Teaching Soft Skills
In your opinion, what is the most difficult soft skill to teach to students?
I think the age of the students would give different responses to this question. For the teenagers I believe being tactful and polite and exhibiting self-discipline are difficult for many teens to change.........maybe simple maturation is what some need most!!!
Demographics have a role in this equation as well. I deal with a 'diverse' group of students and sometimes their culture has a great effect on how they may choose to react to a certain classroom situation. I try to utilize my knowledge of their background to diffuse any situations that might occur where tempers rise and accusations are made.
Pamela,
Tempers and accusations can be a volatile mixture. What kind of follow up do you do with those situations to emphasize a soft skill?
Teaching young student what integrity is and why it is important.
I think the most difficult soft skill to teach students is the art of compromise and/or flexibility, yet that skill is one of the top five attributes desired by employers. We can provide all of the knowledge they need within our classroom, but we also must shape the way the student acts and reacts to change within the workplace.
I would have to say the most difficult soft skill to teach to Students is integrity. Integrity is something that to me is more moral and ethical than academic and teaching this in a term to a large group of students is very difficult.
Antonio,
I agree, it is difficult to teach. I would say that no matter what class you are teaching there are opportunities to discuss ethical practices. Can you incorporate ethics into any of your teachings and provide case studies or specific examples?
I think that the most difficult soft skill to teach students is compassion.
So many of my students come to class with numerous responsibilities--at home, on the job, and at school. They have numerous needs themselves, so it is natural, common for me to witness their impatience with others. Consequently, on occasion I have had to take a student aside for a one-on-one conference when that student has been short, impatient--or even at times rude to another classmate; this occurs most frequently when a student might be paired up with another student who may not be as intellectually advanced as he or she.
More often than not, such heads-up discussions create a field of understanding that the impatient student hadn't really considered, and the new insight helps pave the way for better team play and acceptance of others.
Common things like Please and Thank you.
I think the hardest things to teach students is objectivity. In order to diffuse an possible explosive situation one need diplomacy and objectivity. Once a student can learn to see the issues for what they are and not look at the individual who may have discussed the issue, then the student can learn to difuse situations themselves.
Empathy. It is difficult for some people to realize that everyone doesn't have the same background and experience that they do.
How to be positive when looking at situations and not being defeated by the I can't, this is too hard attitude
I agree with this statement! The newest generation we are seeing lacks this important skill and trying to make them aware of what it means and how to accomplish it can be challenging.
Pamela,
What tasks or activities can we do in class or outside of class to help teach these skills?
I find being a teamplayer is hard in the classroom. An example I see alot that is another form of a soft skill is the attendance. If the students are to work together, such as on a project, and someone does not show up,I feel you can not be a teamplayer also.You can't have one without the other.
I believe it's not just in getting students to treat each other the way they'd like to be treated themselves, but in reciprocating a level of consideration and respect. We can accomplish so much more as a cooperative team than we can as ruthless, angsty loners.
Ambition can't be taught. You have to want it to be truly motivated to go get it. You can succeed without ambition but you likely won't be happy with your success. Doing what you love and loving what you do, starts off by deciding what your ambitious about. That can't be taught it is only felt by he/she who has it.
Ben,
Absolutely about teaching ambition. It is hard to teach and the best way is to be an example to the students.
I think that the most difficult skill by far to teach to students is being empahtetic towards others. In this day and age with the way the world and economy are it is very hard for some people to understand that you may have problems, which is understandable, but others may have bigger problems. In my classroom we are collecting coats for kids and young teens. Everyone was asked to bring in just one slightly used or new coat. One of my students was very upset by this. She stated that her family is not in the best of financial shape as are many others. She wanted to know "just who is going to help me out, when I need it?" I told her that these coats were being collected to give to the families that lost everything in the September floods and I told her to put herself in their place. But all the discussion of puttng yourself in someone else's place just fell on deaf ears. So, I beleive that empathy has to be taught from when you are very young, by parents who DO care or caring and nurturing day care providers. At the adult age it is very hard to change the beliefs and values that we have been taught and grown up with, and besides alot of people are afraid, afraid of empathetic change.
