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Unit 1: Communication Skills
The "Y" Factor
(Why do I have to learn this stuff?)
Every one of you made a deal when you walked into school. You agreed to come to school, sit in class, do your homework, and take your tests. In return for that, we owe you more than just an education. We owe you an education plus the preparation you will need to succeed in the world of work after you finish school. If we don't provide you with both education and preparation, then we haven't lived up to our end of the deal.
In order to be successful in the real world, you will need knowledge and skills. Perhaps the most important skill you will need is the ability to communicate with people from all walks of life. The ability to communicate is one of the most vital common denominators of successful people everywhere. You will need to communicate with people you know as well as people you have never even met. That's right; you need to be talking with, getting to know, and staying in touch with strangers, but not just any strangers. You don't need to be communicating with some of those "strange" strangers running around out there! But remember, when you meet someone for the first time, you just never know how that person might help you later in life. Think about it. Everyone you know today was a stranger before you met him or her, right? Even your best friend was a stranger before the two of you met!
The formula is pretty simple. The more people you meet, the more people you get to know, and the more people with whom you stay in touch (communicate), the more successful you will be. That's true for every job no matter where you live. People make people successful. It has always been that way and it will always be that way. Your communication skills are the keys that will open doors for you to be successful.
Communication is a skill, and just like any skill, whether it's riding a bike, shooting a basketball, or playing a piano, it must be learned, and practiced in order to improve. This unit will help you develop and practice your communication skills, as well as help you explore careers. Remember, we owe you this preparation to go along with your education. That's the deal you made and that's what you deserve. Good luck.
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Unit 2: Personal Learning Styles
The "Y" Factor
(Why do I have to learn this stuff?)
"In order for me to get to where I need to be, I must first realize where I am." This statement is what this unit is all about. Your personality traits and your learning styles are small trademarks of who you really are and how you learn best.
All people are different. Some people try to make everything funny while others tend to be serious all the time. Some people learn best by "experiencing it" or "doing it" while others can pick up a manual and read it.
Regardless of your chosen path, you will be required to learn new things on a daily basis. One of the most significant obstacles in the learning process is identifying which style of learning best fits you. This is critical because, from now on, when you learn something, we want you to really "own" that knowledge. Memorizing something today and forgetting it tomorrow is a big, fat waste of your time and it's not our goal to waste your time.
This personal learning styles unit also provides you with some insight into why others do what they do. Understanding your own personality traits and learning styles will be a huge help in dealing with a world full of different kinds of people.
Different teachers have different teaching styles. Different coaches have different coaching styles. Different parents have different parenting styles. Different bosses have different managing styles. These are the people you will deal with at school, at home, and in the workplace. You need to know what makes these people 'tick'.
The more you know about yourself, the more successful you will be in all of your relationships. By the way, what makes you tick?
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Unit 3: Technology Literacy
The "Y" Factor
(Why do I have to learn this stuff?)
The big question that most of you ask about many subjects taught in school is, "Why do I have to learn this stuff?". That's always a fair question. It's also a question that deserves an answer.
This subject is a little different. Most of you come to school already knowing more than many teachers and administrators about "technology". You know how to podcast, download music, take digital photos with cell phones, IM (instant message), blog on myspace, and e-mail. Many of you even know how to build web pages and some of you can actually program.
In fact, several of the above listed activities are ICT literacy topics. The big question is how you can turn your skills into usable tools that will help you be successful in the classroom today and later in the world of work.
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Unit 4: People Skills
The "Y" Factor
(Why do I have to learn this stuff?)
Everyone is always telling you how important it is to get an education so that when you get out of school, you will be able to get a good job. That's great advice and the truth is, the more education you get, the better your chances are for success in the real world of work. That's definitely one side of the story, but there is another side of the story that's just as important.
While it is great to be able to get a job, it is just as important to be able to keep your job. And, it is pretty sweet to be promoted to a better job, with higher pay, at some point. The question is, "What is the secret to keeping your job and getting promoted?" If we only prepare you to get a job, but don't help you understand how to keep that job, and how to get promoted, then we aren't giving you all the tools you need to succeed.
This micro-unit is going to show you why people lose their jobs, how you can improve your chances of getting the job you want, and a few secrets to success in the world of work. Remember, success is a journey not a destination. Good luck.
