‘SOFT SKILLS’

MARIA CONCEPCION M. LANSANG

As teachers, we have to organize and streamline tools we have and use, so that we can even be more effective in the classroom. It’s not a walk in the park, and usually takes a lot of time and practice.

While students should acquire cognitive skills – the core skills our brain uses to think, read, learn, remember, reason, and pay attention – we must also teach them “conative” skills, or the mind’s ability to review and evaluate our emotions and our body of knowledge, in hopes of improving our future interactions and problem-solving abilities.

Also called “soft skills,” they help us control our emotions so we can better interact with others.

There are a number of important conative skills that our students need, like awareness of different interpretations.

For some students, their interpretation of a text is the only one and the right one. But they should examine each word, sentence, and paragraph so that can understand what’s being said from as many different views as possible.

This skill allows students to be aware of as many different interpretations or perspectives as possible.

Another important skill is to be able to interact responsibly. This calls for students to work in groups, large or small, and use positive interacting skills. They should listen to what others are saying, build on it, and connect new ideas to the content being discussed.

Students should also be able to handle controversy and conflict resolution. When they get along with others, they are able to resolve conflict and process differences of opinion.

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The author is Teacher III at Salu Elementary School, Division of Pampanga.