HARD OR SOFT SKILLS

Posted by Yessica Elizabeth Garcia Sanchez

First up, we will talk about teaching matters and how to teach and how to learn, in our blog we would like to give you some ideas on teaching and reflecting, above all what to do in Summer if you are preparing for the classes again.

This is the season for a nice long break from school or university, and, for some kids, teens, that means too much playing video games, watching TV, spending time on social nets and moaning, “I’m bored”. When they will have to start their duties on school or university soon, they come or seem blind to the school every year. This has been a challenging task for us all.

However, they get excited when they do a good job, they enhance and encourage each other, and, they feel their work is rewarding. We have been talking about skills, but you know what about skills mean. A well-balanced education includes more than just the basic “core” subjects, such as reading, science, computing, foreign languages and math.

It includes social skills – the knowledge and practice of appropriate conduct, manners, and group interaction. In fact, according to several studies by prestigious educational research institutions, up to 85% of a child’s future success depends on these “soft skills.”

Soft skills are people’s abilities to communicate with each other and work well together. Meanwhile, hard skills are people’s skills set and ability to perform a certain type of task or activity. Briefly, soft skills are interpersonal and broadly applicable.

What will ‘soft skill or hard skill’  be more suitable?

Soft skill teacher “To develop needs based on curriculum, it is a new concept for government schools”.

http://searchcio.techtarget.com/definition/soft-skills

We have lost these skills in the past decades however, they have been recognized as vital in order to become good, productive citizens; and as teachers we need to ensure the future success of the children we are accountable for.

While most educational institutions today are very focused on academic performance, not many are proactively including social skills and character development in their lesson plans.

Schools and government are spending billions of dollars every year trying to deal with the effects and consequences of bullying and harassment, and recent reports indicate that one out of four kids will be a victim of a significant violent incident before they reach high school.

It is important to recognize that the lack of civility in the classroom (and beyond) is a systemic problem, so we to addresses this problem from all angles: in the classroom, with peers, in the home, and through the community. There is a need to support educators and parents in their efforts to develop socially adept and considerate children.

Why teach them?

Soft skills include concepts such as problem solving, team work and adaptability to change and they are simple to include in many lessons. These skills are not necessarily graded in a traditional sense but might be assessed with analytical rubrics. These skills may already be present in lessons and may only need to have a slight emphasis added so students see the skills’ importance.

Problem solving

Problem solving goes beyond math skills. It is the higher order thinking necessary to find an answer. This can take the form of questions such as, “draw what you will look like when you are an adult” to “write a new ending to the given story.” In both cases students need to think critically about what they already know and then draw a conclusion before producing the requested result.

Team work

Team work is the ability to effectively solve a problem or work within a diverse group. It requires good communication skills and the ability to both support and compromise with others. This requires students to learn to work with different people of differing skill sets while trying to successfully solve a problem.

Adaptability

Being able to adapt to changes in technology and the workplace itself is critical in today’s businesses. Ways to include adaptability in the classroom are diverse, flexibility to accept new ideas and the ability to simultaneously work on multiple projects.

http://schoolofeducators.com/2009/02/importance-of-soft-skills-development-in-education/