6 Vital Skills That Aren't Often Taught in School

You may have heard teachers and other parents talking about social and emotional learning. Some of you may even be fortunate enough to have your child in a school where these skills are taught. But most of us aren't so lucky…and yet, social and emotional skills are vital to a child's success in life.

What do I mean by social and emotional skills? 

1. Empathy and kindness

2. Perseverance and resilience

3. Gratitude

4. Mindfulness

5. Emotional intelligence

6. Community involvement

These skills are important because they help children bounce back from difficulties, get along well with their peers, teachers, and family members, and become loving, caring, and involved members of their community. In my book, that's just as valuable as understanding math facts and how to read critically.

But so often, schools don't have the time or resources to teach these skills, and if they do introduce them, it is often done in a discrete unit rather than as a long-term project throughout the year. (Anyone remember warm fuzzies and cold pricklies?)

I'd like to share a resource I found on social and emotional learning that provides many videos and articles that can help you introduce or reinforce these topics.

And you don't have to do it alone: I am passionate about teaching these skills to children and I am happy to incorporate them into our tutoring and coaching sessions. If there is a particular skill you'd like your child to develop, please let me know.

Tags: 

social emotional learning mindfulness empathy kindness resilience gratitude emotional intelligence

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