The Various Benefits of Life Skills education in schools

In this continuously evolving society, it is essential for a person to acquire certain important life skills in order to meet the challenges that life throws at us. As children reach adolescence and adulthood, they must achieve particular skills, knowledge, and attitudes that can enable them to efficiently handle themselves and cope with the challenges of everyday life. According to the World Health Organization or WHO, life skills are certain abilities for adaptive and positive behavior, which enables the individuals to effectively deal with the demands of the ever-evolving society. The life skills essentially include certain skills, such as empathy, self-awareness, decision making, coping with stress and critical thinking.

Life skill education in schools plays an important role in ensuring that the students are able to make the most of their life in simpler and easier way while managing their everyday problems with ease. Without these abilities, students would not be able to reach their full potential and accomplish their goals.

Life skills have a great importance in the everyday life of the students.

These skills help them to

• Find out new and innovative ways of solving their problems independently
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• Recognize the impact of their actions and behavior, as well as take responsibility for it
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• Foster a sense of team work and aid in group collaboration and cooperation
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• Analyze their options and make informed decisions in various situations that they face in their everyday life
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• Develop a greater appreciation for others, as well as improve their self-awareness
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• Have problem solving skills and social competence
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• Manage anger efficiently and foster the enhancement of positive self-esteem

While students work hard to achieve good marks and grades, many of them often struggle to find employment.

According to a research conducted by Confederation of British Industry in the year 2011, contemporary employers look for certain key employability skills among their prospective employees in addition to their academic qualification. Life skills-based education helps the students to hone these skills, so that they are able to gain employment in the area of their choice without facing problems.

Some of the employability skills that contemporary employers look for in their prospective employees are:

• The ability to solve problems independently and adapt themselves to the business environment
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• Efficiently manage time and people
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• The potential to lead and manage a team
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• The ability to co-operate and collaborate with others without causing any friction

Life skill education also plays a key role in enabling the students to become a socially aware and productive part of the society.

These skills benefit the society as a whole in a number of ways, two of them are:

• The ability to network and empathize, as well as the development of negotiation skills, can go a long way in building resolutions rather than resentments, which would invariably lead to a more positive and peaceful environment in the society
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• Keeping an open mind and respecting the diversity present in the society would allow the development of a more tolerant society

The children of today would be the ones to form the society tomorrow, and these important life skills can help them not only become successful individuals but also aid them in positively influencing the social structure on a whole.