What are Life Skills, and why are they gaining importance in today’s world, especially when applicable to the curricula of students? Well, most of us may know the answer, but Deepsikha Gogoi surely does, and pat comes the reply: “Life Skills, as the name suggests, comprises of all the skills necessary to enhance the quality of one’s life, not only for oneself, but also for the sake of others.” Impressive, indeed! Deepsikha Gogoi is a student of class VII at Batamora High School, Charaideo, Assam, who, like many other girls her age, likes to play with her friends after coming back from school. She doesn’t like to study in the evening, says she, because she gets tired. The youngster also likes fishing in the nearby stream
After introducing Life Skills in schools, students like Deepsikha and others have started enjoying the nuances of this ‘relatively new’ subject. The interactive activities, which are part of the subject, have boosted the enthusiasm, manifold, amongst the students, to learn and adopt more of this subject. “I like to attend the Life Skill class in school very much because it helps me find new ways of thinking and problem solving, giving me more confidence,” says Deepsikha
The classes began in May, 2017, and Deepsikha proudly lists all that she has learnt till date: good citizenship, gender-related issues, rapport-building, financial literacy, hygiene, road safety, conflict management, problem-solving, critical thinking, and much more. Her parents are happy about the fact that their daughter is learning many new things, which are also applied at home – so, it is, actually, not only learning, but also active implementation. Her teachers, Sandhya Rani Phukan Gogoi and Mr. Jamal, are happy that the subject has brought about change in the ways students interact with their environment, teachers, friends, families, and the community at large. “Catch them young,” as the famous adage goes!
The umbrella theme of Life Skills hosts a number of topics; however, in today’s time and age some subjects such as management of stress, workload and time are crucial for the decision makers of tomorrow, or the students of today
Kingkini Das, a class VII student from Baruahola High School, Tinsukia, Assam, could not agree more. “The Life Skills classes include social and thinking skills. I have learnt many things, as a result of these classes, but the one thing that left an impact on me, besides others, is the sincerity and integrity we should bring in the things we do in life. Besides this, management of workload is another important aspect, especially with growing pressures in a competitive world”