Life Skill Education (Classes IX to XII):

The textbook for Life Skills Education has been designed and developed as per the syllabus for the two internally assessed subjects i.e. Work & Art Education and Physical & Health Education for the first time and introduced in Class IX and Class XI from the academic session 2016.

The textbooks for secondary and higher secondary levels focuses on the importance of health and related problems and healthy living, to instill the dignity of labor, to open up vistas of artistic expression in the fields of music, fine arts, dance and other disciplines, topics on disaster management, civic life, clean election, care for public property, national integration and career guidance are also included in the book to help students to acquire values of life to mould their personalities and help acquire the right attitude to become responsible in life.

What are Life Skills?

There are many definitions to understand what life skills are.

A person needs a set of social features and personal capabilities to interact with themselves and other people in and around their environment and to make the decision which requires high ability, also to find solutions to various kinds of problems. Moreover, the skills required to deal positively with any condition to get the desired outcome is called life skills. Life skills can be developed through encouragement to adapt to society and promote positivity in personal behaviours and by adopting a positive perspective towards work.

What is Life Skill Education?

Life skills education is one such type of skill. Under this, the child develops the ability to discharge his life appropriately and to organize the activities related to life in a systematic manner. It is a type of education in which skills are developed to make the child efficient in such a way that he can make decisions in odd situations by his ability and intelligence. At the same time, such miseries have to be developed in human life. So that he can become a skilled citizen.

Importance of Life Skills Education

If we want to live life successfully, then we need to understand the importance of life skills. And it is also very important to implement it in our life. If this happens then our life can move in a simple and right direction. Life skills make us competent to know how to make our life easy and simple, how to create a positive life, how life can be spent in the right way. Therefore, life skills are very important in our life.

It polishes the ability to adapt to all kinds of circumstances and succeed in every aspect of the society. Lack of life skills in the lives of new generations needs to be taken care of as it is important in life. Due to absence of life skills, not only personal lives but professional lives and careers get affected.

By educating life skills, students can develop self confidence in them. It makes them cooperative and communicative. It prepares them to take quick action in any unfavorable circumstances.

Types of Life Skills

There are two types of life skills which need to be taught to students. The first one is General Life Skills and the other is High Level skills. And under these skills comes a variety of skills which are the following.

General skills

Confidence skills.

Decision-making skills.

Stress alleviation skills.

Adjustment skills in adversity.

Self-awareness skills.

Skill of negative tendency towards wrongdoing.

Positive behavior.

Critical Thinking.

Society’s skills towards each other.

High level skills

The following skills are covered under High Level Skills.

Excellent warmth and high mental level.

Communication.

Way of thinking.

Mental and physical relaxation.

Goal Setting and Problem Solving.

Social support.

Standard of living with health.

Aims of Development of Life Skills

Following are the objectives of development of life skills.

The purpose of social development.

Development of experimental knowledge.

The purpose of the development of adjustment power.

Objective of development of life values.

Objective of mental development.

Of all-round development

Essential Life Skills Everyone Should Learn

Developing life skill is important and every life skill has its importance to apply in life. Following are life skills:

1. Self-Awareness Skills

By developing the Self-awareness skill, one can be aware of his/her doings. They will be aware of their own performance and their behaviours which will make them competent to handle any situation. A person will get to know his feelings for things or towards other people. It also helps them to make sound decisions.

2. Empathy and Sympathy Skills

With Empathy, a person will be able to understand other people’s perceptions, their feelings, and circumstances any person is in. It simply put them in someone’s place to understand their actual emotions. It helps them to react accordingly.

With sympathy, a person will be able show appreciation and compassion towards other people and their emotional reaction.

3. Problem-Solving Skills

The life skill of problem-solving makes an individual to trace a problem, suggesting options to solutions, evaluate the solutions to pick the best solution, and then apply the solution to the problem within the time limit. It is one of the most important life skills to practice in life on an everyday basis.

4. Decision-Making Skills

Every now and then, an individual has to face times when they have to make a decision which can affect their life. With decision-making skills, a person develops a skill to make the right and appropriate decision and pass it on. Decision making enables them to take decisions in any hard and fast situation.

5. Thinking Skills

Developing thinking skill is very important as it is the mental activity by which an individual can process information, use experiences, make relationships, finalize solutions to problems, pass on decisions, ask questions, and suggest new ideas.

Thinking skills are of four types:

Analytical Thinking Skills:It is a visual thinking skill which makes an individual competent to break complex problems into manageable components to solve it effectively.

Divergent Thinking Skills:With Divergent thinking skill, one can generate creative ideas after working on or exploring many possible solutions. It is a spontaneous and free flow thinking.

Creative Thinking Skills:Creative thinking skill helps a person to create something new. It also allows their brain to explore things and look at things in creative ways to suggest creative solutions. Creative thinking is infused with imagination and it does not involve logical reasoning.

Critical Thinking Skills: Critical thinking skill is opposite to creative thinking skill. It is the ability to make a difference between fake truth and real truth, judgement and opinion. It prepares a person to think rationally and prepare to build trust on right and to avoid wrong.