Demand for Learning How to Be an Adult
/At last this problem is starting to be addressed. In my consulting, speaking and writing for years I’ve said young generations shouldn’t be blamed for lacking what nobody –parents, schools, etc. – ever taught them: life skills, how to behave and dress at work, basic economics, clear communication.
“We’re thrown out into this world and have little idea about what the heck we’re supposed to do.” — Belle Lau, U. Berkeley student, who co-developed a course on adulting. At the same time, they are subjected to excess pressure to spend countless hours pursuing top grades and the “necessity” of admission to highly ranked colleges. [Note] The student-run courses at Berkeley arose out of the free speech movement started by Boomers in the 1960s — OK for you, Boomers! — and offer 1 or 2 college credits on a pass/no pass basis to avoid more pressure.
As fantastic as student initiatives in running adulting courses are, the solution needs to be cross-generational. Some possible initiatives I suggest:
Students asking parents to guide them to learning life skills they feel they are lacking;
Educators shifting attention to include life/adulating skills for work and easing pressure to focus mainly on data-based skills;
Employers encouraging educators to do the above;
Outside non-profits such as Scouts and Generation to Generation organizations to offer life- and soft skills more widely.
If you’d like to know more about how we are using the collaborageismTM principles to address the adulting and other multi-generational challenges at work, contact me at pwhaserot@pdcounsel.com.
