What Is the Classroom of Life?

All day, every day we are part of the classroom of life and we cannot escape it. Every moment presents a new learning opportunity. Tanya Curtis, Senior Behaviour Specialist and founding director of FABIC Behaviour Specialist Centre, distinguishes the functional or curriculum-based classroom from the classroom of life. In the former, we might learn practical skills, like reading, writing, cooking or tying our shoelaces.

However, there are many more lessons for us that are not necessarily taken care of in the curriculum-based classroom. For example, where do we learn about feelings and emotions? Who teaches us how to deal with conflict between siblings? Who guides us through the emotions of a marriage breakup or how to deal with loss and grief? These lessons are rarely covered and we are expected to learn about emotions on our own. But coping strategies rarely lead to lasting behaviour change or leave a person feeling fully equipped to handle life’s lessons.

The classroom of life is inescapable. From the moment we wake up until we go to sleep life keeps presenting us with opportunities to learn, develop, expand and evolve. Whether it’s basic skills or learning how to navigate complex emotions, the classroom of life is here to support us all to develop the skills to respond to whatever life presents.