Soft Skills
Soft skill are abilities and character traits that enable a person to relate well with people and create a conducive environment for everyone around them. They are not seen but are strongly visible in their impact. In an inclusive school, the school administrator or the school head would set pace of inclusion by leading and working collaboratively with staff for inclusion. Such a school head leads by example and ensures that the school policies and actions of people propagate inclusion and air of inclusive sweetness flows from top to the bottom and is observable in the environment and felt by everyone around.
Inclusive school administrators are open minded, accommodating, caring and supportive in many ways such as by allocating resources for teachers’ school based professional development on inclusion and adapting curriculum and other resources to support learners with disability without neglecting other learners in the school. They sensitize everybody about inclusion in school assembly and other school gatherings including parents and Board of Management meetings. Care and concern will be extended to all children with and without disabilities and everybody in the school including teachers, support staff, parents and visitors to the school. Everybody develops a sense of ownership of the school.
The soft skills are also visible in the teachers’ attitude to their teaching profession and the students they teach. They will be caring and ensure that they teach in a way that each learner learns happily and engaged in learning. The teachers work collaboratively with colleagues and freely share ideas and freely ask for help when in need which they freely accord each other. The teachers will be caring and seek to understand the learners as individuals and address their needs as individuals. They will be mentors and counselors of their learners, work diligently and enthusiastically with their learners and remove barriers to learning in their classes. They will be kind, c fair and emphatic to the learners. Soft skills will be also be visible in the learners. They will look happy,confident, healthy obedient, of good character supportive of each other including those with disabilities; focused on learning and participating in their school activities.
Looking at the school physical environment, you will see it is adapted to accommodate everybody. There are ramps and rails to support use of wheelchairs and walking canes, the toilets will be adapted for use by children with and without disabilities and are kept sparkling clean. The general environment is clean, secure, comfortable and inviting; there are shady trees in the compound, neat lawns, well maintained buildings, hand washing points with soap, meals and transport or accommodation are available to ensure all are healthy and able to learn. Paying a visit to the school is a positively memorable occasion. Soft skills have positive impact.
1. What other soft skills do you think should characterize an inclusive school?
2. Share your experiences of an inclusive school you Know
How would you your school or institution embraces soft skills1. Flexibility in the way the school and class progammes are carried out to accommodate those with special need another soft school.
2. In my institution specifically with student teachers I assessed during Teaching Practice early this year I noted that, the 3 without disability were very supportive to teacher with visual impairment (hope I have used good language). They walked around with him at the middle just in case he need support. They used kind words and you would have thought he was just like them. One of them has been his aid since they were in first year up to now when they are finishing 3rd year. He has always been on his side. I will follow up and interview him and commend him for being an inclusive student teacher.
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Soft skills form a great part of the 'silent curriculum' and dictates a school's tradition. There is a saying that a fish starts rotting from the head, so it is true Florennce that if the top mangement has the desired soft skills everybody in that school will definitely embrace inclusivity.
Unfortunately the bureucracy in higher institutions of learning can overshadow soft skills and it feels like its a case of every man for himself.
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Thank you Florence for a comprehensive summary of the soft skills.
Use of pro-inclusion language could be another soft skill.
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Thank you David and Rose. Soft skills keep us working. Let us think about adjectives to describe soft skills: You might think about trust, team building, self esteem, teacher commitment, willingness to learn, supportive.
Let us now discuss an occasion you experienced somebody use soft skills or fail to use them
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Thanks Florence, in case I have overlooked, patience would be a good addition to your comprehensive list of soft skills. Reason being patience allows everyone to recognize that the path to inclusive schools is a process and so it will require patience towards persons who will require a little more time to buy into new ideas for positive growth.
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other soft skills that should characterize an inclusive school are an open door policy to parents and other stake holders, allowing their voice and participation in all aspects of schooling and learners participation in meetings and general decision making
An Inclusive school i know consists of parents who actually see their learners school as their own and invest time, skills and money to ensure its success. on any given day parents are seen on school compound just as busy as the teachers engaging in numerous activities.
I embrace soft skills fully and believe, little by little these attributes or attitudes will be embraced by all, with fellow teachers being the 'toughest link to break'
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Thank you Nadine for an elaborate contribution on soft skills.
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Soft skills makes the workplace more workable. It includes our personalities and general attitude which either motivates or demotivates individual in the environment.
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Very true Neisha. Soft skills make working environment conducive.
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Tone of voice and body language of teachers can also characterize an inclusive school. The tone and body language in which a teacher addresses a child at times has more influence than what is said.
Soft skills to me is the backbone of an inclusive school for is sets the ethos and culture of what inclusion is about by adapting all areas, (physical, social, emotional) so as to ensure that each child is reach where ever he/ she is at, disabled or not.
I would engage in some introspection to ensure that my attitude is of sure that shows caring, kindness and the learners are happy and comfortable in the learning environment.
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