IS YOUR CHILD LEARNING SOCIAL SKILLS?
Students have always been social creatures, connecting to and depending on a tribe of some hundred others. Technology now allows people to belong to multiple tribes—students at the same school, friends on Facebook, colleagues on LinkedIn, fans on fan sites, gamers on massively multiplayer online games. In all of these environments, social skills are critical. Whether students are having a face-to-face meeting or are tweeting with hundreds of strangers, there are real human beings with real thoughts, feelings, and needs on the other end. And, as work environments become more collaborative, social skills are a key to success.
The best way for students to develop social skills is to collaborate with others. When students work together on a project, they have common goals and interests, they are required to develop social skills such as these:
- cooperation
- compromise
- decision making
- communicating
- using emotional intelligence
- using constructive criticism
- trusting others
- delivering on promises
- coordinating work
SPEAKING OF SOCIAL SKILLS, CAN YOUR CHILD READ SOCIAL CUES??
Does your grade-schooler have difficulty “reading” other people’s body language? Does she misunderstand what’s happening in social situations? Here’s how you can help your child pick up on common social cues.
1. Practice making eye contact.
2. Encourage attention.
3. Observe facial expressions.
4. Watch body language.
5. Explain what should happen in different situations.
6. Point out pitch and tone.
7. Practice inflections.
8. Practice role playing scenarios.