, because one of our main sources of pain and anxiety comes from either abstract concepts that we can’t see or control or desires that we have no way of fulfilling.

   Life is a perfect classroom journey, we all want to make it through life with success and to do it courageously. Happiness and success are keys to life. 

   “Life is a Workbook of with bundle of experiences and problems to be solved with a chain of interrelated puzzles.”

     Life is not a bed of roses. Everyone experiences troubles and hardships as a part of living and we all would like to avoid them if possible. However, in the process of solving our problems in life, the soul acquires various experiences and learns many different lessons and to have knowledge of truth. Suffering, hardships and difficulties are opportunities for growth and learning, suffering is an opportunity to reflect on the mistakes of our own mind and to reform ourselves.

PURPOSE OF LIFE

      “The purpose of life is to live fully, to give wholeheartedly, to do best using talents and skills ,to be happy, to be useful, to be honorable, to learn, and to love and to be loved.”

     The learning distilled from the experience of overcoming suffering becomes “wisdom” is actually the purpose of life.

    Learn everyday something new—observing-surroundings, nature, animals, kids etc that gives purpose and meaning. Be optimistic and enthusiastic about your dreams. Our stories hold unique inspiration for one another.

     Researchers in positive psychology study empirical factors that lead to life satisfaction full engagement in activities and making a fuller contribution by utilizing one's personal strengths.

Tibetan philosophy preaches one major goal in life: to end the world’s suffering.

6Cs in life - Compassion, Coordination, Coherence, Competition, Complements, Conscience

4Ds in life - discipline, Devotion, Determination and Dedication

4Ps of life - patience, passion, persistence, perseverance.

4Ss in life - Self respect, Self love, Self esteem, Self consciousness.

        Problems among people are due to zealousness, greediness, egoism, sadism and easy money making. Admire the mystery and beauty of nature--Black cow eats green grass and has red blood and gives white milk. 

        Every organism has chance of only one life to live and is unique. All that lives must die but some organisms get a little more time on this Earth than others.The ultimate meaning of life was to live in balance with nature and allow the continuation of the energy that gives rise to each generation and to live in such a manner that future generations may enjoy the same good life that we did. The only meaning is that we give to our actions, connections, desires, and the legacy we leave for future generations. We should make sure our actions keep the cycle of life going by transmitting culture, heritage, knowledge and values from one generation to another generation.

Forget Yesterday, Focus today to enjoy tomorrow!

Life is short as breathing!