College-readiness efforts have often focused on getting more students
into honors courses, helping with applications, and providing career
counseling. But recent studies tell us this many not be enough. Grit, resilience, determination and learning to get along may be just as - if not more - important.
Education Week's Caralee J. Adams looks at the "soft skills" young people need to success in university
(selected extracts - for full article, please consult Education Week)
To make it in college, students need to be up for the academic rigor.
But that's not all. They also must be able to manage their own time,
get along with roommates, and deal with setbacks. Resiliency and grit,
along with the ability to communicate and advocate, are all crucial life
skills. Yet, experts say, many teenagers lack them, and that's hurting
college-completion rates.
"Millennials have had helicopter parents who have protected them," said Dan Jones, the president of the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors and the director of counseling and psychological services
at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C. "They haven't had the
opportunity to struggle. When they come to college and bad things
happen, they haven't developed resiliency and self-soothing skills."
"I see parents and teachers jumping through hoops for kids, but I wonder
if the kids are working as hard," said Susan Strickland, a counselor at
Harrison High School in Kennesaw, Ga.
A shift in mind-set in the college-application process is needed, says Ms. Savitz-Romer in her book Ready, Willing, and Able: A Developmental Approach to College Access and Success, (co-written by Harvard colleague Suzanne Bouffard).
Some nonprofits, such as the Chicago-based OneGoal,
are stepping in with a broader approach to college readiness. That
organization, which operates in 20 nonselective public high schools in
Chicago and six in Houston, hires teachers to work with underperforming
juniors and seniors during the day in a credit-bearing class.
Along with boosting ACT scores and managing rigorous courses, the
curriculum focuses on five principles of leadership: resilience,
ambition, resourcefulness, integrity, and professionalism.
"If you ask me which makes a bigger impact on persistence, I'd say
the noncognitive skills—unequivocally," said Jeff Nelson, a co-founder
and the chief executive officer of OneGoal, which focuses on college
completion.
For more see: Education Week
