Relationship Strength Key for Kids

What do schools need to teach their students? We are on the cusp of a great global educational change and the question we need to ask is not what do students need to learn, but what do we need to teach them?

Most everything students need to learn either can or will be able to be learned online. If you doubt this consider the advertising done on television for online institutions of higher learning, or take into account that the largest college, in regard to student population, is Phoenix University. Instead of students conforming to a traditional model of education they appeal to the sector that wishes to have convenience and a customized education.

We connect with others through a web of relationships with our family and friends as well as our business ones where we work in person as well as with people online we never meet.

Relationship strengths are the application of character virtues such as trustworthiness, forgiveness, loyalty, consideration, thankfulness, flexibility, and dependability. I agree with Charles Barkley that the best role models for a student is their parents, however, we can display these qualities on a daily basis and hopefully students will try to imitate these behaviors.

We rarely teach students skills to promote long-term success in their relationships. We tend to believe that experience will be the best teacher. Children should know how to choose friends, act on teams, listen, give and take, forgive and accept. Children socialize on the playground, cafeteria, and ball games and we hope they figure it out on their own. We throw kids in social situations and hope for the best, experience has shown us that most workplace failures are the result of relationship breakdowns rather than inability to master the tasks of the job.