Essential Non-Academic Skills to Teach School Children

It may be safe to say that the world as we know it today is a tight knit yarn of highly competent minds inching one step closer to beating the existing yardstick and subsequently, it is but obvious that our children today, are enroute an ocean of possibilities. Until fairly recently, schools followed a strictly concretized framework that defined itself within the folds of academic priorities and with changing times, academic institutions have reinvented themselves. It may be very crucial to recognize the nature of the future that we are preparing our children for.

At Nalapad Academy, we follow the International curriculum and have customized our syllabi and our modus operandi to be flexible. Our faculty  is just as dynamic as the world today is and as we employ a wide spectrum of teaching methods, we make sure that every single student on our campus is identified and encouraged to learn by virtue of each of their unique academic inclinations.

As an academic institution that thrives to invoke the passion for learning that children inherently come with, we believe in imparting holistic lessons wherein, non academic skills are understood through the lens of being bridges that our children are taught to employ as they pursue the paths of their own choice. By doing so, we hope to empower our kids with lessons that enable easy navigation through the various walks of life that they are sure to encounter.

The Non Academic Skills Learned at School to Empower the Young Child’s Mind –

1. 1. People Skills  –  Although every child’s social instinct is distinct to their own personality, each one of them chances upon encountering a wide range of circumstances that demand varying degrees of social interactions. The controlled environment that they are exposed to as children, will soon assume an unpredictable undertone and it is pivotal to teach children the ways in which they can navigate through their interactions with people. Along with decorum, poise, and communicative skills; inculcating a sense of confidence in every child’s mind is very essential.
   
   Children need to be reminded that partaking in a meaningful interaction involves voicing out their responses confidently. Furthermore, every child must be taught to remember their individual right to make a choice. Studies point out that, both social and shy kids are fully capable of cultivating people skills that enable them to engage in mandatory interactions with the same levels of confidence.
   
   
2. 2. Prioritizing Growth and Safety – Amidst the numerous distractions and choices that are at every individual’s disposal, misplaced priorities and the dearth of personal safety are being cited as probable conflicts in today’s youth by social psychologists. Children need to be taught while they are still young, to recognize the importance of focusing on their own growth and personal safety.
   
   
3. 3.Transparency and Responsibility Where Money is Concerned – Post ten years of age, children are cognizant about money, the transactional role money plays, and the value associated with the same. Finances as they may not be a very popular topic of conversation with kids, the benefits of being aware of the dynamics that revolve around finances are key to inculcating transparency, accountability, and responsibility with respect to the sensitive subject that it can become. More often than not, the subject of budget is not touched until children reach an age after which the significant values associated with money get lost. Cultivating a healthy idea about finances while still at school may benefit the child in the long run.
   
   
4. 4. Making a Mistake is to Make a Note On What Not to Do Henceforth – Children can get disheartened when they make a mistake and some kids, more than others, may react rather sensitively. It is important to remind children that making mistakes can make room for a lesson on how to ensure that the same mistake is not repeated again.
   
   
5. 5. Time Management – To teach a child that time does not wait for anyone may be one of the most important nonacademic lessons; a lesson that is closely related to the lesson that marks the stark difference between the child’s reality and the reality of being an adult. A whole host of conversations can further be encouraged in the light of teaching children the importance of time. Among other things, managing one’s time accurately can help one avoid stress and aid one in mapping out an efficient plan of action.
   
   
6. 6. Empathy and Compassion – Kindness is an important value and a one that may never lose its luster. Kind children are documented to be emotionally self-aware and adapt to change with little or no difficulty. Today’s world seeks empaths and compassion can be both cultivated and harnessed with time. Empathy and compassion directed at fellow human beings without discriminations, animals, and places/cultures is an extremely significant lesson that needs to be taught to children at the school level.
   
   
7. 7. Team Spirit – To work within a team may become a professional requirement once the child is an adult. To complete a given task or in the given work environment, one may have to work with an individual who may not be a friend. While at school, teamwork can assume the role of play since peers at school are associated with friendship. The value of team spirit when taught for its human and practical credibilities; the child grows into an adult who appreciates the spirit of working within a group.
   
   
8. 8.Taking an Unfavorable Situation with Stride – Unfavorable outcomes can sometimes lead one to hold back from trying again. Children who are taught to take their lows with stride recognise that an unfavorable outcome is not the end of the world and it is important to reiterate the significance of retaining a sense of balance at both the bouquet and the brickbat.
   
   
9. 9. Encourage Co-curricular Activities and Hobbies – Inherently, some children may have a flair that they could benefit from harnessing. Investing time into co-curricular activities and maintaining a steady relationship with a hobby has statistically proven to positively impact one’s sense of identity and happiness. Creative and imaginative unlocking renders possibilities with respect to pursuits and enables the retention of curiosity. Children who are encouraged to invest time into hobbies and co-curricular activities.