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Unit 5: Choices / Consequences
The "Y" Factor
(Why do I have to learn this stuff?)
Life is all about making choices: good choices, bad choices, right choices, wrong choices. People don't always do the right thing every time they have to make a choice. That would be perfection, and nobody is perfect. There are no perfect parents, no perfect friends, no perfect teachers, no perfect brothers, and no perfect sisters. But, that's okay because we're all human, and humans make mistakes. Mistakes are part of growing up, and they're okay as long as we learn from them.
As you get older, though, the difference between right and wrong should become clearer to you. We're not talking about decisions here - like what music to listen to or what to wear to school. We're talking about choices - choices between right and wrong.
Life is loaded with choices. Will I lie to my parents? Will I cheat on my boyfriend/girlfriend? Will I smoke pot? Will I drink and drive?
Life is also about facing the mirror. If you make the wrong choice and do the wrong thing, you might fool part of the crowd, or you might even fool everyone but you'll never fool yourself. Remember, you have to live with yourself for the rest of your life. When you look in the mirror, you can't fool yourself. What have you seen lately in your mirror?
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Unit 6: Test Taking/Study Skills
The "Y" Factor
(Why do I have to learn this stuff?)
Studying is really about preparation while testing is performing. In the sports arena, practice is the preparation work while the game is the performance. In the real world of work, you will be called on many times to give presentations, to lead projects, to get additional certifications, or to conduct meetings. Each of these could have a significant impact on your job or your organization's success. How would you handle a situation in which your presentation to a client could determine if you keep your job or get promoted? Studying and testing are skills (learned behaviors) that have to be practiced. And while I know you are tested so much in school that you feel as though you must be an expert by now, have you ever really been taught how to study, or how to test, or been provided with strategies that will help you?
This unit will introduce many test-taking and study strategies to you. You will be given the opportunity to learn how to prepare for and perform on tests. It is important that you understand, however, that there are no silver bullets for helping you know the information. Studying, or preparing, is the most significant key to success on any test. Just as in a business deal, there is no substitute for "doing the leg work" or preparing for "the test."
While the intent is to link all of the units to real world applications, there is a significant link between this unit, Time Management, and Learning Styles. Environment, time allocations, and learning strategies associated with your individual preference are key factors to your success. Creating and meeting deadlines for your school assignments and business deals are important keys to making you successful.
Success is also a learned behavior. Unfortunately, to learn to succeed we have to go through some failures. This unit will offer some proven strategies for helping you prepare and perform. The most important thing you can remember is that "EVERY TEST COUNTS!"
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Unit 7: Time Management
The "Y" Factor
(Why do I have to learn this stuff?)
Fact: There are only 24 hours in each day. That fact does not change whether you live in Texas, Alaska, Tennessee, or North Dakota. When it comes to managing time, everyone starts with an equal opportunity to succeed. We all start with the same amount of time — 24 hours - every day. The difference between success and failure is often determined by how we use our 24 hours.
If you are a good manager of time, you will be a better student, a better employee, and a better boss. You will make better grades, get better jobs, and make more money. The key is to use your time wisely and make sure you don't waste any of that time. Why? Here's why. Time is not like money. If we lose some money, we can always get more. Even people who lose their mind, have a chance to get that back. But, that's not the way it works with time. If we waste time, that time is lost forever and no matter who we are or how much money we might have, we can never get more time. You can't go to the bank and borrow time; and you can't go to the store and buy time. Twenty-four hours each day. That's all you get!
Check this out:
- If you waste just 6 seconds each minute, every hour you would waste 6 minutes.
- That means, every single day, you would waste 2.5 hours.
- And, in one week, you would waste 17.5 hours.
- In one month, you would waste 73.5 hours. (That's more than 3 full days)
- So, in one year, you would waste 882 hours. (That's more than a whole month!)
- And, believe it or not, in an average lifetime (77 years), you would waste 66,150 hours, which is equal to 2,756 days, or 7.5 years of your life!
What could you do with an extra 7.5 years of life??
- Earn almost two complete college degrees
- Make an extra $300,000
- Go on 187 one-week vacations
- Take 64,950 one-hour naps
- Make 388,000 10-minute calls on your cell phone
- Spend almost 4 million minutes on the internet!
When is the last time you wasted 6 seconds per minute??
Think about it. Time wasted is time lost.
