Objectives of Life Skills in Education Help learners develop an awareness and understanding of every day demand and challenges. Enhance self esteem and assertiveness in their relationship with their peers and others. Develop an appreciation of female and male as partners in a society. Make optimum use of available resources in order to improve the quality of life. Develop attitude values and skills that promote positive responsible and healthy lifestyle. Develop an understanding, support and care for the disadvantaged int the society. MAIN TOPICS TO BE COVERED Introduction to life skills Self awareness Self esteem Stress management Coping with emotions Empathy Assertiveness Negotiations Non-violence conflict resolutions. Effective decision making. Critical thinking. Creative thinking. Problem solving. Time management. Gender education. Drug and substance abuse. HIV and AIDS. Child labor. Child rights. Relationship LIFE SKILLS NOTES INTRODUCTION TO LIFE SKILLS The World Health Organization (WHO) defines life skills as abilities for adaptive and positive behavior that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life. There are 3 Categories of life skills: Skills of knowing and living with oneself. Self awareness skills- the ability to know oneself e.g. ones abilities, emotions, strength and weaknesses. Self esteem and confidence building skills- the way we read ourselves, the respect we accord ourselves and the confidence we have influences and our actions, attitudes and what we achieve in life Goal setting skills- self evaluation, self assessment and self motivating skills. Skills for managing feelings- anger management, dealing with grief, coping skills for dealing with loss, abuse trauma. Skills for managing stress- time management and positive training (personal abilities) Skills of knowing and living with others. People are social by nature and need to interact with others; therefore, we need skills of living with other people. Skills under this category include: Negotiation and conflict management skills Assertiveness skills Empathy Cooperation and team work Advocacy skills- that is skill of influence and persuasion (interpersonal relations) Skills of making effective decisions Problem solving skills Evaluating future consequences of our present action for self and others Information gathering skills Determining alternative solutions to problems Critical thinking skills BENEFITS OF LIFE SKILLS EDUCATION Learners will be able to make informed choices and decisions about issues in life. Develop confidence in ourselves and what we do. Practice healthy behavior and avoid risk Recognize and assess situations that are likely to create challenges in life. Live constructive and meaningful lives. Assist one to be positive and active. VALUES AND OUR LIVES Values are standards of behaving. They emanate from one’s beliefs, standards or expectations. They are important because they act as the compass of that gives one’s life meaning and direction. They can also be understood as qualities that are considered worthwhile. They are driving forces. Examples of values Dedication Credibility Honesty Innovativeness Obedience Courtesy Hard work Integrity Humility Love Patience Tolerance Responsibility WHY IDENTIFY AND ESTABLISH VALUES? Your values are made up of everything that has happened to you in life. They include influence and identifiers. They help you develop clear and meaningful sense of life, your beliefs and priorities. Values impact every aspect our life. For example you use your values to: Make decisions about priorities in your life and work Your goal and life purpose are grounded in your values. You demonstrate your values through your personal behavior and interpersonal behavior. Conclusion Choose values that are most important to you, living your values helps you to accomplish your goals. SELF AWARENESS It is the ability of an individual to understand oneself. In terms of potential feelings, habits and tendencies positions in life and society. Who am i? I am Titus chebii cheboyet. Describe yourself e.g. PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES MENTAL ATTRIBUTES I am healthy I have will power Able to perform tasks I have charisma Able to solve problems I am intelligent Able to multi-task I am able to solve problems Able to lead (leader) I am short minded guy …. … LIFE SKILLS NOTES REASONS WHY I SHOULD KNOW MYSELF Appreciate myself and live in harmony with myself. To be at peace with myself and others To know my talents and gifts To know my limitations and weaknesses then I will make effort to overcome them or to accept what I can’t overcome. To know my talents and gifts therefore be able to develop full potential and be useful to others hence I will be a good leader. Self awareness helps us to know and understand ourselves know others. Learn how to know others and let them know us. 4 areas ‘the open self’ ‘the blind self’ ‘the concealed self’ ‘the unknown self’-only God knows. Values and beliefs. Values Beauty Belonging Activeness Acknowledgement Accuracy Acceptance Bravery Calmness Capability Beliefs Negative Unlovable Unwanted Imperfect Not safe Bad powerless Positive Accurate-reality Flexible Congruent-internally consistent with @ other Empowering Pleasure GOAL SETTING Definition: It is a powerful process for thinking about your ideal future and for motivating yourself to turn your vision into reality. By setting goals you choose where you want to go by knowing what you want to achieve you know where you have to concentrate your efforts you will also spot destructions that can easily lead you astray. Why set goals? Setting goals gives you long time vision and short term motivation. It focuses your acquisition of knowledge and helps you to organize your time and resources so that you can make the most of your life. It raises self confidence as you recognize your own ability and confidence in achieving the goals you have set. SET PERSONAL GOALS Consider what you want to achieve in life Break this down into smaller targets that you must hit to reach your lifetime goals. Example Career-what level do you want to reach in your career? Finance-how much do you want to have and by what stage. How does this relate to your career goals Education-is there any knowledge you want to acquire in particular. What