Life skills include psychosocial competencies and interpersonal skills that help people make informed decisions, solve problems, think critically and creatively, communicate effectively, build healthy relationships, empathize with others, and cope with managing their lives in a healthy and productive manner.

We all use Life Skills in different situations such as to negotiate effectively at home, school or work place, we need to have thinking skills as well as social skills and when faced with difficult situations we tend to think critically, to analyze all the pros and cons of the situation to think out of box to find a solution to seemingly difficult problems.

When we understand ourselves as well as others, we are better prepared to communicate our needs and desires. We will be more equipped to say what we want people to know, present our thoughts and ideas and tackle delicate issues without offending other people. At the same time, we will be able to elicit support from others, and win their understanding.

The school and the real world are often depicted as opposites; when school is shown as a place of acceptance and rewards, the real world is a place mainly described as something tough to navigate. In school there are certain skills learnt that transfer over into their real life such as critical thinking and communication skills.

Life skills training is an efficacious tool for empowering the youth to act responsibly, take initiative and take control. It is based on the assumption that when young people are able to rise above emotional impasses arising from daily conflicts, entangled relationships and peer pressure, they are less likely to resort to anti-social or high risk behaviors.

Essentially, there are two kinds of skills – those related to thinking termed as “thinking skills”; and skills related to dealing with others termed as “social skills”. While thinking skills relate to reflection at a personal level, social skills include interpersonal skills and do not necessarily depend on logical thinking. It is the combination of these two types of skills that are needed for achieving assertive behaviour and negotiating effectively. “Emotional” can be perceived as a skill not only in making rational decisions but also in being able to make others agree to one’s point of view. To do that, coming to terms first with oneself is important. Thus, selfmanagement is an important skill including managing/coping with feelings, emotions, stress and resisting peer and family pressure. Young people as advocates need both thinking and social skills for consensus building and advocacy on issues of concern.

The purpose of school is to get young minds ready for their real world aside from curriculum, the life skills that is taught enables the students to flourish as adults. They find themselves really quick to handle the new stage of life after they graduate. Children learn their Life Skills from parents, teachers and significant others who act as their role model. They gradually learn to use a particular skill effectively in diverse situation to cope with challenges of life.

In this regard life skills lesson is introduced to SS1 & SS2 students in 2020-2021 academic session. We expect our students to recognize their skills and have new interests in different fields with this lesson.