Square Dancing or Tax Prep? Lessons in “Adulting” at PEP
Do you know how to square dance? Maybe you’re not an expert but I bet you had at least one gym class in school where you learned to allemande left and do-si-do. What about tax preparation? Did you receive any lessons in school on how to file your taxes? If you’re like most people, the answer is no. There’s a meme that pops up often on social media that pokes fun at this very fact. The gist: we sometimes learn obscure things at school that don’t really matter to most of us after we graduate, and we sometimes learn nothing about those practical things that are crucial to our success. That is why we teach lessons on life skills at PEP.
While Creighton Johnson has nothing against square-dancing, (as far as we know) his focus as the associate teacher-counselor, life skills, at PEP Chesnutt and PEP Hopewell, is more practical. It is his goal to ensure his students learn the skills that many of us weren’t taught in school – the ones that help you succeed at “adulting” after graduation.
“We do a lot of different activities that the students will need to know how to do in their lives,” explained Johnson. “We go out in the yard and work in the garden. I teach them how to check the oil in their car, how to check the tire pressure. I teach them about resources in the community that can help them in their day-to-day lives, like the public library.”
Life Skills at PEP: Why Go Beyond Traditional Academics?
At PEP, each Day Treatment Center has an associate teacher counselor like Johnson who focuses on life skills. It’s an important addition to traditional academics. PEP’s students all have individualized education plans (IEPs) and need additional support to be successful in school. Not surprisingly, the challenges they face don’t end in the classroom. They extend to many areas of life. Having extra support to learn critical life skills is an extra layer of support that helps PEP students overcome the challenges that may hold them back.
Regional Transit Authority Training
One challenge many people face is transportation. It’s easy to use Uber or Lyft, but it can be expensive and impractical for day-to-day travel. For students with after-school jobs, using ride share apps to get to their workplace can eat up a big chunk of their paycheck – and yet, Johnson says it’s common. He also recognizes that using public transportation can be intimidating if you haven’t done it before. That’s why he teaches a unit on how to use Cleveland’s RTA every year.
“Public transportation allows the students to get where they need to go at a much better cost than Uber, and it opens up new opportunities for them,” says Johnson. “I talk to them about budgeting and financing and finding ways to stretch their dollar. The RTA is a wonderful resource in our region and it can benefit our kids to know how to use it.”
As part of this unit, Johnson invites a representative from RTA to speak to the class about public transportation. She covers everything from bus routes to public transportation safety and provides the students with some free passes to practice their new skills as a class.
“This is one of their favorite units,” says Johnson. “We use our bus passes to navigate the RTA system and visit the Van Aiken district. We have lunch at Wendys and get ice cream. It’s a lot of fun for the class and they learn a lot.”
You are that Person
Some students at PEP don’t have people in their lives who pass on the daily life lessons most of us take for granted. Having the opportunity to gain these skills in a safe place builds their confidence. Johnson says one important lesson is personal hygiene. Not only do some students have no one at home teaching them about the importance of taking care of themselves, they don’t have access to hygiene items. It can impact their self-confidence.
“Our family support specialists are amazing at helping our families get the supplies they need, like hygiene items,” says Johnson. “I salute them.”
Johnson says after the hygiene unit he noticed the kids coming into class and checking themselves in the mirror (that he refinished with them in another lesson). “They feel good about themselves.” He also said the family support specialists are working on creating hygiene kits for the kids to have at school in case they need them.
“Some of our students don’t have the people in their lives to teach them these things,” muses Johnson. “You realize, you are that person for these kids. It changes their lives. It changes what they’re capable of.”
Learn More
For more information about life skills at PEP, visit our website. Contact Nicole Molnar, sr. director, clinical services, at 216-361-7760 ext. 110 or via email to see if a student in your district may be a good fit for Positive Education Program.
Please note, referrals to PEP’s Day Treatment Centers are made through school districts in consultation with parents. Interested parents or caregivers should contact their school administrator.