**The Human Skills are important for the Age of AI - the need for EELS (SEL)!**

 As the Age of AI progresses over the next decade, and humans, especially our young people (today's middle school and high school students), are adapting to this world of advanced AI and robotics, I and many others believe we must be strong in the uniquely human skills - things the machines will not be good at. 

The 'human skills' I have in mind are primarily linked through what I call EELS, or Everyday Essential Life Skills, which come from what is commonly called SEL, for Social-Emotional Learning. Most of SEL has been defined for decades by the CASEL group, which defines the five competencies of SEL: self-awareness, self management, social awareness, responsible decision making, and forming healthy relationships. I include two additional proposed competencies by two SEL legends, Drs. Ed Dunkelblau and Maurice Elias: Positive Purpose, and Healthy skepticism. 

The skills that fall under these competencies form EELS. 

How are EELS and AI, robotics linked when it comes to schools and society preparing our young people for the Age of AI? Here are some resources I developed, through the use of AI (ChatGPT 5.5), that are primarily for educators of all grade levels and subject areas. These provide numerous ideas of how to make use of EELS in and out of the classroom, and why these become essential when we realize our young people must become the responsible stewards of advanced technologies. 

- Ethics Needed for Students in the AI Era                                                                

- Using EELS (i.e. SEL) to Prepare the AI Generation 

- Preparing Globally Responsible Stewards of AI and Robotics: K-12 UN SDG Project Ideas 

For anyone interested in seeing outlines and ideas of what full-year courses could look like for preparing our kids for their technology-heavy futures, here are examples of how core subjects areas could embed not only technical skills for appropriate, ethical use of AI, but also how EELS can be integrated throughout the year. 

To get ideas of what full-year courses look like in the core subjects areas, where AI Preparation is embedded in the courses, check these out.

In the end, EELS should be placed on the same level of teaching and learning in our educational system as the core academic knowledge and skills; combined, these can help lead us to a pro-human pathway for the inclusion of AI and robotics in our lives.  It is important we begin to do more of this inclusion of EELS (SEL), not less! This is effectively an application of the following Martin Luther King, Jr. quote about education needing to include good character:

**High School Courses - What these look like with AI Preparation Embedded in Them**

This is FOR ALL High School and Middle School EDUCATORS: 

As we re-think how we do education in order to better prepare our children for their future in the Age of AI & Robotics, I've put out the 12-volume Cut to the Chase series of booklets for teachers and other educators to use to learn about a number of different aspects of AI in education, and what this future entails. There are multiple volumes presenting things like what a K-12 progression can look like, and examples of what lessons can look like and address for all grade levels and subject areas in middle and high school. 

Here, I now include curriculum outlines of what 10-month courses might look like for the main subject areas in high school, where learning about AI and its needed skills, ethics, EELS (SEL), and applications are embedded in them. While the core topics of a traditional and typical first-year course of non-AP level of each subject are preserved, and still utterly vital since our kids should always still 'know things' about the core subjects, modifications MUST be happening if we want to best-prepare kids for their futures living with advanced AI and humanoid robots. 

Here are high school level course curricular outlines - these are examples meant to provide the structure and key ideas to consider including in introductory, first-year courses. One can use them as is, or to make copies of and then edit and modify them to fit what is taught in your school or district. Use these in conjunction with the Cut to the Chase examples of lessons that are appropriate for your courses, but to prepare our children for their futures, we must be including and embedding the technologies into every core subject area in order to expose and teach the kids what to consider and learn in the various contexts. We always must emphasize the human first, and technology used to enhance what humans do, approach that allows these advanced technologies to make the world better for humans. 

Course Curriculum Guides:

Art

Biology

Chemistry

CTE (Career and Technical Education)

English

Mathematics (Algebra focus)

Physics

Social Studies & History

To create these in a short period of time, due to the urgency of getting materials like this out to educators so we can begin making shifts in what we teach to prepare students for a world of ever-increasing use of AI and, soon, humanoid robotics, I used ChatGPT 5.5 as the tool to create the curricular outlines and recommendations. 

To create a final product for your classroom/school/district, I recommend copying the relevant document(s) to your account, sit down with colleagues, and modify/edit with the details that you decide on, and likely use your own AI chatbots to create specific, detailed curricula and courses. These are meant to be models to use to get ideas and then grow into your specific courses. For mathematics, English, CTE, and Social Studies, of course there are a variety of different specialiizations and levels (regular, honors, AP, etc.) within the disciplines that are taught - for instance, algebra is the focus here for mathematics, so create your own similar guides for geometry and trigonometry, in a similar manner by modifying what you already have or working with an AI to create it in a more timely manner. Use a prompt similar to those provided in each guide, to produce outlines for any course you need to address. 

Thankful to Vikas and T4 Education for sharing the "Cut to the Chase" AI for Teachers Series

 My friend Vikas Pota, who founded and runs T4 Education, a global organization dedicated to technology in education and especially helping schools in underdeveloped regions, shared the link to my "Cut to the Chase" series on AI in education and to help teachers prepare our kids to become good, ethical users of advanced technologies, as well as responsible stewards of those technologies that will use AI and humanoid robotics for the betterment of life in a pro-human manner. Their newsletter, Elevate, goes out to over 200,000 teachers around the world. 

I am most grateful to Vikas and his staff for sharing this, and hope the series is useful for helping our children prepare for a future they are inheriting from us, but didn't have any say or choice in the matter.