In addition to wanting their children to be happy and healthy, most parents want their children to receive an excellent education. Parents believe a strong academic foundation will help their children gain admission to a good university and ultimately obtain a good job. At St. Michael’s School, we consider parents to be the primary educators of their children, and we are eager to work with our parents to help students learn, grow, and be successful. Our goal is to expose our students to a broad and well-rounded curriculum so they may discover their interests and passions.
Teachers evaluate student learning by gauging their ability to demonstrate proficiency toward state and/or national standards or goals. The standards determine what students should know at each grade level in every subject: reading, math, science, social studies, music, art, etc. The skills are measurable and consistent, and while it is crucial that students learn these “hard skills,” we also recognize the need to teach “soft skills” as well. Soft skills are character traits that help us get along with other people. While hard skills can be learned in school or through training, it is much more difficult to teach and learn soft skills.
In my note last week, I shared with you our Schoolwide Learning Expectations. The three pillars of a St. Michael’s School education are Faith, Knowledge, and Character. The second pillar, Knowledge, addresses hard skills, while the third pillar, Character, speaks to soft skills. We hold high expectations for our students as we help them to develop traits such as honesty, integrity, compassion, and responsibility. Students are expected to work hard to improve not only their academic skills, but their interpersonal skills as well. In the workplace, hiring managers often consider soft skills to be just as important as hard skills, which is no surprise, because we all have experienced individuals who are highly intelligent or extremely talented, but who are arrogant, selfish, unkind, and just unpleasant to be around.
You can begin teaching soft skills at home by asking children to participate in daily chores. Everyone should be expected to contribute to family life, and children can help by making their bed, cleaning their room, feeding and walking the dog, setting the table, or taking out the garbage. Children of all ages can assist with meal preparation and grocery shopping as well. Chores give children a purpose and they learn to feel competent and responsible. They also learn that hard work is valuable and they are less likely to develop an attitude of entitlement.
At school, students are asked to be good stewards of their community. Teachers assign students “class jobs,” and they are reminded to help keep their classrooms and campus neat and clean. Just recently, some of our students have been assisting Mr. Tassan at morning drop-off on North Campus. They are happy to help and feel a great sense of accomplishment through their contribution. By nurturing soft skills at an early age, children will develop a high emotional IQ, which will ultimately set them up for success.
In Mission, Kathy
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