Lifeskills

Tools for Citizenship and Life

Education is meant to prepare kids for living successfully in the real world.  Every experience they have in school should therefore have a real, direct impact on the reality of daily living.  In addition to learning skills and content that will help them later in life, students need training in metacognition, self-discovery, and social skills.  I'll refer to these as lifeskills throughout the year.

As we did last year, students will begin the school year with a study of the brain.  I have been doing research over the summer that has helped me learn more about how the brain learns.  I'm going to teach this to my students, in an effort to empower them as learners.  As John W. Gardner says, "The ultimate goal of the education system is to shift to the individual the burden of pursuing his own education." 

We will review the parts of the brain that relate to the emotions and movement, as these are keys to success as learners.  This requires a deep understanding of the cerebellum and limbic system.  In addition to learning about how our emotions need to pass through a feeling gate before learning, students will discover that the only living beings on this earth that can move are those with brains!  Movement is an integral part of learning, and we will design many opportunities to use what we know throughout the year to show our intelligence!  We will also review how neurons work. 

Our study will then move into the multiple intelligences.  We only briefly discussed these last year, and I think students would gain from more extensive exploration of these ways of thinking.  Last year we used the multiple intelligences as an entry way to the sensory system, and I've since learned that this is not quite right.  As Howard Gardner says himself, intelligence is, "a problem-solving and/or product-producing capability."  Knowing this, students can first find their strengths, then use them to create!  This is powerful knowledge that will help students throughout their lives, and will certainly be useful throughout the school year as they continually use their strengths to solve problems and show what they know about various subjects.

In addition, we will be discussing the 5 Lifeline Guidelines needed to be successful citizens throughout life.  As defined by Susan Kovalik, the guidelines are as follows:

• Trustworthiness
• Truthfulness
• Active Listening
• No Put-Downs
• Personal Best

At Rosa Parks, we often talk about personal best, but this year, we're going to define it, analyze it, and be aware of when we are doing it.  In order to find that awareness, we must teach students the elements to personal best:

• Caring
• Common Sense
• Cooperation
• Courage
• Curiosity
• Effort
• Flexibility
• Friendship
• Initiative
• Integrity
• Organization
• Patience
• Perseverance
• Pride
• Problem Solving
• Resourcefulness
• Responsibility
• Sense of Humor

These 18 Lifeskills will be taught throughout the year.  You'll be amazed at how much your child will grow personally!  He or she will be much more reflective, which we know is very important to growth of the mind and soul!  Afterall, "the unexamined life is not worth living," according to Socrates.  I couldn't agree more!

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