After thorough research, the academicians at the United Nations identified 4 very crucial Life skills that a child should develop in the 21st century along with their fundamental curriculum preparation. Thus, Life skills education has become a very important aspect of education in the 21st century.
What is life skills education?
A quick Google result suggests: Skills that are necessary for full participation in everyday life. But is that it ?
Life skills in the 21st century are viewed as all those skills that help us in thinking creatively, critically, efficiently communicating, developing curiosity, making firm decisions and managing our lives in a healthy manner.
Why should a child start developing life skills so early?
The answer lies in habit creation. The age of 8 to 16 is a phase in a child’s life where he or she builds and rebuilds many habits. And hence life skills, the essential skills that will stay with the child for the rest of his/her life irrespective of a career direction they wish to pursue, have to be developed in this phase.
What skills will be covered under the category of Life Skills ?
- Public speaking and basic communication
- Critical thinking and logical reasoning
- Basic software like MS Office
- Practicing curiosity – General Knowledge and the management world around it
- Money management, savings and Investment
- Ability to lead the team as well as be a part of one.
One of the major problems with the current generation is they get easily distracted and hence are not able to maintain attention and to give solutions quickly. This leads to lack of confidence, nervousness and many more such issues.
Taking a Life skills education can equip a student with the skills necessary to become “Street Smart”. After taking a Life Skills education, many parents have seen a drastic improvement in the qualities that include better decision making, thinking new ways of approaching a problem, confidence building, more creative ways of solving issues and many others in their children.
The United Nations has recognized four important life skills that every child must develop in the 21st century: Creativity, Critical thinking, Communication, and Curiosity.
Thus, A life skills course helps students become confident and competent which reflects upon their decisions in choosing a career and for a better life.
