To achieve the best outcomes possible,
transition-age youth need specific skills in areas such as math, literacy, and
independent living (Bremer and Smith, 2004). However,
skills in these areas will not assure successful outcomes in the absence of
adequate social skills. Social skills form the basis for social competence.
Gresham, Sugai, and Horner (2001:333-334) define five dimensions of social
skills: (a) peer relational skills, (b) self-management skills, (c) academic
skills, (d) compliance skills, and (e) assertion skills. They define social
competence as the degree to which students are able to establish and maintain
satisfactory interpersonal relationships, gain peer acceptance, establish and
maintain friendships, and terminate negative or pernicious interpersonal
relationships (Gresham, Sugai, and Horner, 2001:331). Sparks
(2010) states that research shows young people need the same cognitive and
social-emotional skills to complete school and progress in the workplace, and,
moreover, that those skills can be taught and tested like any other subject in
school. The problem is college eligibility is what we focus on previously, not
readiness; we have not really defined what ‘readiness’ means. We focus on
whether they have the course credits, the time spent and that is important, but
we have not figured out if they have what they need to be really college-ready.
Students are “getting through high school graduation and even then, they’re not
ready.” (Silva, a senior policy analyst with Education Sector, 2010). That is
why we believe that students should have best social skills than academic
skills.
Social skills are the most important things for children and
adults. Firstly, A study in 2000, commissioned by the Child Mental Health
Foundations and Agencies Network (FAN), and reported at the National Institute of Mental Health,
indicates that social and emotional school readiness is critical for young
children's early school success-and may even set the stage for success later in
life. Secondly, an effective social problem
solving requires reading one’s own and others’ feelings, and being able to
accurately label and express those feelings. Such skills are aspects of social
and emotional learning (Zins, 1998:19). Well-developed social skills can help
us with disabilities develop strong and positive peer relationships, succeed in
school, and begin to successfully explore adult roles such as employee,
co-worker or colleague, and community member. Thirdly, Casciaro, professor at Harvard Business
School (2006) people would rather
work with someone who is likeable and incompetent than with someone who is
skilled and obnoxious. How we
value competence changes depends on whether we like someone or not. And people
who lack social competence end up looking like they lack other competencies,
too.
A study in 2000, commissioned by the Child Mental Health
Foundations and Agencies Network (FAN) shows that those children who enter
school without these basic social and emotional competencies are not ready to
learn, are less likely to be successful in the early years of school and may
face a cascade of behavioral, emotional and academic problems through out their
young lives. Social skills also support the
positive development of healthy adult relationships with family members and
peers. Hair, Jager, and Garrett (2002:3) observe that adolescents who have
strong social skills, particularly in the areas of conflict resolution,
emotional intimacy, and the use of pro-social behaviors, are more likely to be
accepted by peers, develop friendships, maintain stronger relationships with
parents and peers, be viewed as effective problem solvers, cultivate greater
interest in school, and perform better academically. Adequate social skills
need to be acquired while students are still enrolled in school and further
supported and refined in postsecondary, community, and work settings. When it
comes to holding down a job, social skills matter today more than ever. For
people who want to break into a popular field like entertainment, for example,
the only way to differentiate yourselves at the bottom is to be likeable (Casciaro, professor at Harvard Business
School, 2006).
Jensen, M.D.,
Director, Center for the Advancement of Children's Mental Health, Columbia
University, and Expert Consultant to FAN (2000) states that the new report
shows that it is just as
important for children to be able to form good relationships with their peers
and teachers as it is to decode
spelling words and master the use of a crayon or pencil. Policy makers, early child care practitioners and parents
must know that children's social and emotional
readiness for school allows them to learn effectively. Hartup (1993)
states that the single best childhood predictor of adult adaptation is not IQ,
school grades, and classroom behavior, but rather the adequacy with which the child
gets along with other children. Children who are generally disliked, who are
aggressive and disruptive, who are unable to sustain close relationships with
other children, and who cannot establish a place for themselves in the peer
culture are seriously 'at risk. The risks are many: poor mental health,
dropping out of school, low achievement
and other school difficulties, poor employment history, and so forth (Katz and McClellan, 1991). Given the life-long
consequences, relationships should be counted as the first education.
In addition,
most of us have to work at being likeable.
