Here are the key life skills demonstrated in this story:
- Self-awareness: The monkey was aware of the tasty mangoes on the tree and enjoyed them daily.
- Social skills: The monkey and crocodile developed a friendship by sharing the mangoes.
- Communication: They communicated effectively with each other about the mangoes.
- Problem solving: When faced with a problem, the crocodile creatively solved it by warning the monkey of the danger, while still maintaining his friendship.
- Critical thinking: The crocodile thought critically about how to handle the situation without harming his friend or disobeying his wife.
- Decision making: He made the decision to warn
3. Skills & Life Skills
Skills
Literacy
Language
Vocational
Cultural
Life Skills
4. The terms ‘Livelihood skills’ or occupational/vocational
skills refer to capabilities, resources and opportunities to
pursue individual and household economic goals and
relate to income generation.
Thus, Life skills are distinct from livelihood skills.
5. What are Life Skills
• Life skills have been defined as “the abilities
for adaptive and positive behaviour that enable
individuals to deal effectively with the
demands and challenges of everyday life”
6. LIFE SKILLS
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.
7. Who needs Life Skills?
Life skill education are applicable for all ages
of children and adolescents in school.
However, the age group targeted is mainly 1018, adolescent years, since young people of
this age group seem to be most vulnerable to
behaviour related health problems. The
programme is for the promotion of health and
well being and targeted group is all children.
8. Why?
• Adolescence, a vital stage of growth and
development, marks the period of transition
from childhood to adulthood.
• It is characterized by rapid physiological
changes and psychosocial maturation.
Adolescence is also the stage when young
people extend their relationships beyond
parents and family and are intensely
influenced by their peers and the outside world
in general.
9. SPECIAL NEED OF LIFE SKILLS
• As adolescents mature cognitively, their
mental process becomes more analytical. They
are now capable of abstract thinking and of
developing an independent ideology.
10. Adolescence are years of:
Experimentation and risk-taking
Giving in to negative pressure
Taking uninformed decisions on crucial
issues, especially relating to their bodies
turning point in one’s life, a period of increased
potential but also one of greater vulnerability.
Their sexuality.
11. The adolescents face the challenges:
Managing Emotions
Developing an Identity
Resisting Peer Pressure
Building Relationships
Communicating and Negotiating safer life
situations
Education and Career
12. Developing an Identity
Self – awareness helps adolescents understand
themselves and establish their personal
identity. Lack of information and skills prevent
them from effectively exploring their potential
and establishing a positive image and sound
career perspective.
13. Managing Emotions
Adolescents have frequent
mood changes reflecting
feelings of
anger, sadness, happiness, fear,
shame, guilt, and love. Very
often, they are unable to
understand the emotional
turmoil.
14. Building Relationships
• As a part of growing up, adolescents redefine their
relationships with parents, peers and members of
the opposite sex. Adults have high expectations
from them and do not understand their feelings.
•
Adolescents need social skills for building
positive and healthy relationships with others
including peer of opposite sex. They need to
understand the importance of mutual respect and
socially defined boundaries of every relationship.
15. Resisting Peer Pressure
• Adolescents find it difficult to resist peer
pressure. Some of them may yield to these
pressures and engage in experimentation.
• Aggressive self conduct; irresponsible
behaviour and substance abuse involve greater
risks with regard to physical and mental health.
• The experiment with smoking and milder
drugs can lead to switching over to hard drugs
and addiction at a later stage.
16. Education and Career
• Exposure to media and mixed messages from the fast
changing world have left adolescents with many
unanswered questions
• The widening gap in communication between adolescents
and parents is a matter of great concern.
• Teachers still feel inhibited to discuss issues frankly and
sensitively.
• Adolescents seek information from their peer group who are
also ill informed and some may fall prey to quacks.
• Fear and hesitation prevents them from seeking knowledge
on preventive methods and medical help if suffering from
RTIs and STIs.
17. Communicating and Negotiating
safer life situations
• Sexually active adolescents face greater
health risks.
• Girls may also face mental and emotional
problems related to early sexual initiation.
• Resisting the vulnerability to drug
abuse, violence and conflict with law or
society.
18. Key Life Skills
Thinking Skills
Social Skills
Skills related to dealing
with others termed as
"social skills".
Skills those related
to thinking termed
as "thinking skills"; Social skills include
interpersonal skills and
Thinking skills relate do not necessarily
to reflection at a
depend on logical
thinking.
personal level
Emotional Skills
Skills needed for
achieving assertive
behaviour and
negotiating
effectively.
“Emotional skills”.
19. Three kinds of skills –
Thinking
Skills
Emotional
Skills
Social
Skills
20. The Ten core Life Skills as laid down by WHO are:
Life Skills
Social Skills
Thinking Skills
Emotional Skills
Communication
Problem
solving
Coping with Stress
Interpersonal
relationship
Decision making
Coping with
Emotion
Empathy
Self Awareness
Creativity
Critical thinking
21. The Ten core Life Skills as laid down
by WHO are:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Critical thinking
Creative thinking
Decision making
Problem Solving
Self-awareness
Empathy
Effective communication
Interpersonal relationship
Coping with stress
Coping with emotion
23. Self-awareness
• SELF AWARENESS is one of the most important part
which is basically you, this skill or ability in you will
help you to know about yourself, your character,
desires, likes, dislikes and your strengths and weakness
keeping in mind your physical, mental, emotional,
social, and sexual aspects. Being aware of your
strengths and weakness will help in building your self
esteem and self confidence.
