Educators add “life skills” to curriculum

While thousands of students are enjoying the last two weeks of their summer vacation, planners in the Ministries of Education, Health, and Human development are finalizing a document that will formalize the teaching of life skills not included in the traditional curriculum. A weeklong meeting underway at the Belize Institute of Management has arrived at a first draft of a policy on health and family life education. According to the director of the Community and Parent Empowerment Service, Yolanda Rector, the document, which will be presented at a national consultation on Friday, seeks to streamline existing programmes.

Yolanda Rector, Coordinator, COMPAR

?We have life skills based programmes already, but they are not adequately in place. They don?t have policy that has teeth, that makes it possible for children, adults, and youths to have that impact when gaining that knowledge that continues throughout life. That programme I think the general public can benefit from.?

Patrick Jones

?How is it going to be implemented??

Yolanda Rector

?Mainly through schools but we are going to be out there in the community to do this work. It?s for in school, out of school, it?s for youths, it?s for adults, it?s for children, and it?s life. This is what its? all about, it?s the things we haven?t learned in a school setting, it?s the things that our parents were supposed to teach us but probably they are feeling inadequate themselves. So they are out there, we are out there trying to get all of this information to people so that we can have better moral values all around.?

In case you were wondering, life skills includes sex education and personal hygiene as well as basic ethics and morals. This week?s drafting of the health and family life education policy is being facilitated by the Deputy Programme Manager at the CARICOM Secretariat, Dr. Morella Joseph. Friday?s consultation will be held at the Radisson and is open to the public, especially educators.