Non-Academic
“Life Skills”
Curricula
• Conflict Resolution: The ability
to peacefully resolve conflicts is
a vitally important skill. Most
individuals are left to figure out
for themselves the best way in
which to deal with conflict - be it
with members of the family, with
friends or with colleagues. But
many schools actually "teach"
students how to deal with and
resolve conflicts in their life. Not
only is this important in building
better citizens, but it also
addresses the problem of
conflicts interfering with a
student's ability to get the most
out of school.
• Character Education: Since
humans are not necessarily born
with character traits like caring,
civic virtue and citizenship,
honesty, justice and fairness,
respect, responsibility and
trustworthiness, they need to be
introduced to these virtues in
school - particularly when they
do not have adequate role
models at home. However, it is
not possible to "teach" character,
because these are virtues that
must be appreciated and
practiced over time. Schools are
finding that it is far easier to
build character in non-traditional
settings where students work
independently and cooperatively
in hands-on environments. By
more closely duplicating the
work environments of the real
world, students are able to
"practice" virtues and perfect
them while their essential
natures are still developing.
• Teaching Wisdom: It is a well
accepted notion that "wisdom" is
something gained with
experience - and many believe
that age is a prerequisite for
wisdom. However, wisdom is
nothing more than the ability to
face life choices and make good
decisions, decisions with the
potential to yield the best longterm
results. Another aspect of
wisdom is the ability to make
decisions that positively impact
the maximum number of people
- thus differentiating wisdom
from selfish acts that may yield
positive benefits for oneself at
the expense of others. Robert
Steinberg, Professor of
Psychology and Education at
Yale University, is an ardent
believer in the idea that wisdom
can be taught. Unlike IQ, which
is mostly inherent and difficult if
not impossible to change,
wisdom, according to Steinberg,
can be acquired. Further,
Steinberg maintains, wisdom is
an even more important "life
skill" and certainly a better
predictor for success in life than
IQ. To prove his point,
Steinberg talks about how
"smart" people can make
"stupid" decisions - implying that
"practical intelligence" or wisdom
is not the same thing as
intellectual intelligence or IQ.
Steinberg defines wisdom as a
human quality "based on
common values that run through
most religions and cultures:
reciprocity, courage, sincerity,
honesty, integrity and
compassion. It involves knowing
what you know and what you
don't know. It is sustained by
balance: balance between one's
own and others' interests; by
short- and long-term
perspectives."17
It is important for children to
"learn" how good decisions have
positive life-long impact, but
children are often asked to learn