• Knowing about yourself is necessary for developing a
positive attitude towards life. It helps in making
decisions, prioritizing your work, and reasoning out
many actions and reactions of yours.
24. Empathy
• Empathy - To have a successful relationship with our
loved ones and society at large, we need to understand
and care about other peoples’ needs, desires and
feelings.
• Empathy is the ability to imagine what life is like for
another person. Without empathy, our communication
with others will amount to one-way traffic. When we
understand ourselves as well as others, we are better
prepared to communicate our needs and desires.
25. Empathy
• Empathy can help us to accept others, who may be very
different from ourselves. This can improve social
interactions, especially, in situations of ethnic or
cultural diversity.
• Empathy can also help to encourage nurturing
behaviour towards people in need of care and
assistance, or tolerance, as is the case with AIDS
sufferers, or people with mental disorders, who may be
stigmatized and ostracized by the very people they
depend upon for support.
26. Interpersonal relationship
Interpersonal relationship skills help us to relate in
positive ways with the people we interact with and
keep friendly relationships, which can be of great
importance to our mental and social well-being. It
may mean keeping, good relations with family
members, which are an important source of social
support. It may also mean being able to end
relationships constructively.
27. Effective communication
• Effective communication means that we are
able to express ourselves, both verbally and
non-verbally, in ways that are appropriate to
our cultures and situations.
• This means being able to express opinions and
desires, and also needs and fears. And it may
mean being able to ask for advice and help in a
time of need.
29. Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is an ability to analyze
information and experiences in an objective
manner. Critical thinking can contribute to
health by helping us to recognize and assess
the factors that influence attitudes and
behaviour, such as values, peer pressure and
the media.
30. Creative thinking
• Creative thinking is a novel way of seeing or
doing things that is characteristic off our
components – fluency (generating new
ideas), flexibility (shifting perspective
easily), originality (conceiving of something
new), and elaboration (building on other
ideas).
31. Decision making
Decision making
Decision making helps us to deal
constructively with decisions about our lives.
This can have consequences for health. It can
teach people how to actively make decisions
about their actions in relation to healthy
assessment of different options and, what
effects these different decisions are likely to
have.
32. Problem solving
• Problem solving helps us to deal
constructively with problems in our lives.
• Significant problems that are left
unresolved can cause mental stress and give
rise to accompanying physical strain.
34. Self management or emotional skills are
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.
35. Coping with Stress
Coping with stress means recognizing the
sources of stress in our lives, recognizing how
this affects us, and acting in ways that help us
control our levels of stress, by changing our
environment or lifestyle and learning how to
relax.
36. Coping with emotions
Coping with emotions means involving
recognizing emotions within us and others,
being aware of how emotions influence
behaviour and being able to respond to
emotions appropriately. Intense emotions like
anger or sadness can have negative effects on
our health if we do not respond appropriately.
38. Different methods that can be used
to enhance Life Skills in students.
Class discussions
Brainstorming
Demonstration and guided practice
Role plays
Audio and visual
activities, e.g.,arts, music, theatre, dance
Educational games and simulations
Case studies
Story telling
Debates
39.
40. The Thirsty Crow
Which life skills
the crow applied?
A crow was looking for water on hot dry day.
She was very thirsty. She could not find
water any where even after flying long
distances.
Though she was very tired, she said, “I am
thirsty and I have to find water soon” and
started looking again.
Soon she saw a tall clay pot with little water
in it.
She was happy to see the water but
disappointed that the water level was low.
She could not reach the water, however
much she tried. She said, “I have to find
away of drinking it without breaking the pot
or toppling it”.
She looked around and saw small pebbles
all around. She picked one by one and
dropped it into the pot.
Slowly, the water level came up and she
could drink the water and quenched her
thirst.
41. Life skills used by the crow:
Self-awareness:
She realized that she is thirsty and she has to do something to
find water.
Decision-making:
She decided to start looking for water.
Critical thinking- ability to identify the problem:
She found that the water level is low and she cannot reach it;
cannot topple it or break it.
Creative thinking:
Used the pebbles (immediately available resource) creatively.
Problem solving:
Found a solution to her problem by thinking creatively.
43. Birbal Ki
Kichhidi.
Identify
life skills.
One day, King Akbar announced a reward of 100 gold coins to anyone who
could stand in the cold-water pond all through the night and come out when
the sun rises in the morning. Many came forward. But soon the pond was
empty except for one old man. He stood there because he wanted the 100 gold
coins to conduct his daughter’s wedding.
When the sun came up he got out of the pond and asked for the 100 gold
coins.
The king asked him, “How could you bear the cold water when even young
person came out of the pond”? The old man said, “I looked at the distant lights
in the palace and kept thinking of the warmth the lights give”. The king
said, “Then you cheated me. You took warmth from my palace lights. I will not
give you the gold coins”.