Fortunately, Casciaro’s research shows that the biggest impediment to
likeability is not caring. So if you “just decide you want to do better,” you
probably will. Take responsibility for yourself (Hodgkinson, executive coach, 2006). She mentions that everyone needs to know that
they are responsible for creating healthy, productive relationships at work. No
one is going to make you likeable. The people who are likeable actually care
about other people and care about the connections they make.Being good at
talking to people requires that you figure out what interests them. Casciaro (
2006 ) recommends a tactical approach: Find the hook that makes your similarities
more visible. For example I might meet a man in his 60s and I’m a woman in my
30s but we both like basketball. Hodgkinson states that you figure out how to
help someone else get what they need. In addition, you have to recognize what
you’re trying to get done and who you are trying to get it done with. Then
think beyond your own stuff to what the other people want. Think of this as
project management synergy, or resume empathy; you need to help others reach
their goals. This will make you more likeable and then more likely to reach
your own.
In terms of social problem solving, Social problem solving skills are
skills that students “use to analyze, understand, and prepare to respond to
everyday problems, decisions, and conflicts” (Elias & Clabby, 1988, p. 53).
Learning these skills helps students to improve their ability to cope with
stress (Dubow & Tisak, 1989; Elias & Clabby, 1988), handle
interpersonal situations (Elias & Clabby, 1988), experience more positive
social adjustment, improve academically, and show improvements in behavior
(Dubow & Tisak, 1989; Gootman, 2001; Nelson et al, 1996). Social problem
solving skills also help students to better “read” (analyze) the various
demands associated with social situations (Elias & Clabby, 1988) and exercise
greater self-control over their behaviors (Gootman, 2001). Like any new skills
we want students to learn, children who have difficulty with social problem
solving need to be directly and systematically taught the skills and given
frequent opportunities to use them in a normal context (Elias & Tobias,
1990; Gootman, 2001; Van Acker, 1993). While researchers have evaluated
individual programs for their effectiveness with students and found many to
have positive short-term outcomes, there is limited long-term data on any
social problem solving programs (Bear, 1998; Nelson et al., 1996). The results
that are available show that students who receive social problem solving
instruction demonstrate better knowledge of problem-solving skills, more
empathy for other students, increased acceptance by peers, and are more likely
to expect positive outcomes from problem solving (Elias & Clabby, 1992;
Shure, 2001; Williams, 1991). Further, these students evidence increased use of
appropriate behavioral solutions to real-life problems (Goldstein, 1999).
Some people
might say that academic skills help people to get higher position and happiness
in their lives since by having great GPA they could apply jobs in some position
they need to get high salary so that they are able to fulfill their daily
needs. In contrast, their assumption is completely rejected for some truly
evidence. Firstly, Ward (2014) states that social and emotional development is as important as academic
learning in order to be happy and succeed in life, suggest many psychologists and child development
specialists. Experts say that poorly developed social skills may create a long line of failures in your child’s
future. Secondly, she mentions that Social skills development should not be
ignored. Their ability to successfully interact socially will impact their
success in school, their career path, and their lifelong relationships.
Thirdly, companies prefer to hire people with
good social skills and pleasing personalities (
IELTS article, 2012). Although you don’t think that social skills are
more important than academic skills, possessing them is a must in jobs that
require you to interact with people. Of course, social skills can’t replace
academic skills or vice-versa and companies are unlikely to hire an
under-educated person over a well-educated one just because the former has
better social skills than the latter. But potential job-seekers can no longer
ignore the importance of social skills. If they do, it will seriously hamper
their job-worthiness. The good news is that just like academic skills social
skills too can be learnt.
Moreover, there are five advantages associated with
having good social skills three of them are: Firstly, get more relationships for focusing on relationships will
help you land a job, advance in your job, make new friends, and give you a
better outlook on life (a large
social network equals satisfaction with life). Secondly, having great communication skills is very important. You cannot
have great social skills without good communications skills and, in my view,
being able to convey one’s thoughts and ideas maybe the single most important
business skill of all time. And the last is having a better career. Most worthwhile jobs have a people
component and the most lucrative positions often involve a large amount of time
spent interacting with employees, media, colleagues, etc. It’s a rare
individual who can isolate himself in his office and still excel in his or her
job. Most organizations are looking for individuals with a particular,
tactical, skill set and the ability to influence people to get things done. By
this, you are able to increased quality of life or happiness. Getting
along with people will open up many personal and career-related doors.
Striking up a conversation at a work related conference may lead to a new
job offer with a higher salary or a smile and hello at your local tennis club
may grab you a new tennis partner. It is also been widely
acknowledged that retirees with a large social network have a higher level of
happiness during their
later years versus depressed and lonely 60-somethings who spend the majority of
their free time watching TV with little or no social activities planned.
All in all, social skills are more important than academic skills.
So, every person should have great social skills in their lives for it gives at
least three advantages in terms of: getting more communication, relationship,
and having a better career. By having those things, we will have a good quality
lives and happiness.
Reference:
NAILAH SA’DIYATUL FITRIAH
Academic Argumentation (FINAL PROJECT)
No comments:
Post a Comment