“There are obviously two kinds of education. One should teach us how to make a living and the other how to live.”- James Truslow Adams
Life skills education is an integral part of education. Before moving on to talk about life skills education, let us discuss what are life skills? Life skills help to lay a strong foundation for life. Life skills are the basic skills that are required to make the most out of life. Communication, perseverance, resilience, willpower, etc. are some important life skills. We will be talking about a few important life skills in this blog. Now, why are life skills important for students? Life skills help students to stay focused, increase their critical thinking, and get better at problem-solving.
Let us look at some of the basic life skills:
1. Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is necessary to tackle situations and get better at things. It is important to foster creativity and creative thinking in kids so that when they grow up, they have the ability to face tough situations that they might encounter in life. It is better to enhance inference, prediction, and analytical skills in kids so as to prepare them for life. Critical thinking is an essential skill that everybody should have because it helps them with reasoning, problem-solving, and observation. Life demands knowledge that is not restricted to textbooks and syllabi. Children should understand that there is a lot more to life than what is taught in the classroom. And schools should incorporate life skills education from lower grades themselves so that children are equipped with essential skills to face life.
2. Confidence
Confidence is an accessory that makes people beautiful. Quite often, children fear crowds and public speaking because they lack confidence. This has to be nurtured from a young age. Children should be encouraged to try new things and to ask questions. Inquisitiveness is necessary to develop confidence. Confidence impacts your happiness, success, and well-being. Confidence does not come out of material things and positions. It is a life skill that you can develop as you grow. One of the things that you can do to build confidence is to face your fears and practice
3. Communication
Communication skills are extremely important in life. The most common problem in communication is the misconception that it has taken place. Next to death, the scariest thing for a lot of people is public speaking. People often underestimate their communication skills and shy away from talking. Communication skills will help in building relations, landing a job, socializing, and more. Communication is not just about talking, it is also about listening and understanding. Life skills education at a young age will help in molding better skills and talent. Having said that, there’s nothing wrong if your communication skills are a little lagging. You can always work on it and get better at it. As Gandhiji rightly said, “Live as if you were to die tomorrow, learn as if you were to live forever.”
4. Empathy
What the world needs are more compassionate, empathetic human beings, who can understand the pain of others and reciprocate accordingly. Empathy is something that can be cultivated over time. The world would be a better place if people understood each other rather than picking up stones and sticks.
It goes without saying that life skills are of paramount importance. According to WHO, life skills are "the abilities for adaptive and positive behavior that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life". Life is essentially unpredictable. Life skills help people to cope with situations and behave accordingly. Life skills are important because it induces behavior change when necessary. It guides humans and developing life skills helps young individuals understand their surroundings better, and there is a better comprehension of knowledge. It affects attitudes and values and helps to turn them into healthy behavior.
Conclusion
In general, life skills help people to lead better, happier, and healthier lives. We have seen what are life skills, the importance of life skills, and how life skills for students can create a better scenario altogether. Life skills education at schools should be made mandatory to ensure that students have an idea of what to expect and how to cope with life.
Suggested Read: NEP 2020
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