Soft skills teachers can teach their students to prepare them for life after school

We live in a system where soft skills are paramount. Soft skills determine the result of every relationship, whether personal or professional; they can be used to communicate with neighbours and friends to persuade a client to seal a sale.

Soft skills are desirable traits like communication, grit, integrity, time management, critical thinking, creativity, teamwork etc., that apply to various jobs and daily life.

Soft skills are therefore crucial at this time. We must instil in our children these soft skills during their formative years if we want them to bring out the best in them and be ready to tackle life fully in all its ramifications.

Every teacher should strive to develop their students’ communication through writing exercises, discussions, debates and presentations. They should teach them to communicate clearly, concisely and confidently without slouching, mumbling, or covering their mouths with their hands. Leveraging formal oral speaking opportunities like individual or group presentations, holding interactive sessions, and pairing up students on the first day to do interviews with one another and introduce their partner to the class, will help them develop communication skills.

Teamwork skills are a mix of interpersonal, problem-solving, communication, and interactional skills required by a group working on a project and toward a common goal. Place a strong emphasis on cooperation, communication, integrity, and responsibility. 

Divide your students into groups and assign them in-class time to research a topic and present as a group. Require that each team member spend an equal time presenting a portion of the information.

People with emotional intelligence can control or better manage their emotions and sympathise with people around them.

Often, teenagers are unempathetic and inconsiderate in how they treat people of lower status around them. They insult homeless people on the street corner and make jest of poor students without even considering that there might be a reason for their predicament. 

Teach your children to empathise with other people’s predicaments. Bring them to a soup kitchen or charity event to volunteer, organise donations to the less fortunate in your class and encourage them to help needy people around them.

Time management is a crucial skill in this fast-paced age. You need time management to function in all ramifications of life. 

All students should master time management skills because they will need them both in school and after they start working. In addition to learning how to manage their schoolwork, students must also learn how to balance their work obligations. Students can learn how to handle these issues by completing the time management challenge.

You can inculcate this skill into your students by giving them in-class tasks, projects and assignments with deadlines for submission. Those who beat the deadlines should be rewarded accordingly.

Higher levels of intellectual capacity are attained through enhancing critical thinking skills such as problem-solving and cognitive activity. 

Incorporate critical thinking skills into the classroom by presenting examples from the real world to make the lessons applicable. Your students will be more engaged with your lesson material and find connections between what you are teaching them and their futures the more relevant you can make your teachings. In addition to keeping students interested, experiential learning activities enable them to apply the skills they are learning in the real world.

Creativity is the process of turning thoughts, fantasies, and desires into reality. History demonstrates that imagination is the foundation of creativity and that many things we dream up later become a reality. The future cannot exist without innovation. 

Children’s mental and cognitive growth is aided by encouraging their creative brilliance, which also helps them concentrate better and learn new information more quickly.

Taking a break from classroom instruction to do trips, tours, and sight-seeing where they may see real-world applications of what they are being taught in school is one approach to unleash the creative genius in your students.

Encourage them to journal as this will help them to articulate their thoughts and keep track of their ideas.

You can also organise brainstorming sessions, where you give them a difficult task to do without guidelines and see what they will come up with.

According to Angela Duckworth, grit is a personality attribute that combines passion and perseverance. Grit is a desirable, non-cognitive quality based on a person’s drive and resilience in pursuing a certain long-term target (a powerful motivation to achieve an objective). This persistence in effort encourages the removal of barriers or difficulties that stand in the way of achievement and acts as a catalyst for achievement realisation.

Teach your students to develop grit by incorporating a ‘not yet’ grade into your grading system. Give your students a “not yet” grade rather than failing them, and encourage them to revisit the topic, project, or task until they understand it.

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Resources

Soft Skills: Preparing Kids for Life After School – AMLE

How to Teach Your Kids the Most Important Soft Skills That Aren’t Taught in Schools – Lifehack

Angela Duckworth: What Is the Meaning of “Grit?” | Shortform Books