Tackling the Tough Skills curriculum header, graphic of frog carrying book and leaping over hurdle, link to University of Missouri Extension page in lower right corner
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Purpose

Tackling the Tough Skills™:  A Curriculum Building Skills for Work and Life (Revised Edition) was developed by University of Missouri Extension to help hard-to-reach adults or teens prepare for success in work and life.  For a curriculum abstract, click here. To order now, click here.


•  Part I:
Attitude


Excerpt (PDF, 97KB)
 
•  Part II:
Responsibility


Excerpt (PDF, 115KB)
 
•  Part III:
Communication


Excerpt (PDF, 122KB)
 
•  Part IV:
Problem Solving


Excerpt (PDF, 120KB)
 
•  Part V:
Preparing for the Workplace


Excerpt (PDF, 85KB)

Overview

Target audiences | Revised curriculum features
Curriculum excerpts | Author & Trainer | Cost
Illustrations | Contact

Tackling the Tough Skills(Revised Edition) is a fun, innovative and interactive life skills curriculum that helps hard-to-reach adults or teens prepare for success in work and life.

Target audiences

Potential trainers

This newly revised curriculum offers a fresh educational approach for use by:

  • Workplace & organizational educators
  • Adult Basic Education/GED teachers
  • Workforce development managers and trainers
  • Youth coordinators
  • Case managers
  • Social workers
  • Social service professionals
  • Prison/re-entry specialists working with adult or juvenile offenders
  • Welfare-to-work program leaders
  • Faith-based program leaders and ministers
  • Vocational and life skills counselors
  • Program leaders of pregnant and parenting teens
  • Anyone wanting to learn new life skills and soft skills training techniques

Potential clients

The curriculum is easily adaptable to a wide range of audiences including:

  • Adult Basic Education/GED students
  • Welfare recipients
  • Employees in the workplace
  • At-risk adults
  • At-risk adolescents, including pregnant and parenting teens
  • Adult and juvenile offenders
  • School-to-work participants
  • Homeless
  • People in shelters
  • Individuals who could benefit from attitude shifts or improved responsible behavior, communication skills, strategies for problem solving, and job- hunting skills.

Revised curriculum features

  • Teaches critical thinking skills through reflection, discussion, small group work, and role plays
  • 247 humorously illustrated pages.
    • Includes 93 pages that may be copied for overheads and handouts.
  • Easy-to-use 3-ring binder.
  • Adaptable to a wide range of participants. Used with teen and adult audiences worldwide.
  • Flexible format lets you select a chapter, an activity, or use the whole book.
  • Creative and fun content includes dozens of original activities that make learning fun, yet challenging.

Curriculum excerpts

Author & trainer

Life changed for Rosilee Trotta when she became a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ecuador at age 18.  Hooked on the euphoria of learning from people and their experiences, Rosilee continued her own schooling in inner-city hospitals, day-care centers, housing projects and social service agencies, as well as in an Eskimo village above the Arctic Circle.  Along the way she picked up degrees in nursing, psychology, sociology, and social work, ending with a master's in social work and becoming a licensed clinical social worker.

Rosilee is currently the Urban Youth and Family Specialist for University of Missouri  Extension, where she is primarily involved in workforce preparation, offender re-entry programs, and offering educational insights in her curriculum, Tackling the Tough Skills™. She also teaches workshops on parenting, diversity, conflict resolution, leadership, and anything relevant to families, youth, and the workplace. In addition, Rosilee serves on a variety of boards dedicated to helping adults and children realize their potential.

Cost

  • Missouri residents:
    • $80.66 total ($65 per book + $10 shipping & handling + $5.66 state sales tax).
  • Non-Missouri residents:
    • $75.00 total ($65 per book + $10 shipping & handling).

Illustrations

Chris Sharp of St. Charles, Missouri, illustrated the curriculum.

Contact

Rosilee Trotta, LCSW
Urban Youth & Family Specialist
University of Missouri Extension
121 S. Meramec, Suite 501
St. Louis, MO 63105

Ph: 314-615-2911 or 314-615-7637
Fax: 314-615-8147
E-mail: TrottaR@missouri.edu


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Home | Overview | Contents
Audiences | Training | To order

Educator & participant comments about Tough Skills

 Curriculum abstract | On-line order form


University of Missouri Extension Roxanne T. Miller 
MillerRT@missouri.edu
Last revised: 08/01/08
University of Missouri Extension does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion,
age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status in employment or in any program or activity. 
Copyright 2000-2008 The Curators of the University of Missouri, a public corporation.