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TOP TEN SKILLS TO MASTER BEFORE GRADUATING FROM SECONDARY SCHOOL
Life is full of surprises, some are pleasant while others are nasty. But the ability of the younger ones to nurture and master life changing skills are required for successful life in this 21st century society and workplaces. It is on this note that the secondary school students needed to develop and master these essential skills before graduating from high school.
Besides, the school is a cosmopolitan society of the larger world. It is a miniature society and citadel of learning to grooming the younger ones ahead of the challenges of life. It is unfortunate that hardly 50% of the students accomplished the essence of secondary school education before graduating.
According to the National Policy on Education (FRN, 2013); the broad aims of secondary school education in Nigeria are to prepare students to be useful living within the society, and also to prepare the students for higher education. The senior secondary school education is so comprehensive with a core-curriculum and extra-curriculum activities to produce a well-rounded education and quality students from the school system. This is the reason that it is possible for any high school leaver to function effectively as a leader of corporation or country if school actually passes through such students.
However, below are the top ten (10) skills that every secondary school student needed to master before leaving school:
1. COMMUNICATION SKILL: Communication is a critical skill that every student needed to master for personal and professional interaction. Communication entails effective and appropriate use of words to convey information and receive feedback. Communication skill enables students to share thoughts and ideas, ask meaningful questions and seek solutions to problems. A student also needs communication skill to be able to perform effectively in public speaking involving smaller group or larger audience. In order to develop communication skill as a student, you need to understand the basic grammars and improve on your vocabulary. You need to master the act of writing, listening, speaking and non-verbal gestures. You also need to understand that people have different ideologies and temperament. Therefore, you need empathy to understand another person’s perspective that will create win-win situations.
2. TIME MANAGEMENT: Time is not our friend and it will never wait for anybody or increase from 24 hours to 25 hours a day. Time management is the effective and efficient use of time to ensure productivity. We all have 24 hours in a day and how we manage it makes a world of difference in what we achieve. You need to model good time management habits by organizing your time using a simple timetable or a planner. You need to create a schedule and stick to it. You need to prioritize tasks according to order of importance and use your time responsibly without procrastinating. Developing a routine makes it easier to manage time, as the saying goes that: he who failed to plan, plan to fail. Besides, lack of organization is one of the factors that lead to poor time management. Everything should have its place and everything should be placed in its rightful place in order to avoid wasting time searching.
3. CRITICAL THINKING: Critical thinking skill cannot be over emphasized in decision making and proffering solutions to problems. This life is full of challenges and our ability to face such difficult moment is what keeps us going and makes us successful in life. This is to say that we need thinking faculty and ability to brainstorm outside the box in order to keep on moving and cutting edge in life. Critical thinking entails sound reasoning, generating questions and evaluating information to address issues. In order to gain confidence, you need to face your problem rather than run away from it. The first step to problem solving is to identify and pinpoint the cause of the problem by narrowing down the problem. Then develop a list of possible solutions to the problem. Analyze each solution to know the best solution that gives the desired result for effective decision making.
4. RESEARCH SKILL: Research skill allow you to gather new facts or information from different sources and use it effectively to achieve a goal through proper investigation. Research skill empowers you to collect and organize data that will be used in planning and decision making. Having a strong research skill will help you in your personal and professional life in gaining insight on issues and inspiring others to take action. Research skill makes you highly competitive; as employers value this skill because it helps a company to develop new products and improve on existing services. Keeping tune to information both online and offline in the library will help to develop research skill in the students.
5. COLLABORATION: Collaboration is working together as a team to achieve a goal by using individual talents and knowledge. Collaboration also entails working interdependently, learning from and contributing to the learning of others for a shared purpose in a wide range of environments. Since no one is an island or monopoly of knowledge, a great deal of information could be acquired and a wonderful task could be accomplished through teamwork. Starting up a group project and presentation will go a long way to acquitting the students to the fortune of collaboration.
6. COMPUTING SKILL: It is very difficult to get a meaningful task down in this 21st century without the knowledge of computer. Digital literacy is the use of technology like computer to assess, evaluate and create information. Computer has made work so fast and efficient. It is an indispensable skill for every student to develop before graduating from high school through home training or ICT class.
7. CREATIVITY: Creativity is generating innovative and new ideas to address issues. Creative skill enables an individual to synthesize various ideas or information and generate unique approaches or concepts. To be creative, a student needs to compare, contrast and think out of the box from available options.
8. SOCIAL SKILL: Social skill is very important for a smooth social life. Social skill helps in networking together to improve interpersonal relationship. Learning how to develop and maintain personal and professional friendships; maintaining a healthy family life; learning party etiquette; personal care and hygiene; and respecting individual differences are important social skill to master before graduating from secondary school.
9. LEADERSHIP: Leadership means influencing others to take action. Accepting responsibility, taking initiative and leading by example are key attributes of becoming a leader. Readers are leaders; a leader has to be versed with latest information. Being of service to others; accepting others the way they are without conflict; understanding human diversity; and respecting the opinion of others are leadership traits to be developed before leaving high school.
10. FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT: Judicious use of money is important skill to develop in the high school because money will certainly determine how comfortable our life will be. That is why financial discipline is an important skill to learn as a teenager in the secondary school. Making a budget and spending within the limit of the budget is essential to live a debt free life. There is difference between “needs” and “wants”; need is necessary, while want is not necessary. Students without financial intelligence struggle a lot at college and thereafter. Therefore, you need to avoid impulsive spending that is outside the budget. You need to develop the habit of saving before spending; and spending what is left behind.
In conclusion, as a student, you need to evaluate and rate yourself on how well you have able to master these ten skills, in order for adjustment, concerted effort and conscious improvement to be made while still in high school.
SKILL RATING:
- Communication 1. Poor 2. Fair 3. Good 4. Very Good 5. Excellent
- Time Management 1. Poor 2. Fair 3. Good 4. Very Good 5. Excellent
- Critical Thinking 1. Poor 2. Fair 3. Good 4. Very Good 5. Excellent
- Research Skill 1. Poor 2. Fair 3. Good 4. Very Good 5. Excellent
- Collaboration 1. Poor 2. Fair 3. Good 4. Very Good 5. Excellent
- Computing Skill 1. Poor 2. Fair 3. Good 4. Very Good 5. Excellent
- Creativity 1. Poor 2. Fair 3. Good 4. Very Good 5. Excellent
- Social Skill 1. Poor 2. Fair 3. Good 4. Very Good 5. Excellent
- Leadership 1. Poor 2. Fair 3. Good 4. Very Good 5. Excellent
- Financial Management 1. Poor 2. Fair 3. Good 4. Very Good 5. Excellent