Imagine a supposedly bright student growing up to become an adult with no communication skills or someone who cannot adapt to new situations. Think how difficult it would be for him to actually navigate through his career and actually become successful!
That’s exactly what happens when people lack soft skills, a set of essential skills that help you understand the world around you better and solve problems that come your way.
So, what exactly are these skills, and why are they so important? Let’s find out in this blog!
Soft skills and Hard skills
While hard skills are very easily measured by looking at a student’s grades, soft skills can be hard to quantify. Important skills like communication skills, team spirit, public speaking, etc, may not be naturally present in shy children. And even if they have a natural talent, without the right kind of nurturing it might just get wasted. So what now? For today’s students to become truly successful in life, they must understand the importance of such skills and practice them regularly.
Why are soft skills important in school?
The traditional education system has always prioritized good grades over anything. However, there are many important soft skills that the current curriculum doesn’t really cover.
When soft skills are incorporated into the curriculum, students get to practice skills that are going to be useful in the real world. They understand how to deal better with people and express their own ideas in front of others. They also pretty much start understanding the difference between formal and informal environments. All these factors can lead to their growth as an individual, in both personal and professional lives. Equipped with the right kind of skills, the students can become more confident and successful adults in the future.
Now let’s talk about some very important soft skills and how they can help students in their lives!
Skills for communicating better
In today’s world, being able to communicate with clarity is one of the most important skills to be successful in any profession. Especially, if you are an entrepreneur, being able to communicate your ideas and expectations can get things done! Thus, teaching this skill in school can be beneficial for students in the real world as they try to navigate through adulthood and build a career.
Flexibility to adapt
Evolution has always favored the individuals who adapted to their situations. Similarly, even in the real world, the ones that adapt the best to new environments quickly are the ones that grow the most. When school-going children learn this important life skill, their flexibility to adapt better to newer situations can take them to places in life.
Creativity
Creativity breeds innovation and today’s world runs on it. However, despite it being an important skill, the traditional education system hardly pays any attention to creativity. Incorporating general creativity into the school curriculum can help students practice their skills better. Creativity will enable students to think creatively and come up with unique ideas and solutions to stand out in their future careers.
Public speaking
Speaking in front of an audience is an advanced form of general communication. As a person starts becoming successful in their professional life, the need for public speaking starts becoming more and more frequent. Teaching students this soft skill in school enables them to become empowered individuals who can communicate effectively with the masses and don’t shy away from networking.
Teamwork
To truly emerge as a leader, it is important to know how to effectively and efficiently work with a team. Understanding every member’s strengths and weaknesses to bring out the best solutions is what a true professional leader should do. Incorporating team activities into the curriculum is a good way to teach the students this essential skill.
Considering the contemporary work culture every student needs to be equipped with the necessary skills to thrive in professional environments. And for that to happen, starting at a young age is the only way to go. Thus, to make it possible for every student to learn soft skills, the necessary modifications in the current curriculum are very important.
At Great Principals, we hope to bring about a necessary change in the ways of Indian Education. Each new generation is far more capable than the last, and we owe it to evolution. But as humans evolve, we are required to transcend from our old ways and look at things from a different perspective, one that shapes the untapped minds of the children for the ever-growing world.
We are here to capture the journeys of marvelous School Leaders and Principals through an interactive talk show. We hope to inspire the parents who are the true changemakers in a child’s growing life. Our goal is to bring about a much-needed change in the way we educate our kids. Feel free to check out our episodes on YouTube www.youtube.com/c/GreatPrincipals