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Unit 8: Business Savvy
The "Y" Factor
(Why do I have to learn this stuff?)
As always, the "Y" question is a fair one. If it's not relevant, we shouldn't ask you to use up some of your brain space to learn it. Here's the bottom line on Business Savvy.
Those who succeed in business have the ability to do several things well. Three of the most critical functions needed are the ability to meet challenges, overcome obstacles, and solve problems.
If you possess these abilities and strive to further develop them you will enter the world of work with distinct advantages that will more than likely prove to be the difference for you between success and failure.
Business Savvy will serve you well in a number of environments.
For instance:
Young people with business savvy who work part-time as teenagers will be more valuable employees. They will make more money, be promoted more often, and be offered more opportunities for broader participation within the companies for which they work.
The large majority of students today will eventually go to work for small companies. Large corporations will continue to merge, downsize, and outsource jobs. The small companies that these students will be working for do not have the time and/or resources to train new employees in the basic functions of business. New employees at small companies will be expected to make a contribution immediately upon arrival. A good foundation of business savvy will better prepare students for future employment with small companies.
Studies indicate that a substantial number of young people have a strong desire to work for themselves. These future entrepreneurs will depend heavily on business savvy in a global business environment that challenges even the best and brightest. Nowhere is the need for a broad understanding of business more critical than in the arena of entrepreneurship.
Statistics are clear that students entering the world of work today can expect to change careers, not just jobs but careers, at least five times over the course of their lives. That said, young people who enter the world of work with business savvy, will be much more prepared to successfully make these multiple career moves.
A general understanding of how to deal with Challenges, overcome Obstacles, and solve Problems will be invaluable. Are you ready to get savvy?
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Unit 9: Tolerance / Diversity
The "Y" Factor
(Why do I have to learn this stuff?)
A lot of young people don't see the connection between tolerance and success, but there is a connection, and it's a powerful one. Hopefully, through this unit, you will come to understand the concept that people do business with people they know and with people with whom they get along. Therefore, the more people you get to know and the more people you get along with, the more opportunities you will have to do business.
On the other hand, if you are intolerant, the number of people you will get to know and the number of people with whom you will get along will be drastically reduced. When that happens, you will have far fewer business opportunities, be less successful professionally, and, most likely, make less money.
This is a diverse country and an even more diverse world. The people who are going to succeed 'big time' in the future are the people who understand how to do business with people from all walks of life. That's the good news. The bad news is you can't do business with them if you can't get along with them. And you can't get along with them if you can't tolerate what might be different about them.
As you experienced in the Four Corners activity, even with people who seem different, you will often find something in common that can open the door for a relationship. It is that door you will want to walk through every day for the rest of your life to do business in the real world. Most young people don't think they need to worry about all of this until they are out of school. That would be a huge mistake. The earlier in life that you figure this out, the more successful you will be. The key is to start focusing right now on how you might be similar to another person, rather than how you might be different. Good luck.
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Unit 10: Financial Literacy
The "Y" Factor
(Why do I have to learn this stuff?)
The micro- unit you are about to start is all about money — not your parents' money — your money. Whether you have a little money now, a lot of money now, or even no money at all right now, this is a critical subject for you to understand. Some day, all of you will have money and, for most of you, we are talking about a whole bunch of money. In fact, most of you will earn more than a million dollars over the course of your careers. That's big bucks and that's why this is important information for everyone. This unit will help you understand how to make, manage, multiply, and protect your hard-earned money. Remember, it's your money and nobody else is going to take care of that money for you.
Are you planning to work part-time while you are in high school? If your answer is 'yes', that's great because the #1 common denominator of financially successful people is that they worked part-time as teenagers. Did you know that?
Did you know that most people who win the lottery are almost broke within 5 years? Sad, but true, because they didn't learn how to save and invest before they won all that money.
How would you like to go to sleep one night and wake up the next morning with more money than you had when you went to sleep? This unit will help you understand how to make money while you sleep. Pretty cool, eh?
What if you had a million dollars in the bank and then somehow lost it all? That would be the worst nightmare ever but it happens all the time to people who don't know how to protect their money.
Some of you are already earning money, and most of you will be earning money sooner than later, so pay close attention for the next 12 days as you discover the secrets to making, managing, multiplying, and protecting your money. You will also learn what most financially successful people have in common, so stay tuned. Cha-Ching!
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