The Need for a Life Skills Class

(This post coincides with my recent posts on meditation and suicide.)

Each time I hear about some tragic shooting caused by fear and despair it reiterates in my head how much we all would be helped if there was a Life Skills Class provided in schools to teach everyone how to deal with life's challenges.

At the very least, all elementary schools should teach a class on bullying and what to do if you are being bullied, and how to handle it.  The younger kids are taught this the better.  They need to know that when they are bullied, it doesn't mean they are weak or that there is something wrong with them.  They need to know that the fault lies with the bully and not with them, and that they are not alone.  Millions of kids are bullied everywhere around the world.  But the bullying does not have to ruin their life.  They need to know that they can turn to someone for help, that their teachers and guidance counselors and other school staff will be there for them, support them, and take them seriously if they say someone is bullying them.  They need to know that it's how they react to adversity that gives them character.  It's when they are not taught this, when they are left to believe that the whole world is against them instead of for them, that they may react violently because they don't know any better and at the same time, they feel they have nothing to lose.

Because older students need support too, past elementary school I think it should be mandatory that all teachers discuss bullying with their students during the beginning of the school year, and also recommend a book that would help them deal with it.  It would take just 15 minutes, but that would be enough.  Sometimes all you need is to be reminded you're not alone, and you're not the only one feeling crummy.  At least you would think that the world was not so cold, and that people care about each other. 

In these classes or discussions, bullies could also be taught how to better handle themselves, how the issues they have do not have to manifest themselves out into teasing or debasing someone just so that they can feel better about themselves.  They should also know that there is someone to talk to about their issues - even if it's a crisis helpline - and a book recommended that can help them deal better.  Books change lives.  The wisdom of the ages are in books.  And everyone should know that when a person feels really good about themselves, when they really love themselves, they show that love to others; and it is only the person that has hatred towards themselves that projects it onto others.


Granted, bullying is not the only problem in life and there are other challenges that people face that they may not know how to resolve.  That's where the Life Skills Class comes to play.  The Life Skills Class would teach them how to resolve conflict, and ways to deal with life's challenges.  They could be taught how to deal with arguments and with disappointments in a productive way via examples from history and successful people who overcame great obstacles to achieve their goals.  If this was an extra class, like music or art, just once a week in elementary school, it would make a big difference.  If you teach people that they can find better solutions, they'll find better solutions.


Lastly, if the bank meltdown of 2008 has taught us anything it's that Americans don't know how to handle their money, so why not teach them?  Why not have a high school class devoted to teaching teenagers how to handle their money wisely and save for their future so that they will become fiscally responsible adults when they start working?  They teach us calculus, which most of us never use, but they don't teach us how to handle an everyday aspect of our lives like money?

     I remember talking with my coworker who made a lot more money than me but spent it all each month on things like designer purses and clothes and then had barely enough savings to pay for unforeseen expenses like dental work and car trouble.  She would have to borrow money from her brother to pay for stuff.  Meanwhile, she continued to eat out every meal and go partying during the weekends.  This was a capable girl, who, like a lot of Americans, cared too much about what everyone else thought and wanted to keep up with the Joneses.  Thus, she overspent and lived paycheck to paycheck.  When I think about her and people like her, it makes me more adamant in the idea that a class on fiscal responsibility would have helped her, could still help her now.

     Of course that is not to say that a class would help everybody, could help everybody.  Because there are people who can't be helped and people who don't know how to help.  But I think it if it helps one person, one person that could hurt a lot of other innocent people, it would be worth it.

     In the end, it's the way people are taught - or not taught - to react to life's challenges that decides whether they find productive or destructive ways to channel their frustrations.  It's all about education.  If they learn better, they can do better.