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TEACHING YOUTH HOW TO ANSWER LIFE'S TOUGHEST QUESTIONS
Learning for Life is an educational program designed to meet the needs of youth and schools. It helps youth meet the challenge of growing up by teaching character and good decision-making skills and then linking those skills to the real world.
Developed by professional educators and child-development experts, the Learning for Life curriculum has three basic components-school-based learning, connecting activities, and work-based learning. Combined, these components provide a structure through which youth learn the value of respect and responsibility while discovering a world of career opportunities.
SCHOOL-BASED LEARNING
The school-based program begins with lesson plans that emphasize character and citizenship. Later, youth are taught the skills they need to get and keep a job and are introduced to a range of career options through classroom exercises, seminars, and workshops.
CONNECTING ACTIVITIES
Connecting the community with educational institutions is one hallmark of
Learning for Life. By involving local organizations, businesses, and industry, the program helps build relationships between schools and the community. This collaboration provides additional resources and opportunities for youth, educators, and schools.
WORK-BASED LEARNING
The work-based portion of Learning for Life builds on the character lessons and brings the world of work alive by offering youth participants the opportunity to learn first-hand about career fields through the Exploring program.
LOCALIZED TRAINING
Training is important to the success of any program; that is why Learning for Life provides localized training and support from experienced professionals.
ELEMENTARY PROGRAM: STARTING OUT RIGHT
Learning for Life's kindergarten through sixth-grade curriculum consists of 60 lesson plans designed to reinforce social, ethical, and academic skills in areas such as critical and creative thinking, character education activities, interpersonal relationships, soft skills, practical living skills, building self-worth, writing and other language arts, and participating citizenship.
Lesson plans include themes such as
JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL/MIDDLE SCHOOL PROGRAM:
DISCOVERING CAREERS
The junior high school/middle school program begins Learning for Life's school-to-careers emphasis. The program provides community role models to motivate and interact with youth and share their personal paths to success, including the pitfalls and the high points. The program also includes a series of 50 interactive workshops that help youth develop and assess the personal skills and values needed to make future career choices.
SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL PROGRAM:
REAL-WORLD SKILLS
The senior high school program continues Learning for Life's school-to-career emphasis with 35 interactive workshops that teach the practical skills necessary for youth to acquire a job and stay employed. The workshops are followed by a series of career seminars presented by community representatives who offer students in-depth understanding and firsthand knowledge of the career fields they have chosen.
Topics include
- Job Applications and Writing Resumes
- Employer and Labor Relations
SPECIAL-NEEDS PROGRAM
The special-needs curriculum teaches youth with disabilities the life skills they need to achieve self-sufficiency. To meet the various levels of disabilities schools encounter, the program can be tailored to meet the needs of individual students.
Areas covered include
- Self-concept-Helps youth develop an awareness of personal, social, and civic responsibility.
- Personal/social skills-Emphasizes ways emotions affect the behavior of self and others.
- Life skills-Teaches skills for independent living, including personal hygiene, meal preparation, and job preparedness training.
EXPLORING: PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
Learning for Life brings school-based learning and work-based learning together in a worksite education program called Exploring. Exploring provides experiences that help young people mature and prepare them to become responsible and caring adults.
Designed for young men and women ages 14 (and who have completed the eighth grade) through 20, Exploring allows young people to get hands-on experience in a career field of their choice working with professionals in that field.
YOUNG ADULTS INVOLVED IN EXPLORING
- Gain practical knowledge of and experience in a career
- Engage in a program of activities centered on career opportunities, life skills, service learning, character development, and leadership experience to encourage the development of the whole person
- Are given opportunities to take on leadership roles
LEARNING FOR LIFE WORKS!
A recent study (commissioned by Learning for Life and conducted by Syndics
Research Corporation and Dr. Kevin Ryan of Boston University) of approximately 2,500 second-, fourth-, and sixth-grade students from 59 urban, suburban, and rural schools showed that Learning for Life can have a significant impact on the lives of young people.
KEY FINDINGS FROM THE STUDY
- Teachers in the Learning for Life classes reported significant improvements in the behavior of their students.
- Students answering post-test questionnaires showed a better understanding of concepts, including making good decisions, manners and interpersonal relationships, learning from mistakes, avoiding violence, honesty, and community involvement.
- From the pretest to the post-test, Learning for Life classes showed a 20 percent gain in appropriate responses while students in non-Learning for
Life classes showed only a 6 percent gain.
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