The old man was very sad and disappointed that his effort had gone waste.
Birbal, a minister understood that the king was unfair in his decision. He
wanted to find a way to communicate this to the king. He invited the king for
dinner that evening.
When the king arrived, he found Birbal sitting in the garden near a small fire.
He asked “what are you doing’? Birbal said, “Oh, I am cooking kichdi for your
dinner”.
The king was surprised to see a small pot hanging from the top of the tree
while the fire was on the ground. He said, “Birbal, are you stupid? How can the
kichdi cook when the fire is down below and the pot is way up”?
Birbal said, when the old man can draw warmth from the palace lights which
are so far away , why can’t my kichadi cook from the fire down below?
The king understood his fault and gave the 100 gold coins to the old man and
apologized to him.
44. Life skills used by characters
• Critical thinking: Birabl understood the problem. The king was
unfair by refusing to give the gold coins to the old man.
• Empathy: He empathized with the old man and wanted to help
him.
• Decision-making: Birbal decided to help the old man.
• Communication: Birbal found a creative idea to communicate
that the king must give the gold coins to the old man.
• Old man was lacking of communication skill.
• Creative thinking: He used the kichadi-cooking example, to make
the king realize his mistake, without offending his feelings.
• Creative thinking by King: He used his creative thinking
negatively to cheat the old man.
46. Hunter and
Pigeons
Identify life
skills.
A group of pigeons enjoyed the fresh grains in the
field. They went there every day. One day a hunter
saw them and wanted to catch them. He spread a net
in the field and was waiting for them to come.
The pigeons were caught in the net. They realized
that the hunter will soon take them away. The leader
pigeon said, “We have to get out. There must be a
way out. Let us think”. But they could not find a way
out .The net was strong. Each pigeon was trying to
escape by pulling the net in different directions. But
it increased the fear and confusion more than
helping them.
A young pigeon said, “Why don’t we all try and fly
together instead of trying to escape individually?”
When we pull individually, we waste our energy”. The
leader pigeon was not in agreement. He said “no it
may be difficult”. But the young pigeon insisted that
they try it once. The leader finally agreed when he
spotted the hunter at a distance. When he said “fly”
all of them lifted together and flew away with the
net. The hunter arrived just then to see the pigeons
flying away together with his net.
47. Life skills used by characters
• Self-awareness: The pigeons knew that they were in trouble and
need to find away out of the net.
• Critical thinking for Problem identification: The young pigeon
identified that they were wasting energy by trying to fly out
individually.
• Effective communication: The young pigeon assertively
communicated his suggestion of flying together.
• Decision-making: They decided to fly as a group.
• Creative thinking for problem solving: Identified a creative
solution by flying together.
• Creative thinking by the hunter: Spreading grains under the net
to catch the pigeons.
49. Crocodile and
the Monkey
Identify life
skills.
A monkey was living on a mango tree on the bank of the river. The
tree was full of ripe mangoes and the monkey enjoyed the sweet
and juicy fruit every day. A crocodile was swimming in the river
and saw the monkey enjoying himself. He asked, “what is that you
are eating. It looks good”. The monkey threw one mango to the
crocodile and said “it is a mango”. The crocodile loved the taste
and every day he came for more fruits. They became good friends.
The crocodile told his wife about the mango and the monkey.
She was very curios and asked her husband to bring one mango for
her. When she tasted it, she said, “This fruit is very tasty. Since the
monkey eats it every day his meat must taste very good. You bring
him home and we can eat him”. The crocodile tried to arguer but
she was very adamant. He was sad because, the monkey was a
good friend.
By the time he reached the mango tree, he made a plan. He told
the monkey that he was invited for lunch and he would take him to
his house.
The monkey sat on the back of the crocodile and they were
crossing the river. When they were half way, the crocodile told the
monkey the truth that he will be eaten by his wife.
The monkey immediately sensed the danger. He thought for a
while and told the crocodile, “You should have told me this earlier.
My stomach is the tastiest part of my body. I have left it on the
tree. Come let us go back and bring the stomach”. The crocodile
hesitated. But, decided to take the monkey back to the tree to
fetch the stomach.
When they came near the tree, the monkey jumped, sat on the top
branch of the tree away from the crocodile and saved his life.
50. Life skills used by characters
• Social skills: built relationship with the crocodile.
• Problem identification: The monkey knew that his life was in
danger when the crocodile told the truth.
• Critical thinking for problem solving: Identified an appropriate
reason for making the request to go back to the tree.
• Effective communication: He could convince the crocodile to go
back to the tree.
• Creative thinking- Identified a creative reason for going back to
the tree.
• Creative thinking by the crocodile: to invite the monkey for
lunch –skill negatively used .
51. This presentation is meant for students and
teachers as a guide for life skill Education which is
most urgent need of present society.Some pictures
are taken from some websites and I acknowledge
them. It is not for business purposes as it is free for
all.
By - Pratima Nayak,Teacher in Mathematics,
Kendriya Vidyalaya,Fort William,Kolkata is life skill
master trainer as well as master Trainer for gender
sensitization .
Email address: pnpratima@gmail.com