siliconindia | | October 20198IN MY OPINIONThe role of education is to prepare our future generations to take their rightful place in society as future learn-ers, professionals and citizens. Yet, there is often a fundamental mis-match between the skills students are taught in classrooms and those they will need to function effectively in the wider world. Take for instance; a recent study conducted by a lead-ing research company named You-Gov found that less than one out of every five surveyed employers con-sidered graduates as `work-ready'. To the contrary, most employers re-ported graduates as lacking key em-ployability skills such as teamwork, communication and the ability to cope with pressure. In another sur-vey, more than 60 percent of bosses claimed that graduates were unable to handle customers professionally, while 50 percent said that graduates were not equipped to independently take charge of their professional du-ties. This is worrying, because many of these skills are vital not just for our children to earn their place as competent profession-als, but to take advantage of the many opportunities presented to them in the wider world. For far too long, students have been taught with an almost ex-clusively razor-sharp fo-cus on exams, without due consideration to the kind of transferable skills they will need once they exit the world of academia. With the world evolving faster, and workplaces becoming more com-petitive than ever before, it becomes especially important for educators to equip students ­ especially those preparing to undertake further educa-tion or to enter the workforce ­ with key life skills, so that they are better equipped to face the challenges that the future has in store for them. Key among these are ­ · Seed Emotional Intelligence: Emotionally intelligent children eventually grow into well-adjusted, strong and self-aware adults. To teach your children emotional intelli-gence, begin by first acknowledging their perspective and com-municating empathy, even if you do not necessarily agree. Accepting a child's emotions, rather than denying or minimiz-ing them, enables him/her to accept the emotion, resolve their feelings and move-on. In the long term, this teaches children to self-regulate their own emotions and allows them to move-on to the next step, namely problem-solving. · Impart Critical Thinking: Facts and figures are important, but not enough for the bulk of children's education to be centred on memoris-ing data. Children must also learn to think for themselves ­ to use evi-dence, logically evaluate available information and form their own opin-ions. This will play a crucial role in their higher studies as well as their By Dr. Sujatha Varalwar, Health & Lifestyle CoachDr. Sujatha is a professional Pathologist, Health and Lifestyle Adviser (Coach) and a professional Nutrition Consultant.COACH THE LIFE SKILL SPIRIT: HOW TO IMPART VITAL LIFE SKILLS IN GROWING CHILDRENDr. Sujatha Varalwar
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