Life skills education for young people
Laine Berman,
Yogyakarta
Jakarta Post 13 March 2006
Parents and communities have
a huge role to play in guiding the future of this nation through the way they
shape its children, guaranteeing their safety, health, and happiness. Throughout
Indonesia
, however, there are few, if any, systems set up to facilitate youth-focused
communities. Instead, we find just the opposite -- institutions that undermine
the healthy development of children and the active participation of youth. When
children don't turn out as hoped, blame is thrown everywhere but where it
belongs.
Children are a product of
the communities they live in. They grow up learning its norms and values,
interests and hopes. Therefore, preparing children to face the conflicts and
challenges of everyday life should be both a family and community-based
initiative.
Having a family, just like
forming a community, means taking responsibility. It also means supporting
institutions such as schools to become more responsible and to provide the
services they claim to. Thus, if the nation is in crisis, but the community is
stable, your children are far more likely to be healthy.
There are many examples of
targeting different issues relating to children that could and should be adapted
for Indonesian contexts. One such example is a life-skills curriculum adapted
for each level of school, from elementary onward.
What is life-skills
education?
Life skills are essentially
those abilities that help promote mental well-being and competence in young
people as they face the realities of life. UNICEF defines life skills education
as a behavior development approach designed to address three areas: Knowledge,
attitudes and skills.
The UNICEF definition is
based on evidence that children reject risky behavior when they have the
knowledge, attitudes and skills to do so. Parents, families and communities are
responsible for providing their children with this necessary life-skills
knowledge in areas such as sex, drugs and civics education.
For the most part, however,
this is not being done. In this era of "free sex" and concerns about
the impact of a globalized media on children, talking to children about sex,
drugs and especially HIV/AIDS is essential.
But the role of parents and
schools in sex education remains a challenge that has yet to be faced. Research
with parents shows that adults are reluctant to talk to children about sex. They
find it difficult to identify with children's experiences. This may involve
discussing things that they don't usually talk about or have little
understanding of themselves.
Meanwhile, Indonesian
authorities and organizations have defined life-skills training as income-based
training, rather than specific training that provides children with skills in
basic decision-making and problem-solving. The result is frightening -- vast
numbers of Indonesian children without the confidence, knowledge or skills to
make decisions that will shape their lives.
Young people today face
tough new challenges, such as the risk of early pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, substance
abuse, unemployment, conflict and political instability, discrimination and
human trafficking, sexual and other forms of exploitation.
In order to protect
themselves, young people need skills that enable them to evaluate a situation,
and to make safe choices based on their own well-developed sense of self -- not
just by doing what their friends are doing (ikut-ikutan). While the
standard approach here in
Indonesia
is to shape attitudes alone, the life skills approach combines knowledge,
attitudes and skills to provide young people with not only information but also
methods of processing the information and applying it in everyday life.
This involves translating
knowledge and attitudes into safe and adaptive actions. Life-skills training is
comprised of interpersonal, attitudinal and psychosocial aspects, and includes
such skills as communication, decision-making, creative thinking, negotiation,
stress management, values analysis, and confidence-building.
Life-skills training does
not "preach", "make demands", or provide "correct
answers" to issues of sexual, violent, or drug-related activity. Instead it
allows the young to make appropriate choices by providing a strong foundation
for such choices. The fatalistic, "Don't do it!" approach, long
adhered to in
Indonesia
by government agencies, NGOs and the mass media, has proved ineffective.
Instead of slogans and
"correct answers", it is time to recognize the complexities and
challenges facing young people and move beyond simplistic messages to discuss
issues in a more open manner.
Arguments such as talking
about sex is "taboo", or that condom ATMs and sex education promote
sexual behavior, are unfounded and no grounds for denying our children the
skills necessary for a long, healthy life. Quality sex education does not
encourage sexual activity but rather encourages clear and careful thought
processes about responsibility, self-respect, and other values.
These are all issues no
parents, teachers or religious leaders could object to. We all want the same
things for our children -- the issue is: Do we reach this level through
education or silence? The life-skills approach does not tell young people what
is right and what is wrong.
Rather, it provides them
with the skills to self-reflect and evaluate responsibly, to critically
recognize issues and impacts through information and choices. If done well, it
builds independence, self-respect, and maturity. It thus provides the foundation
for a more democratic, socially aware, capable, responsible, and caring younger
generation. When people feel in control of their lives, they are the essential
building blocks for the future of a healthy and modern nation.
Laine Berman, PhD, runs
safe-youth training programs in
Yogyakarta
, where she has lived for nearly 25 years.