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7 Life Skills for the Future


"We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future."

-Franklin Roosevelt.


7 Skills students need for their future


Dr. Wagner points out that in today's digital age, the "Net generation" is accustomed to instant gratification, uses the web to extend friendships, interest-driven, self-directed learning, and is constantly connected, creating and multitasking in a multimedia world -everywhere except in school.

How can we help our students develop 21st-century skills/essential life skills?

What do we need to change in our teaching practices?

Dr. Wagner suggests that to motivate and teach this generation, the school system needs to be reinvented (teaching, learning, and assessing in new ways). Educators need to use content to teach core competencies.

The 21st-century skills that students need to be successful are:

  • Critical thinking and Problem-solving

  • Collaboration across networks and leading by influence (engaging others)

  • Agility Adaptability

  • Initiative and entrepreneurialism

  • Effective Oral and written communication (develop a voice-persuasive)

  • Accessing and analyzing information

  • Curiosity and imagination


7 Essential Life Skills by Ellen Galinsky

  • Focus and self-control (pay attention, flexibility, adapt and persevere)

  • Perspective-taking (understanding other people's realities)

  • Communicating (understanding other people's perspective)

  • Making Connections (foundation of creativity)

  • Critical thinking (Decide what is valuable or not)

  • Taking on challenges (copying with stress and going beyond/accepting failing as part of the learning process).

  • Self-directed, engaged learning (Ability to continue to learn)


Compare/contrast the skills


Dr. Wagner and Galinsky's skills are related

  • For both of them, critical thinking and communication are required

  • To collaborate with others, you need to understand other people's realities (Perspective-taking)

  • Agility Adaptability is related to taking on challenges

  • To be self-directed, we need to have initiative.

  • Making connections means Analyzing information

  • Curiosity and imagination require to pay attention



References


Galinsky, E. (2013, July, 17). The Seven Essential Life Skills. YouTube [Video]. Retrieve from https://youtu.be/SdIkQnTy6jA


Wagner, T. (2009, October, 1). 7 Skills students need for their future. YouTube [Video]. Retrieve from https://youtu.be/NS2PqTTxFFc




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