Academic development is not the end all and be all of education. It is incredibly important to foster the development of soft skills in children as they grow.
You might have heard this phrase being thrown around often and may have not known exactly what it means. The term “soft skills” is all encompassing. It includes integral abilities like leadership, public speaking, effective communication, etc. These sound like skill sets that would benefit individuals in all settings and all ages.
Soft skills in real life
Many educational organizations now provide students opportunities to gain these crucial skills that can be overlooked by parents. Two such example are The Learning Lab and Harvard Student Agencies that have partnered up to help students and their families.
The Ivy Summit Series, a creation from this partnership, systematically teaches parents how to cultivate these skills in their children. Programs like can be incredibly helpful in getting your child on the right track of shaping their interpersonal skills.
The college application process is a good gauge for the comprehensive learning that your child would have accrued up until they engage in the application process. As such, this actually means that it’s never too early to at least start thinking about the direction your child is heading.
Colleges and workplaces are not the only ones that put so much emphasis on maintaining soft skills. Secondary schools these days also use these measures to differentiate among all their incredible applicants through their Direct School Admission (DSA). Their primary purpose for doing so should also be the same as your goals as a parent. You would want your child to develop holistically and to integrate smoothly into the world as global citizens.
Skill to focus on
Children must demonstrate that they have achieved a certain degree of mastery of these soft skills, especially leadership in their classrooms and extracurriculars. Why is leadership so important in their development? This skill set is very central for students to become the change they wish to see in their own settings.
It is very important to empowering your children with this sense of self-agency is so important for them to build confidence. In turn, this may serve as a leg up in any circumstance in which interviews and other face-to-face assessments are necessary.
Public speaking, and thereby effective communication, is another skill set to focus on. These two skills go hand in hand with leadership and cover a variety of modes of communication. Your child should always be in the practice of communicating concisely but meaningfully. Communication is one of the core skills that will allow your child to be a driver behind his success.
What next?
Academic success should be supplemented by the development of soft skills if you really wish for your child to succeed in life. Soft skills are integral in allowing your child’s innate potential to shine through. With the vehicle of soft skills, your child can truly optimize the process of a wholesome development of character.
The Ivy Summit Series is held from 25th -26th Nov 2016 at The Learning Lab’s Mountbatten centre.
To find out more about the Ivy Summit Series, please visit: https://www.ivysummit-thelearninglab.com/