Entitled Parenthood

1. Life Skills - for success in
the 21st century
An overview
Th e impo rt an ce of ac qu ir in g new life
sk ills th at are re leva nt in to day’s co ntex t
www.T imelessLifeskills.co.uk

2. Saber-Tooth Curriculum
In the book ‘Saber-Tooth Curriculum’ author J.
Abner Peddiwell, with tongue firmly in cheek,
says
The first educationist, in the primitive age, was
‘New-Fist’, inventor of the first fist hammer
That time men caught fish with bare hands,
clubbed the lazy woolly horses for meat and
drove away saber-tooth tigers with fire
www.T imelessLifeskills.co.uk

3. Saber-Tooth Curriculum
New Fist, who was a thinker, perfected these arts and
thought of ways to teach these skills to children
Thus started the first school, with Saber-Tooth Curriculum
Conservative members of the tribe resisted these
newfangled ideas about formal education
They said ‘Great Mystery’ who speaks in thunder and
lightening never wanted children to be formally taught
However, since these skills were very useful and brought in
more food, New Fist’s school prevailed
www.T imelessLifeskills.co.uk

4. Saber-Tooth Curriculum
Time passed and conditions changed
A great glacier crept closer to the tribe’s valley
The once crystal clear streams became muddy and it
became impossible to catch fish with bare hands
The ground became marshy and the lazy woolly horses
went east to dry plains; instead came nimble antelopes
The saber-tooth tigers became extinct; to be replaced
by ferocious glacial bears
www.T imelessLifeskills.co.uk

5. Saber-Tooth Curriculum
Putting meat on the table became extremely difficult
However, a free thinker of New Fist breed figured
that vines could be knit together to form nets and fish
could be caught even in murky waters
Another discovered that the vine could be used to
form a noose to catch the elusive antelopes
Yet another found that digging a deep pit in a bear
trail and covering it with leaves and branches was an
efficient way to trap the bears
www.T imelessLifeskills.co.uk

6. Saber-Tooth Curriculum
These men proposed that the Saber Tooth curriculum be
replaced with a new curriculum - fish-net making,
antelope-snare construction and bear catching techniques
The sober majority were horrified. “What have these
practical activities got to do with schools?” they said
The radicals persisted, “These activities require intelligence
and skill - things we claim to develop in schools”
The wise old men were indignant. “Oh you free thinkers! If
only you had some education yourself” they lamented...
www.T imelessLifeskills.co.uk

7. Welcome to the 21st
Century
Have the conditions changed in the 21st century?
Is the context different?
Do we need new skills to survive and thrive?
www.T imelessLifeskills.co.uk

8. Why the need for
different life skills?
21st century world is different
World is no longer complicated; it is now
COMPLEX!
Jigsaw is complicated - difficult to solve but
has a unique solution; Chess is complex -
there is no unique solution
From global warming to career choices - the
issues today have become complex
www.T imelessLifeskills.co.uk

9. Why the need for
different life skills?
Rate of change is faster than ever before
Information is available in abundance
Memorization is neither possible nor required -
technology allows easy storage and access
Deriving meaning and insights from
information is what is key
www.T imelessLifeskills.co.uk

10. Why the need for
different life skills?
Motivational drives are also be changing,
from ‘Learning to Earn’ (e.g. do an MBA if
you want a good job)
to ‘Yearning to Learn’ and then also earn
(by doing what you are passionate about and
good at)
www.T imelessLifeskills.co.uk

11. Why the need for
different life skills?
Success hinges on acquiring new life skills that
are relevant in today’s context. Be it,
Financial Success
Social Success
Self-success
Learning to be, Self-Awareness
Purpose and Meaning
www.T imelessLifeskills.co.uk

12. Why the need for
different life skills?
In today’s complex, connected, information
abundant, fast changing world what skills will
make us really shine?
www.T imelessLifeskills.co.uk