Hello.  My name is Stephen Cronin.  I’ve been developing and teaching Social Studies 2.0 – A ‘Life Skills‘ program for juniors and seniors in Providence, RI public high schools for more than 20 years.

The mission of the program is RELEVANCE,

i.e. introducing and developing skills, behaviors and attitudes that
prepare students for the realities they’ll encounter in a highly competitive, dynamic,
21st century, global economy.

The lessons of this class attempt
to prepare students to successfully
overcome the challenges
and
exploit opportunities they create
in their future.

The life skills include

• • personal branding

  • networking

  • time management

  • financial literacy

  • creative and critical thinking

  • collaboration

  • communication  (oral, written, questioning, reading, listening, observation, social media navigation….

  • accountability, and more.

We accomplish our mission by

first anticipating the future
before exploring the past
for lessons relevant to the present challenges and aspirations
of our students.  

Throughout the program, we

welcome successful, influential people to our class
to share their personal stories and career information
which students have expressed an interest in. 

All of this is done to

expand student career horizons
of ‘what is not only possible‘ but also
‘how to make their aspirations probable‘.

 

My 11 textbooks for this program are posted on this Hope web site.   Each book introduces and attempts to develop the aforementioned skills.

Each month our students meet interesting people whose personal stories inform, inspire and empower.  Our guests share personal stories which relate to opportunities and challenges in the global marketplace, concepts of the program and the lives of the students.  Whether it’s a story of an immigrant’s transition in America or pushing oneself out their comfort zone to discover new, fulfilling opportunities, our guests share intimate details of their challenges and ultimate successes along their life’s journey.  Social Studies 2.0 – Life Skills guests are a diverse group of successful people.  From a CVS Health Corporate Vice President from the streets of Spanish Harlem in New York City and an executive manager at AAA Southern New England’s corporate office who grew up in a foster home to a Guatemalan born, Hope High School and Social Studies 2.0 – Life Skills alum who was living on her own in high school before being awarded a full scholarship to one of America’s most prestigious colleges, Georgetown University in Washington D.C., guest stories inform, inspire and empower many of the Life Skills students facing similar challenges.

The Social Studies 2.0 – a Life Skills program also takes students to different places like the headquarters of CVS Health in Woonsocket, R.I.  and the Amica Insurance company in Lincoln, Rhode Island or the campuses Roger Williams University and Rhode Island College. The class even attends the annual WOMEN’S SUMMIT at Bryant University where our students practice their life skills as well as building networks of successful and influential people.   Each event, each conversation, is designed to expand the career horizons of our students, inspiring curiosity, developing professional skills for lifetime success, and a reflection on ‘what could be’.

There are even opportunities to apply for paid, summer internships AND attendance at the 5 day National Youth Leadership Forum in Washington, D.C. at no charge, FREE!

Students are taught about their personal brand.   Students quickly learn that their future will be determined by their ‘brand‘, the ‘network’ it creates, and the doors which ‘open‘ or ‘close‘ as a result.

Our students are given business cards for their networking opportunities during the school year. The class teaches  professional techniques for building a network ofsuccessful people to guide them through life.

The ‘top’ students are eligible for attendance at a week long National Youth Leadership Forum (nylf.org) in Washington, D.C. where they collaborate with hundreds of high school students from all over the United States on  specific topics like Law, National Security and Medicine.  Six students were chosen to attend this life changing event last year.  Tuition, airfare and accommodations were paid for by several corporate and individual sponsors of the Life Skills program.   Other outstanding Social Studies 2.0 – Life Skills students are eligible for paid internships at local companies learning 21st century job skills.  Last summer, four students earned paid internships for Data Analysis, Supply Chain Management and Pharmacy at the corporate office of CVS Health.  Other students earned jobs at two of Providence’s top law firms and an area book store.

I encourage anyone with suggestions and constructive criticism about the program to contact me.   I am not a professional educator.  I was the former General Manager of Inland Cable Communications and the President of Mercury Print & Mail, a direct marketing strategy and services company in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.  I am now working at Signature Printing in business development.

If anyone is interested in participating or donating to our Social Studies 2.0 – a Life Skills program, I can be reached at stevecronin1949@gmail.com.

Thank you for your interest in Social Studies 2.0 – A ‘Life Skills’ program.