Life Strategies class
Life Strategies Elective
Fall 2008
Life Strategies WelcomeFall 2008
Chapter 1: We didn’t really get along
Chapter 2: I think I fell in love with you
Chapter 3: You said you’d stand by me, but you were up to your old tricks in
Chapters 4, 5, and 6.
Elvis Costello
Welcome to Life Strategies.
By the end of this class, you will know:
• How to live with others and their wishes.
• How to juggle the peculiarities of friends who may want different things.
• How to modulate primitive tendencies.
But it all begins with you. How well do you know yourself? Do you bring your best self to school every day?
There’s no homework planned and we can do an activity almost every day, so the “work” that we do depends a lot upon your energy and focus in class. The more energy and focus, the less it will seem like work.
You will receive up to 10 points per day for participation (see rubric). There will also be a chance for you to share what you are thinking about (regarding class topics) most every week. That’s it, no kidding.
And who the heck is Elvis Costello?
Life Strategies Welcome 2
Every class has 2 components: what content you cover and how you learn it. Content topics are listed below. This class is unique because how we learn it has a lot to do with how the group takes leadership for what we do. Information about life strategies becomes real with interaction. I believe that simple tasks and questions become mature when students take them to that mature level.
Inner Direction
Knowing your primitive tendencies/leadership through theater games
The stress reaction
Breathing exercises/Yoga
Self-talk
How do you handle anger/conflict?
Interactions
Establishing healthy boundaries
Identifying role models
Communication skills
Understanding societal and cultural pressures that impact relationships
Identity
Development
Masks/Acts (make sure they work for you)
Profile Project
Know how to get what you need