Equipping Gen Z with life skills

FOR parents, it is becoming increasingly hard to see through the marketing glitz and glamour and perceive a school’s true potential.

An easy way to determine the quality of an international school is to look for externally awarded accreditations or quality assurance certifications.

Accreditation bodies assess a school’s programmes and their implementation based on a rigorous set of standards. Within Malaysia, you will see accreditation from organisations such as the Council of International Schools in the form of a British Schools Overseas kitemark or an International Schools Quality Mark.

It should be noted that for many teachers, accreditation is nothing more than additional paperwork and more layers of bureaucracy, box-ticking and hoop-jumping.

Whatever stance you take, it cannot be denied that getting accredited means that an international organisation has reviewed a school’s practices against its benchmarks.

At the very least, that should reassure parents that the school is working to maintain its established standards as an internationally accredited institution.

Director of services at elc International School, Rajan Kaloo, suggests, “Parents should spend some time at their school of choice to watch how students interact with teachers and their peers.

“Get a feel for the way they behave and talk – this will give parents a sense of the school as a whole. See beyond the admissions brochures and websites that are designed to sell, and trust what you perceive with your own eyes and instincts.”

Emotions count, too

We now find ourselves guiding Generation Z – the first generation born into the age of social media – which is now living a life dictated by hazy rules of social media.

With certain exceptions, most of Generation Z see themselves as constantly connected digitally yet disconnected from real life as we, the earlier generations, know it. They have great desire for independence while all too often, their reality is of grudging dependence.

Mental health issues have become the new norm due to the existence and pressures of social media. Failure is too easily embraced, self-esteem is at an all-time low and social skills are disappearing.

Gone are the days when a school’s focus was on producing knowledgeable students. Students were sufficiently independent when it came time to enter college.

In most cases, social skills and mental health were not discussed and students were kept active physically. Teaching resilience was not something that was deemed necessary. Life skills were exactly that – skills that one picked up as one progressed in life.

It is necessary for teachers now to help develop students’ life skills. Students need high self-esteem and resilience to survive in today’s environment. If students are forced to address their weaknesses and build on them, they will learn that nothing is impossible.

Parents should look out for a school that has a teaching body that is motivated and prepared to tackle these challenges head-on, even if it leads to conflict with a student or her parents.

Given today’s students and the problems they face, it is important to look at what the school is doing to develop a student’s emotional resilience. Do not dismiss a school that gives you a negative report on your child’s developmental progress. You need to know that the school is prepared to have difficult conversations with you without fear or favour.

Ultimately, there is no sure-fire way of assessing if a school is right for your children and there are no shortcuts.

Parents need to determine if what a school offers is in line with their own wants and needs for their child’s education.

Students need high self-esteem and resilience to survive in today’s environment. If students are forced to address their weaknesses and build on them, they will learn that nothing is impossible.

For more information, visit www.elc.edu.my