Albert,
Great example and one that we should all be mindful of. Knowing that everyone is different and that the teacher needs to change for the students is important.
Philip Campbell
I'm going to go with customer service skills as being most important, because they encompass EQ and workplace behaviors combined. We talk a lot about our external customers (students and employers), and our internal customers (colleagues and coworkers). While some of my soft skills seem to always be "improving," it is not typically those skills that determine my success throughout my day. However, my ability to understand, listen to and communicate with others effectively constantly determines how successful I am in meeting my goals and in helping them meet theirs.
I would agree with you, Phillip. Some of what we think of as common sense is really common "knowledge," which some people may just lack due to never having been taught it (the example below of students not understanding "clockwise" comes to mind). However, common sense in the way we usually describe it involves acting without considering the consequences of one's actions.
I think one way we "teach" common sense is to help students explore cause and effect/actions and consequences scenarios. I think we can help students develop it by playing out role plays and scenarios in our classes whereby we have them act,and then show them the various ways a scenario may play out from that action. It can also be done with questioning techniques where you get the students to discuss possible repercussions. And another way might be to show real world examples from history or contemporary situations where someone showed a lack of "common sense" and then have the students identify why and where the situation went wrong.
Really being aware of your emotions. there are days when you find out wow I thought I hit a home run.. then you find out you were technically on it but you were not connecting with your students because you were unable to relate to them. Their needs and how to deliver the same information with empathy.This is a constant learning process for me and how each individual is different in different situations.
having a good attitude is the most important even on days that may go wrong
Kellie,
Two good ones. That is always a point we try to make with students, but sometimes they still do not see the importance.
Philip Campbell
In my opinion the most important soft skill are dependability and reliability. Something I work very hard with amongst my students. I tell them "If I can't get you to class on time, how can I get you to work on time"
I would consider emotional intelligence to be one of the most important soft skills in my particular field as a chef instructor. However, there may be other soft skills one would want to reflect upon when conducting further research into supplementary areas of education. It must be noted; the answer regarding the importance of soft skills depends very much on the context and one's personal perception. By this what I mean is important soft skills for teaching various ethnicities and educational levels is going to vary considerably.
THE MOST IMPORTANT SOFT SKILLS IN ANY WORK PLACE ARE DRUG FREE, CUSTOMER SERVICE AND INTEGRITY.
Jeremy,
Emotions can be hard to control at times. Students will definitely play off of the instructors. That is a good lesson for us.
Philip Campbell
I think we can probably all agree that common sense is likely to be the most important soft skill in the workplace. However, I feel that a very close second would be our ability to control our emotions. Students definitely do tend to miror our behavior and our behavior is often influenced by our emotional state. The ability to exhibit an emotion or emotional state other than what we are actualy feeling is something that I feel is very important as well. This gives us a "buffer" or brief period of time for us to get our emotions in check.
The ability to maintain a Positive Attitude and a clear focus on the overall goals of the business are critically important. By maintaining and projecting a Positive Attitude an employee increases the likelihood that others will want to work with them and this will help drive success.
The Attention to Detail mentioned in the the course is also very important but I believe that Positive Attitude is a foundational skill upon which, other skills can be developed and practiced.
Leveda ,
I am glad to hear you enjoy it. Hard to believe we have to have this much discussion and debate about it though. Keep up the good work.
Philip Campbell
I love talking about this subject, common sense from my view I don't think it can be taught. I believe it derives from what you have been taught in earlier years. What may be common sense for you may not be common sense to another.
Vance,
Managing emotions can be some of the hardest things to do. Modeling some of that is a nice way to show that to students.
Philip Campbell
Clearly, the ability to get along with others and manage one's own emotions are most important.
lauren,
Working well with others is sometimes overlooked but very important.
Philip Campbell
Important soft skills like having a positive attitude, common sense, working well with others or being a team player is a must.
Charles,
Details are some of the best things to teach. Showing students the need for the details is a fun to do in class.
Philip Campbell
Diego,
Most will agree with and then ask how do we teach common sense? So what do you think?
Philip Campbell
