Now I know what I had to learn after I left school.

Now I know what I had to learn after I left school.

Skills like English, mathematics and science are undoubtedly crucial to student development. Life skills like?listening to learn, critical thinking, socialising and empathy, among others, will probably be more common answers that should have been learned.

Life Skills. The term ‘Life Skills’ refers to the essential skills you need to make the most out of life. Any skill that is useful in your life can be considered a life skill. Tying your shoelaces, swimming, driving a car and using a computer are, for most people, useful life skills.

Communication and interpersonal skills. This broadly describes the skills needed to get on and work with other people, particularly to transfer and receive messages either in writing or verbally. Communication skills may take a lifetime to master—if indeed anyone can ever claim to have mastered them. The basic skill of learning to listen for understanding is crucial.

Decision-making and problem-solving.?This describes the skills required to understand problems, find solutions to them, alone or with others, and then take action to address them. Making decisions and solving problems are two key areas in life, whether you are at home or at work.

Think Independently. Thinking independently is something that?can, and should be taught. It’s often safer for students to “go with the flow”, and not “rock the boat” than offer their opinion. Students are often afraid to speak their minds for fear of retribution, ridicule or being an outcast. Schools should teach to empower students to think independently and have the confidence to give their opinions. Schools can encourage pupils to read more.

Work Well With Money and Budget. How to budget, how to save, and how to spend wisely. It’s all very well getting a part-time job and making money – but if you’re spending all that money with no real thought process behind the purchase, that’s a problem. Another important lesson to teach high school students is delaying gratification which triggers a sense of pride when they purchase the item eventually.

Handling Conflict. When you hear the word conflict, how does it make you feel? Anxious? Afraid? It’s going to be tough going through life with all these feelings when it comes to conflict because it’s one of the things that we’ll encounter often. So, the sooner we can deal with it properly, the better. The first lesson to learn is to speak to the person you have a conflict with. Handle the situation calmly, because if you get all agitated, it’s just going to affect the resolution process.

Be Mindful and Grateful. If you think back at school and the petty fights and bitchiness that often cropped up, do you think that having half an hour a day to be mindful might have diffused a lot of that negativity? We believe so.

Care of Mental Health. This is an area that is severely neglected and yet, so many people struggle with their mental health. It is estimated that more than 300 million people worldwide struggle with depression. Bipolar disorder affects around 45 million people, and schizophrenia around 20 million.

Will, Life Insurance, Car Insurance Etc. Do you have a will in place? Sure, maybe you don’t own much – but getting a will in place is not something that you only need to do when you become a parent, own a house or are a multi-millionaire. Teaching high school students, about the importance of a will is something that can easily be taught in schools. Teach them about saving for their retirement, how to choose a great medical aid, how to insure their personal belongings, the difference between car insurance and household insurance and life insurance.

Introduction to Politics. Along with that, an understanding of why we choose the political parties we do. Politics is not that difficult to understand, but because it’s not taught, a love for politics only comes later in life. Often high school students will go along with what their parents have voted with no real knowledge as to why if they even vote at all when they’re of age. People tend to shy away from talking about politics.

Basic DIY / Sewing / Cooking / Baking / Car maintenance. Schools should definitely offer a “how to adult-like an adult” subject, where students are taught how to hang a shelf, sew on a button, bake a cake or change a tyre.

Write a Decent CV and Job Interview. In short, how to sell yourself. Leaving high school and suddenly being left on your own is quite a scary place to be for students. It would benefit students enormously if they were able to write a decent CV. When it comes to job interviews… practice makes perfect.

Defend Yourself – Vocally and Physically. Bullies will be around even during adulthood and they come in all shapes and sizes. Taking a self-defence course and practising the skills learnt in that course are integral. Being able to defend yourself physically against attackers could potentially save your life.

Be a Decent and Contributing Member of Society. Being a good member of the community doesn’t just mean you only need to show compassion to your fellow man, although that is certainly important, it also means respecting the law.

Live Sustainably. The primary aim of school gardens when provided is to not only promote healthy eating habits but also educate students on where their food comes from and how to produce that food themselves. Let’s add how to save water, and how to conserve energy. What about aqua or hydroponics? Solar? Recycling. Buying fair trade products and so on. These life lessons are invaluable.

Basic Understanding of Interest, Shares, and Buying a Home. Reactions range from sheer excitement to sheer terror when you realise you must pay for your house for the next 20 years. The whole process can be daunting and intimidating and there’s a ton of paperwork to sign.

Find happiness within yourself. Many people connect happiness to the achievement of certain goals or aspirations. Remove your own barriers to happiness. Practice looking inwards. Build your self-esteem. Once you’ve started checking in on yourself, you can also begin to address any areas that may be troubling you.

Creative thinking. This describes the ability to think in different and unusual ways about problems, find new solutions, or generate new ideas, coupled with the ability to assess information carefully and understand its relevance.

Critical thinking. Is the ability to think clearly and rationally, understanding the logical connection between ideas.?Critical thinking has been the subject of much debate and thought since the time of early Greek philosophers such as Plato and Socrates.

Develop the skills you need to make the most of your time as a student and then in the real world.

A final thought. There are huge benefits to learning to think a little differently. It will help to improve your problem-solving ability, and also help you to see others’ perspectives. In an increasingly global world, broader horizons and an ability to think more widely are never going to hurt.

My stories about success in Life and Business at?peternathan.substack.com ??

A bit about my history at https://www.dhirubhai.net/in/peter-nathan-02251147

I hope you found this information interesting and/or valuable. If you did, please feel free to comment and share it with your connections.

Thank you for reading.

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