Life Skills in Education

As a Life Skills teacher I think that it is important for all students to learn life skills. Some of the main thins we do are skills that students need in order to maintain a job, friendships, etc. once they graduate high school. I have found that many high school students are in need of these same skills even though they are not considered to have a disability. In my classroom I teach my students employability skills, communication skills, time management, organizing skills, problem solving, conflict resolution skills, and many other life skills that they will need. There are times when I find that my students have so many more life skills than the general high school students do. My students are able to cope better with stress and what is going on in their lives than other students can.

Other areas that I cover in our curriculum include money management skills. I teach my students how to keep track of their checking account by using a registrar book. I also teach them how to write checks. What I have come across in my years of teaching is that many general education students know way less about those skills than my students do.

I think that life skills are an important part of everyone's life. These skills are going to be needed during high school, after high school, and throughout their whole lives. Life skills should be a part of the education that ALL students are receiving and not just part of the special education students lives.

I have many peer tutors every year, about 10 a trimester. When we are covering our life skills there are times when I can't separate my students into smaller groups because the peer tutors do not know what to do. I then have to do a whole lesson so that the peer tutors can learn the skills that my students are learning. I find this to be the case with handling different situations, money management, and writing checks. I also find that students don't have good communication skills. They can't relate to people and don't try to maintain conversations.

Do you find that students need help with life skills at your school? What do you think could be done in order to help these students gain those skills at school since they are not getting them at home?