Life Skills: An Introduction

“We are guilty of many errors and many faults, but our worst crime is abandoning the children, neglecting the foundation of life. Many of the things we need can wait. The children cannot. Right now is the time his bones are being formed, his blood is being made and his senses are being developed to him we cannot answer “Tomorrow”. His name is “Today”.

-         Gabriela Mistral

Introduction

Every profession is a profession for human society, the education system, the human civilization, the Government, the religion, the spirituality; everything has been developed in order to make human life more comfortable. The humans have achieved phenomenal success in scientific developments and material expansion. In this race of getting more and better than other, we have missed certain important human features. Our concept of happiness it’s, now, governed by our worldly achievements and not on peaceful mind. We easily master various technical and professional skills but we are unable to generate the life skills which are helpful in peaceful and harmonious life in and with society.

            Another important factor for us, the students at this stage, is age of maturity. This is the time when we grow from childhood to adulthood, the duration is called adolescence. This is the time when we extend our circles of emotions and relationships. We try to adapt to the new physical and psychological demands. At this juncture of our life, if we are not properly informed and guided, there are possibilities of making wrong choices which could be disastrous for our peaceful mental life.

What are Life skills?

World Health Organization (WHO) defines life skills as, “Life skills are abilities that help us to adapt and behave positively so that we can deal effectively with the challenges of everyday life.” ‘Adaptive’ means that a person is flexible in approach and is able to adjust in different circumstances. ‘Positive behaviour’ implies that a person is forward looking and even in difficult situations, can find a ray of hope and opportunities to find solutions.Any skill that makes our life worth living or makes it better is a life skill.

            In our day-to-day life we face plenty of challenges related with different aspects of our life and we have to co-operate with all those difficult situations. At times, we do not have right information of activity set, and hence we lack the skills to solve the issues at hand. Life skills include psychosocial capabilities and interpersonal skills that help people make informed choices, crack problems, think critically and creatively, communicate successfully, construct healthy relationships, empathize with others, and manage with their lives in a healthy and productive manner. There are various skills that we need to master in order to lead a happy and healthy life. The nature and definition of life skills are likely to differ across cultures and settings. However, analysis of the life skills field suggests that there is a core set of skills that are at the heart of skills-based proposals for the encouragement of the health and well-being of children and adolescents. The basic skills are mentioned below with their respective examples:

Decision making helps us to deal constructively with decisions about our day-to-day lives. This can have consequences for health if young people actively make decisions about their behaviour in relation to health by calculating the various choices, and what effects different choices may have.

For example, a group of students decide with the teachers to give up smoking and help others do the same. They set goals to encourage themselves and each other and try to think what problems and benefits may happen.

Problem solving enables us to deal constructively with problems in our lives. Significant problems that are left unanswered can cause mental stress and give rise to accompanying physical damage.

For example, a group of older boys shout at and threaten two girls. The girls have to work out whose help to get if this happens again.

Creative thinking adds to both decision making and problem solving by allowing us to explore the available options and various results of our actions or non-action. It helps us to look beyond our direct experience, and even if no problem is identified, or no decision is to be made, creative thinking can help us to respond adaptively and with flexibility to the situations of our daily lives.

For example, a young person is able to think about different future job options and to think how to work towards these options.

Critical thinking is an ability to analyse information and experiences in an objective manner. Critical thinking can contribute to health by helping us to recognise and assess the factors that influence attitudes and behaviour, such as values, peer pressure, and the media.

For example, a girl is able to assess the risks involved in accepting an invitation from a male stranger to accept a lift across the town.

Effective communication or Communication Skills means that we are able to express ourselves, both verbally and non-verbally, in ways that are suitable to our cultures and situations. This means being able to express opinions and desires, but also needs and fears. And it may mean being able to ask for advice and help in a time of need.

For example, a child is able to discuss problems with parents or an appropriate adult.

