FYI@Librarian: Social Skills for Students

Wednesday, September 11, 2019

Social Skills for Students

Social Skills for Students

HAMEEM KHAN TEACHING children more than just the academic curriculum has become more important than ever in today’s society. It’s not fair to expect them to behave or relate well with other children or adults.

These social skills also need training and practising just like any other skill taught in school. Here are a few strategies in this direction: Leading by example After parents, teachers are the biggest infl uence on children.

Both parents and teachers therefore need to style their behaviour in such a manner that the child easily takes on them. Modelling the right values will automatically instil those very values in their behaviour. For example speaking to the children with kindness and respect, being patient with them and apologizing to them when you are wrong will help them to understand that this is the behaviour that they should cultivate for themselves too.

Education of values Teachers could instil the right values in children by teaching them about it. By focussing on one value every few weeks and involving the students in them is a good method.

They could do so by reading stories with morals, showing pictures of great personalities, sharing motivational stories etc. will help the kids to idolise and follow the great personalities and their positive traits.

Make the children responsible Preaching is one thing and making the kids practically practice it is another. By making children responsible for their actions, you will be directly involving them in practising good behaviour. By making children share their ti .• boxes, teachers are instilling the ‘ sharing is caring’ quality in them or making the older children responsible for teaching ‘ spellings’ to the younger ones will make them feel responsible for those who are younger than themselves.

Training up the older children to become play leaders, referees or coaches will make them learn strategies for dealing with friendship issues, arguments and anger.

Channel energies in emotional development These days, the curriculum is so demanding that there is no time left for value education. But it is important to prioritise the teaching of social skills. Relaxation and mindfulness is also something that has an incredible impact on children, particularly ones who may have quite stressful home lives.

Communication is the key It is important to keep the communication channels with children open. Both parents and teachers need to keep talking to develop the way they deal with confl icts and behaviour incidents.

Spending time with the child, helping them to understand the e . ect that their behaviour has had on other people and helping them to think of a way that they can make things better will help them grow into responsible adults.

Teaching social and emotional skills The opportunities for developing social skills are everywhere and it is essential to prioritise these skills to see the children grow in character. The rewards are massive.

If we can train our children to be kind and respectful to each other, to resolve confl icts positively and to support each other, than parents and teachers have done their job perfectly.

Children can be taught how to behave socially with some theoretical and practical lessons.

Read on to know how… Learning to behave Research has shown that children’s learning is infl uenced by a range of social and emotional factors. How well children do at school is a ‑ ected by things such as:

1. How confi dent children feel about their abilities.

2. How they are able to manage their own behaviour e ‑ ectively

3. How they can concentrate as well as organise themselves

4. Their problem solving ability.

5. Their positive attitude with their peers and adults.

6. How receptive they are to others needs.

7. How they can handle responsibilities.

Social Skills for Students

Source | Mid-Day | 11^th September 2019

Regards

Mr. Pralhad Jadhav

Master of Library & Information Science (NET Qualified)