Not-Terrible Life Skills Videos

September 22, 2015 3:39 PM

I am an instructor at a school, and one of the classes I teach is Life Skills for the high schoolers. We discuss everything from boundaries in relationships to financial literacy to how to change a tire. On Friday, I will be having my first absence, and I wanted to provide a video that is reasonably engaging and not patronizing but also appropriate for tenth graders.

Around 45 minutes would be best, though for an amazing video we could do longer. Multiple short videos are okay, too. If they are available on youtube, incredible, but Netflix or other streaming sites work as well. Thank you so much for your help!

posted by superlibby to Education (5 answers total)

Could you ask your students to email you some of their favorite videos (after giving them this description) for you to preview? I have found that to be one of the best ways to get videos that my high school students find meaningful and enjoy. Not everything will be appropriate or fitting but it's very interesting and insightful to see what they recommend.

For example, we watched this video in our GSA based on multiple students' suggestions. (We stopped before the end.) I would not recommend that video for a block when you're absent because you'd want to be there to discuss it with them, of course. I've found "today's teens" to be more genuine and a lot less ironic than I remember being as a teen. It isn't to say that there aren't eye-rolls and the like but, for example, the students watched the video with complete seriousness and concern. (Of course, you're probably very familiar with this from your own classes!) This video is also probably not the best for your classes due to the age (and your wanting to be there to discuss things even if you do find the video fitting.) I found Monica Lewinsky's TED Talk to be sad, moving, and insightful.

I really like a lot of the short Wellcast videos on YouTube, such as this one on Stress Management Strategies. I bet you could find some that would work for your students in your absence.
posted by smorgasbord at 4:05 PM on September 22, 2015 [2 favorites]

My high school kids all loved Larry Smith's TEDTalk: Why You Will Fail to Have a Great Career. It's more about the excuses people use to not really go for things and it's pretty inspiring.
posted by kinetic at 4:54 PM on September 22, 2015 [2 favorites]

Play an episode from Good Eats about something basic, like eggs, or pizza or cookies. He's even got ones about sanitation and weight loss.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 6:02 PM on September 22, 2015 [2 favorites]

Dude, How to Adult on YouTube is exactly what you need. It's a GREAT series, aimed at teens/college-aged kids. It's everything from how to do laundry, to handling stress and anxiety, to budgeting, to taxes, to studying, to consuming alcohol responsibly...

It's gold.
posted by guster4lovers at 9:57 PM on September 22, 2015 [1 favorite]

Never Talk to the Police. Lectures on the 5th Amendment by defense attorney James Duane (26mins) and Virginia Beach police officer George Bruch (20mins).
posted by mahorn at 10:38 PM on September 22, 2015