© Adobe Stock, valiza14
<p>Late last century, when I was in high school, I completed an optional class called ‘Personal Development.’ As a group of young (alleged) ladies, we were taught grooming skills, deportment, letter writing and table manners, culminating in an end-of-year excursion to the Hyatt. Dressed in colourful ankle socks and matching chunky jumpers, we showed off our good manners and prowess with the silverware surrounded by a room of wary diners.</p>
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<p>I also distinctly remember completing worksheets on phone etiquette in Grade 6 a few years prior. After writing out a script for the correct way to answer a phone call, ‘Good morning/afternoon, this is Shannon speaking…’ we were encouraged to colour in the worksheet, complete with a rotary dial phone and curly phone cord that escaped off the page.</p>
<p>While knowing how to paint our nails isn’t a skill set we need to teach in high school (kids seem to learn that in Kindy), and penmanship is sadly as defunct as a Hypercolour t-shirt, there are other important practical life skills we should consider. Just yesterday, I had to show my Year 12 how to correctly address an envelope (and then weep at the cost of the $1.50 stamp).</p>
<p>And it’s all well and good for curriculum designers to talk about general skills like communication and digital literacy but what I am referring to are practical life skills.</p>
<p>For example:</p>
<p><strong>Financial literacy – how a credit card works, how mortgages work, compound interest, taxes and budgeting.</strong></p>
<p><strong>Life-saving skills – first responder skills such as CPR, how to treat burns, choking etc, how to understand basic health statistics (blood pressure etc), mental health first aid.</strong></p>
<p><strong>Job-seeking skills &#8211; How to write a resume and CV, cover letters, writing an email, writing a letter.</strong></p>
<p><strong>Life skills – how to read a map, time management, study skills, evaluating sources (especially online), ethics, conflict resolution, networking, how to initiate (and maintain) conversations, catching public transport, reading timetables and schedules, basic car and household maintenance</strong></p>
<p>In 2019, the BBC ran a report about the Welsh Youth Parliament, which was calling for the Government to include life skills such as dealing with grief and how mortgages work in its new curriculum. A study of over 2,500 young people said that while eight out of ten students had been educated about internet safety and bullying, fewer than one in ten had been taught anything about politics or grief. Three-quarters of the students wanted to be taught life-saving skills.</p>
<p>And while no teacher wants to be told they’re not doing enough, the curriculum is already demanding enough and parents certainly need to play their role, perhaps fortnightly life skills sessions during Year 10 might be achievable.</p>
<p>Even the World Health Organisation agrees that: “Life skills are abilities for adaptive and positive behaviour that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life.”</p>
<p>Richard Branson, perhaps one the world’s most famous dyslexics, often talks about the unique skill set that dyslexic thinkers bring with them – and knowledge of Pythagoras or the difference between a mesa and a butte – aren’t among them. Many of the skills he is talking about – adaptability, problem-solving, out-of-the-box thinking – are all practical skills that can – with effort &#8211; be taught.</p>
<p>He writes on his Virgin blog that “you need to be able to wrap your head around the basics. Learning about things like interest rates, how mortgages and loans work, and how much money is coming and going out is essential. For most of us, this is the real, everyday maths you need to know &#8211; core life skills that will benefit any child leaving school… we shouldn’t be excluding the vast majority of kids from learning practical life skills they need to succeed.”</p>
<p><strong>What practical life skills would you like to see taught in schools?</strong></p>
<p><strong>If you want to share a story about an Australian school teaching life skills – please contact me at s.meyerkort@multimediapublishing.com.au</strong></p>

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