Skills everyone needs to survive in our information age

by Ekene Ifechukwu

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1 1. Health literacy skills

2 2. Environmental literacy skills

3 3. Financial literacy skills

4 4. Interpersonal literacy

5 5. Civic literacy skills

6 6. Digital literacy

Skills everyone needs to survive are the only life skills that supercede every other physiological need of man no matter how basic or biological it may be.

Traditional education subjects of the last century which had concentrated on applying appropriate instructional pedagogy to deliver contents in core subject areas (commonly literacy, numeracy, science and social studies) are alone grossly insufficient to deliver sustainable dividend of the present century. So, framing 21st models for survival would require integrating the knowledge into the following life’s basic literacy skills for everyone’s survival:

1. Health literacy skills

‘’ Important information to aid our decision-making on health-related matters are there for us to access’’

Health skills — Image Credit: Adobe Stock

Everyone needs to know that accessible information relevant to making right decision on health-related issues is readily available. Practicing desirable healthy lifestyles is non-negotiable for survival. Do we still need someone to tell us to shun unhealthy and wholesome health practices that put our lives at risk, such as poor feeding habit, lack of proper physical exercises, among others.

We should also be skilled in workings of our body system, accessing health care services and taking proper medication.

If you are careless with your life, you may lose it and ultimately fail to achieve your life goals as a result. It is as simple as that.

2. Environmental literacy skills

‘’ We need to do away with practices that endanger our environment ‘’

Environmental skills — Image Credit: Adobe Stock

Today’s survival knowledge and skills for everyone hinges solidly on understanding our man-made and natural environment. Taking note of the occurrences and changes in our environment, like changes in our weather pattern is prospectively gainful.

Series of calls had been and are still being made internationally to reduce pollution, environmental degradation and resource depletion. Global warming is one of the greatest threat to man’s survival today because of its environmentally-damaging effects to our society. There are serious regulations in some advanced countries of the world of resource depletion in area like deforestation, wildlife poaching, etc. Developed economies like US had since 2010 included environmental education in their annual budget to boost literacy level of US students in schools.

3. Financial literacy skills

‘’ We can create avenues to generate resources to make our living standard better without selling our souls ‘’

As global economic tends towards another financial meltdown and lean production continually begs for more attention, financial literacy speaks of the set of skills individuals need to make informed economic decisions. Financial capacity is influenced greatly by economic strength.

Efficiently resource-management skills should be sort after. Survival skills of the 21st century demands that equipping people with the knowledge of raising their income, reducing expenditure, cutting costs, saving and investing in lucrative ventures can contribute immensely in reviving their nation.

4. Interpersonal literacy

‘’ Anyone who always finds fault in everyone he comes across with is the defaulter himself ‘’

‘’No man is an island ’’, so the old saying goes. Interpersonal literary skills is one of the basic literacy skills humans need to survive in this century because in every facet of our lives, we need people.

We need others to learn from, relate and work with. The way to relate to people matters. People are at the center of whatever technology offers today no matter how sophisticated they are. Negative reflection of self can have severe personality-damaging effect.

We should see ourselves as ‘marketable goods’. The impression we create; our actions and reactions to issues will determine our ‘ marketability and value ‘

From a global awareness perspective, we should be able to learn and collaborate with individuals from diverse cultures, religions, ideologies, and lifestyles in an environment of openness and mutual respect.

5. Civic literacy skills

‘’ To sustain human dignity in all respect and speaking up against evil is the duty of all ‘’

Our civic and social obligation and responsibility demands we understand the need to staying informed and understanding governmental processes; participate in them and recognize the impact of local and global civic decision made.

Educators can do more in this regard in re-positioning the students to become political ideologists, socially-responsible individual and skillful contributor to matters of national interest.

6. Digital literacy

‘’ Obviously, life will be more difficult in the present time without audiovisual technology ‘’

Digital devices are becoming an indispensable means of livelihood.

Come to think of it! The graphic user interface of the internet and the convergence of voice, video, and data into a common digital format are being increasingly embedded in almost all the social institutions of man. Advances in smart phones, digital cameras, graphics packages, streaming video, and so on, are modern technologies that put one the world into a simple single view of access. A single Google search can put you in control over of the forces of the world.