Navigating the World with Two Skillsets
Navigating the world is not an easy job. We cruise through life equipped with two skill sets that help us maneuver. One of those is hard skills, and the other is soft.
Hard skills are the ones often taught to students in the classroom. These are abilities that are simple to measure. For instance, a student who does well in school will get good grades and eventually obtain a degree as proof that they have mastered those talents to a certain degree. Due to the ease with which grades can be accessed, it is simple to determine the level of mastery of these skills.
Soft skills are much more challenging to measure. Although credentials can be given for some abilities, such as leadership, they are hard to measure. A student may receive a math grade of 90, simple to quantify and validate. But soft abilities can't be measured and validated as easily. Yet, they are an essential ingredient in today's world.
People learn through imitating others, according to the social learning hypothesis. For instance, the well-known Bobo doll experiment showed how children imitate adult behavior. Children treated a doll the same way adults did, according to research.
Children who witnessed an adult acting aggressively toward the doll also acted aggressively when interacting with others. Children mimicked the generosity of grownups who treated the doll well while they watched.
Hence, teaching a child to communicate better and to calm down isn't only about the teacher giving directions. It takes much more effort from both the child’s teachers and parents.
As the saying goes, "It takes a whole village to raise a child”.
Hence, what are some strategies that we can adopt to help teach children to communicate better for example:
- At home, make sure to communicate clearly, and confidently. Make it a point to show him how confident communication needs to be.
- Model attentive listening by listening to him and his sister as they spoke. Look them in the eye. Repeat their words and ask questions for clarification.
- You can use a mobile or phone camera to capture him performing an activity. This will show him clearly how they talked and acted, which will help him understand his strengths and weaknesses in a gentle yet straightforward way.
- Emphasize giving him honest and direct feedback. You may highlight, particularly about his performance or demeanor, what was so noteworthy. Don't forget to emphasize his effort, maybe by saying, "You worked hard." Phrases such as "great job sitting upright, "Wow! That was such a clear description, Awesome!" could work wonders and help the child see and feel his progress.
1Vox, 25 Sep 2022, Sean Illing, Do We Ask Too Much of Parents, Accessed 12 Oct 2022,https://www.vox.com/23367037/parent-trap-children-k-12-skills-education
Very Well Family, 22 Jan 2021, Amy Morin, LCSW, Role Model the Behavior You Want to See From Your Kids, Accessed 13 Oct 2022, https://www.verywellfamily.com/role-model-the-behavior-you-want-to-see-from-your-kids-1094785 Parent Circle,
Developing Soft Skills In Children—Parents And Schools Must Play Their Part, Accessed 13 Oct 2022, https://www.parentcircle.com/a-recipe-for-success-developing-soft-skills-in-children/article Utah Parent Center,
Home families can build soft skills at home, Accessed 13 Oct 2022, https://utahparentcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/How-Families-Can-Build-Soft-Skills-at-Home.pdf
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