We’ve talked a lot about how learning shouldn’t stop during the summer, as well as how some time toward the end of summer should be used to ramp up a student’s brain toward the start of school.
Online learning has become pervasive and free for everyone. But no student wants to take any actual coursework during the summer unless necessary. So what’s the happy balance? Courses in life skills that they will need during the school year and beyond.
Here are some courses that cannot only provide a warm-up for the school year, but also for life. Most stay on a strict schedule, so they might not line up specifically with the summer. Most also recommend that a parent take the course with the student, not only to help with advanced topics but also just for their own edification.
Time and Stress Management from Saylor.org
No one can dispute that life is more stressful for this generation’s students than those of previous generations. There are just so many more demands for their time and attention. Time and Stress Management can be the difference in a student burning out or having the ability to bolster their transcript with extracurriculars. A big focus of this course is planning, prioritization, and coping with stress.
Creativity, Innovation, and Change from Coursera
Developing creativity is one of the most marketable activities in which a person can engage. Colleges and employers want someone who can think of the next big innovation. Yet a student’s life can be so structured that creativity is hard to come by.
Creativity, Innovation, and Change tries to strike the balance between western and eastern philosophies that attempt to grow creativity from within, providing proven strategies to increase self-confidence and apply creativity to daily life.
Decision Skills: Power Tools to Build Your Life from novoed.org/Decision Education Foundation
Some of the decisions coming up for a high school student might prove to be the most important of their life. Should they go to college? Which one? What should they focus on? Yet almost no schools offer any help when it comes to strategic decision making. Decision Skills fills that void with a scientific approach to choice.
Sports and Society from Coursera/Duke University
Many students play—or are at least interested in—sports, but have never thought deeply about what our sports reflect about our society. Sports and Society takes a deep dive into the sociological, political, and economic aspects of both amateur and professional sports around the world. Not only can this course broaden your student’s thinking about sports, but also prepare them for their social science work in school.