LIFE SKILL FOUNDATION OF SRI LANKA SERVICES

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Helping Children Achieve Their Personal Best

What is the Importance of Life Skills?

Life skills are essential to job functioning, and they must be included in instruction for students with special needs. Several million individuals with learning problems are still denied the opportunity to engage in meaningful employment . Large numbers of students with disabilities, both high school graduates and dropouts, earn very low salaries . These students do possess the potential to live and work in the community if they receive appropriate life skills instruction. However, without this instruction they often fail to hold their jobs. A life skills curriculum approach blends academic, daily living, personal /social, and occupational skills into integrated lessons designed to help students learn to function independently in society.

Teacher training

The school teachers will be given a training on the skills in counseling and Knowledge on how to identify 'crises children’. To develop life-skills of the child, specially to train the teacher to pass the life - skills to the children.By 2010, at least 2000 teachers who work in Colombo district will be received a certificate in counseling.

Our aim is to produce a smarter teacher. …………How?

It is recognized that education needs to take place in an atmosphere of low stress and high interest. This is only possible if teachers are taught:

· Brain-based learning techniques

· Early Childhood Development

· Basic child psychology

· Simple, effective counselling techniques

· The importance of lifelong learning and ongoing personal and professional development

· How to deal with their own personal stress and avoid bringing it into the classroom.

· Training teachers on how to pass life skills to children.

What are Life Skills?

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines “life skills” as “the abilities for adaptive and positive behavior that enable individuals to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life”.

Life skills fall into three basic categories, which complement and reinforce each other:

1 Social or interpersonal skills, including communication, negotiation/refusal skills, assertiveness, cooperation, empathy.

2 Cognitive skills, including problem solving, understanding consequences, decision making, critical thinking, self-evaluation.

3 Emotional coping skills, including managing stress,managing feelings, self-monitoring.

Training for Parents

The parents will be given a training on the skills how to improve their Children’s self-esteem and life skills. By the end of 2010, at least 30000 of parents will be given a certificate after 40 hours of training on the above skills

Why we are worried about today�s society and education? � A high degree of violence � A lack of personal responsibility� A concerning level of suicide, especially amongst younger generation.� An increase in destructive youth behaviours e.g. smoking, drinking, unprotected sexual activities.

Four goals support the Life skills foundation mission statement. Measurable objectives ensure successful attainment of each of these goals.

Goal 1: The schoolteachers will be given a training on the skills in counseling and Knowledge on how to identify ‘crises children’.

Objective1.1 By 2010, at least 2000 teachers who work in Colombo district will be received a certificate in counseling

Goal 2: The parents will be given a training on the skills how to improve their Children’s self-esteem and life skills.

Objective 2.1 By the end of 2010, at least 30000 of parents will be given a certificate after 40 hours of training on the above skills.

Goal 3: The parents and teachers will be given an opportunity to solve their problems with professional counselors.

Objective 3.1 By the end of December, 2007, Counseling Center with all facilities will be set up within Colombo municipal limits, open for 8 hours for a day; service is free of charge for membership holders.

Goal 4: Increase program capacity by obtaining and utilizing professional resources

Objective 4.1Within TWO years, the program will move into a more efficient and professional office apace where training programs can be conducted that are easily accessible to community members.

St.Joseph's College Colombo

IF there was a time teachers, parents and students had to have a better understanding in the social, moral, economic and religious sphere that time is now. Never before has the strain of living taken its toll on us at present.

In order to help create a better understanding between three categories, Life Skills Foundation of Sri Lanka has come up with a plan for counseling which is so necessary. The main thrust of this programme is to equip teachers, Parents and Students to provide students with and respectful learning environment.Our children are exposed to the horror of war, drug abuse, alcohol and natural disasters etc.

It is with a view to cushioning the drastic effects of this that life Skills has come up with a programme so that all three categories will work in unison helping each other with empathy.
Training is therefore a “sine qua non”

I wish the programme every success.

Rev. Fr. Sylvester Ranasingh

Rector/Principal St. Joseph's College Colombo

Life skill Centre has facilities to measure your child�s intelligence capacity. [IQ]. This will reveal your child is normal, super child or a gifted child

Awareness programs and workshops for parents in every four months. Based on the following topics

Communication Skills
Understand the first 10 years of the child development.
Life Skills
Child Nutrition
Skills to increase the self-esteem in the Child.
Secrets for a successful sexual life.