Education: are we really giving our kids the skills they need?

• Community members who contribute socially, economically and culturally to society
• Responsible individuals capable of relating to family, friends and colleagues
• Informed citizens who understand and contribute to civil and community relations at a local, national and global level

Many education departments across Australia have now gone through a similar change to education standards and the question was being asked "How will these standards look in the classroom and how can the requirements of the new standards be easily addressed?" It is much more difficult to teach these holistic life skills than it is to teach numeracy and literacy or how to prepare a student for a standardised test. This is much deeper form of learning also takes greater effort in school environments that are increasingly busy, resource poor and dealing with behavioural issues that are the symptom of a much wider community problem.

Kids Teaching Kids isn't the answer to every student behavioural issue and can't take the place of the family unit and the values it should espouse. However, it is a small step towards changing the culture to one that is more collaborative and gives students greater responsibility for their learning. Kids Teaching Kids builds an authentic learning environment which sees students choosing an environmental topic, researching that topic with the assistance of an expert industry mentor and then delivering a workshop presentation at a regional, state-wide or international event.

The Kids Teaching Kids Program provides students with skills in environmental education, but more importantly it builds students who are resilient, optimistic, have a sense of future, are capable public speakers and can communicate ideas in many different forms. If the only outcome is that these young people can cope with the ups and downs of life then that is an amazing gift.

The power of this concept is revealed by the successful outcomes, both for the environment and the children. For the former, the benefits are clearly substantial. Trees have been planted, weeds cleared, water-saving devices installed and the list goes on. The program has also built many partnerships with environmental organisations, local and state government, Landcare groups and the business community. More importantly though we've seen students come alive after discovering their motivation to learn. We've seen kids become more hopeful and display the attributes of resilience that tells us that they're going to be ok.

Funnily enough this initiative started as a behavioural tool for students not relating well to the traditional school system. I should know because in primary school I spent more time in the Principals office than anyone. It just so happened that the Principal was also my Dad, Richard Wood.

Dad went from a school where behaviour wasn't an issue to a school where he suspended two students in the first week. In looking for answers as to how to address this behavioural issue the Kids Teaching Kids journey began.

The idea that if we don't allow time for student development and a focus on student behaviour that it is near impossible to educate our students is well supported. It was leading educator Dr Len Restall who concluded "In one study l found that every case of acute behaviour problems leading to expulsion or suspension from school was related to a mismatch problem between the teaching style and the preferred learning style of the student. The behaviour in such a case could have been averted if the more appropriate learning style had been practiced."

However, the push around numeracy and literacy and standardized testing may not be allowing room for those students who aren't doing well in the traditional school system. What's more our Kids Teaching Kids Program is based on sound educational philosophy and gives students access to an authentic, outcome learning model which promotes experiential learning. There is also a strong focus on numeracy and literacy through the peer teaching methodology used and the ability to engage disadvantaged students through using the environment as a catalyst for wider education. In many cases the numeracy and literacy rates of schools increase without directly targeting numeracy and literacy.

The Kids Teaching Kids methodology also has a strong youth focus and is purposely designed to promote resilience in our young people, empowerment through connection with like-minded students, the ability to self manage by being engaged in peer teaching and the opportunity for students from extremely varied backgrounds to come together around what is a very worrying issue for youth – the health of our environment and the impact of climate change.

It is clear that something powerful happens when students teach students. It's about seeing themselves in control, it's about relating to one another and it's about being involved and making decisions about their own learning. The greatest gift we can give a child is the gift of resilience – self-reliance, a sense of purpose and a belief in a bright future are not only important for our own wellbeing, they are essential in these days of environmental doom and gloom.

So perhaps we need to be making more room in our crowded curriculum for peer-teaching and for students to have input into how they learn best instead of adding more and more content.