Interpersonal relationship skills help us to relate in positive ways with the people we interact with. This may mean being able to make and keep friendly relationships, which can be of great importance to our mental and social well-being. It may mean keeping good relations with family members, which are an important source of social support. It may also mean being able to end relationships constructively. As a part of growing up, students redefine their relationships with parents, peers and members of the opposite sex. At the same time, Adults have high expectations from them and do not understand their feelings. They need to understand the importance of mutual respect and socially defined boundaries of every relationship.

For example, a child is able to resist peer pressure when his friends ridicule his refusal to drink alcohol.

Self-awareness includes our recognition of ‘self’, of our character, of our strengths and weaknesses, desires and dislikes. Developing self-awareness can help us to recognise when we are stressed or feel under pressure. It is also often a prerequisite for effective communication and interpersonal relations, as well as for developing empathy for others. It helps students understand themselves and establish their personal identity. Lack of information and skills prevent them from effectively discovering their potential and creating a positive image and sound career perspective.

For example, a student is aware about his/her exam-phobia or stage-fear and constructively tries to come over it.

Empathy is the ability to imagine what life is like for another person, even in a situation that we may not be familiar with. Empathy can help us to understand and accept others who may be very different from ourselves, which can improve social interactions, for example, in situations of ethnic or cultural diversity. Empathy can also help to encourage nurturing behaviour towards people in need of care and assistance, or tolerance, as is the case with the people with mental disorders, which may be stigmatized and detested by the very people they depend upon for support.

For example, a group of children think about how they can help a disabled child who is alone a lot.

Coping with emotions involves recognising emotions in ourselves and others, being aware of how emotions influence behaviour, and being able to respond to emotions appropriately. Students have frequent mood changes reflecting feelings of anger, sadness, happiness, fear, shame, guilt, and love. Very often, they are unable to understand the emotional turmoil. Strong emotions, like anger or sorrow can have negative effects on our health if we do not react appropriately.

For example, a boy learns to cope with the anger he feels towards his abusive father.

Coping with stress is about recognising the sources of stress in our lives, recognising how this affects us, and acting in ways that help to control our levels of stress. This may mean that we take action to reduce the sources of stress, for example, by making changes to our physical environment or lifestyle. Or it may mean learning how to relax, so that tensions created by unavoidable stress do not give rise to health problems.

For example, a child learns how to cope with the conflicting pressures of needing to work and wanting to study.

Why do we need to study Life Skills?

Life skills are important for the following reasons:

1.      They give children and young people more control to improve their lives.

2.      The study of life skills have an impact on the behavior and choices made by the children.

3.      Many children live in circumstances that make them especially vulnerable and limit their choices and future potential. The study of life skills will help them to bring into main stream of the society.

4.      Life skills learning should help children become more aware of:

a.       what they are doing

b.      how they are doing things

c.       how they obtain information

d.      how they think, feel and behave

5.      With better understanding about themselves and others, they can make better choices.

6.      A sensitive teacher can help children look deep inside themselves, discover causes for problems and start to develop positive behavior.

7.      Teaching life skills as generic skills in relation to everyday life could form the foundation of life skills education for the promotion of mental well-being, and healthy interaction and behaviour.

8.      Life skills enable individuals to translate knowledge, attitudes and values into actual abilities – i.e. "what to do and how to do it".

9.      Effective acquisition and application of life skills can influence the way we feel about ourselves and others, and equally will influence the way we are perceived by others.

10.  Life skills contribute to our perceptions of self-efficacy, self-confidence and self-esteem.

Because of the highly sensitive nature of the course, it demands the following skills from educators and teachers:

1.      To be able to create an appropriate life skills programme by being able to:

a.       Identify appropriate life skills activities for their group.

b.      Adapting life skills activities for their group.

2.      To listen to children in a non-judgmental way.

3.      To encourage students to work positively with others in a group.

4.      To deal positively with children who behave in an aggressive manner.

5.      To create an atmosphere of trust in which students can express their feelings freely.

6.      To help each child feel that they are making progress.

7.      To use teaching method that help children express themselves.

8.      To create and use monitoring and evaluation tools on a regular basis.

9.      To ask for support when they need it.