The role of education is to prepare future generations to take their rightful place in society, as future learners, professionals and citizens. Yet, there is often a fundamental mismatch between the skills they are taught in classrooms and those they will need to function effectively in the world. In a survey, more than 60% of bosses claimed that graduates were unable to handle customers professionally, while 50% said that they were not equipped to independently take charge of their professional duties. This is worrying because many of these skills are vital not just for students to become competent professionals, but to take advantage of opportunities in the world. For far too long, they have been taught with an almost exclusively razor-sharp focus on exams, without due consideration to the transferable skills they will need once they exit the world of academia.
With workplaces becoming more competitive, it becomes especially important for educators to equip students with key life skills. Key among these are:
Emotional intelligence
To teach your students emotional intelligence, begin by first acknowledging their perspective and communicating empathy, even if you do not agree. Accepting a student’s emotions, rather than denying or minimising them, enables him/her to accept the emotion, resolve their feelings and move on. In the long term, this teaches students to self-regulate their own emotions and allows them to move on to the next step, namely problem-solving.
Critical-thinking
Students must learn to think for themselves — to use evidence, logically evaluate available information and form their own opinions. A good way to inculcate critical-thinking skills in students is to regularly talk to them about topics that aren’t restricted to their textbooks.
Communication
Improve your students’ written communication by encouraging him or her to participate in writing-based extracurricular activities. Oral communication can be strengthened with regular, consistent practice — have students discuss their problems with you, rather than only telling them how things should be done.
Work ethic
Never stop stressing on the importance of students performing any task they take up to the best of their abilities. In school, this could mean submitting projects and assignments on time, and making sure they prepare for tests and evaluations. Have students know that they must always strive to achieve what they are truly capable of, instead of making do with good enough.
Time management
Professionals, today, are expected to do more with the limited time and means they have. A good way to begin is by having students buy a planner, which they can use to make a note of upcoming deadlines, goals and key milestones. This exercise can also teach students to prioritise. Finally, help students to identify potential time-wasters and eliminate these.
Advise self-advocacy
Most adults will eventually have to learn to stand up for what they believe in or what they think they rightfully deserve. These situations will always be tricky; giving students enough practice in self-advocacy is especially crucial. Instead of always intervening for students, take the backseat so that the students can take the lead and stand up for themselves. The six-calibration model, to ensure that students are able to learn and retain these lessons for life, is also important:
Lifestyle choice: Students often model the behaviour they see around them. In order to make a lasting impression on a young mind, it is therefore important for you, as an educator, to change your own outlook towards life.
Courage with belief: Believing in students’ abilities gives them the necessary positive reinforcement to continue demonstrating appreciable behaviours.
Build capability: Don’t hand-hold students through challenges, but help them build their own capacity to adapt and learn.
Confidence: Demonstrate confidence in the student’s ability to learn and provide enough positive verbal reinforcement for them to repeat desirable behaviours
Commitment: Be committed to the task at hand, in your teaching and actions.
Consistent: Consistency is key to eliminate confusion in the student.
The writer is a professional pathologist, health and lifestyle adviser (coach) and a professional nutrition consultant.
