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Gino Perez Dr. Darlene Taylor Dixie State University Family Communication 3120-41 Soft Skills, Critical Thinking and Finances

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Soft Skills, Critical Thinking and Finances “I hate when people confuse education with intelligence. You can have a bachelor's degree and still be an idiot.” entrepreneur and business owner of Tesla and SpaceX Ellon Musk stated. Education is valuable however, there are some things that you have to learn yourself or at home. The three most valuable skills that can be worked and you do not need talent to improve on are soft skills, critical thinking and financial literacy, the earlier you work on your self development and improve these three skills the better you will be. This is why it is vital for families to teach their children these skills and how to improve on them so as they grow up and experience the real world, they develop confidence to succeed in their goals. Lastly, education is important in our children and families' lives. However, it is up to families and parents to teach valuable skills such as these at home so that they are prepared for the real world. Financial Literacy When I was 14 years old, I screamed at my mom and said, “this is not fair I will never have my own room!” She cried saying “I'm sorry I cannot afford it. I wish I could give you more.” My mom is very caring and struggled as a single mother to take care of my brother and me. As I grew up, I realized my mom was not financially literate and the home we were living was way over budget for our lifestyle in the first place. The trauma you experience when you are young and your exposure to financial literacy creates the lifestyle you will live in the future. When I reflect on the past and bring up things to my mother such as why we lived in an apartment and owned two Mercedes Benz, she explains to be her trauma as a child and how she lacks the financial education skills because of it. In the textbook Perspectives on Family Communication by Richard West it discusses Eriksen's theory of the stages of growing up and how it affects your parenting skills. From ages 13 through 19 it is important to build your identity and learn the different roles you play in your life. Since my mother was abandoned by her wealthy soul singer father Solomon Burke and her mother dying when she was 16. My mother ended up marrying young. By marrying so young while still developing her identity my mother only learned the roles of a

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loving wife and mother. This allowed my mom to grow to be a loving and giving person however, her reliance and codependence on my father and trauma from her upbringing caused a lack of financial literacy and personal growth. Without the proper financial education and guidance my mother lacked the skill of financial literacy and while raising my brother and I and she would buy more luxuries than assets which eventually would take from our needs. My mom is a great mother, but this is my personal testimony showing just how important it is to be financially literate and teach your children from your mistakes because in the long run it not only affects you and your lifestyle, but it can potentially affect your future children and their lifestyle they live for generations to come. Soft Skills Corporate partner Cengage of the American Association of Community Colleges surveyed 650 employers and found out “At least 65 percent of employers said soft skills are most in demand, while just 47 percent said quantitative skills and 50 percent noted computer and technical skills as their top priority.” (Ashford) this comes to show that education alone is not effective if you do not have the soft skills to adapt and apply it to the real world. Soft Skills are skills that can be worked on and improved in and outside the home which is beneficial because once we teach children these skills at home and in our families the better off they will be in the real world. The great thing about soft skills is they are transferable skills that can be applied and worked on anywhere. According to the oxford dictionary soft skills are defined as “personal attributes that enable someone to interact effectively and harmoniously with other people.” In other words, attributes that help you work effectively in a team. If you are still having trouble understanding what soft skills are, they are also referred to as, career competencies, executive skills and power skills. Basic leadership and soft skills are great because they can always be worked on and the sooner, we start implementing ways to utilize them at home the better you and your family will be. The book Leadership and Soft Skills for Students by Cary J Green discusses tangible ways to implement soft skills such as teaching and working on the ability to self-access. By self-assessing your strengths and

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weaknesses and understanding them the better you can improve yourself. Improving soft skills can vary from a range of things such as improving your mannerisms, professionalism, emotional intelligence, integrity, judgment, decisiveness and so many other traits so it is important that we teach children and families these skills and strategies to improve themselves, so they become successful as they grow. Critical Thinking Critical thinking and soft skills go hand to hand. In fact, critical thinking can be categorized as a soft skill. Many people think critical thinking is just thinking about your thinking however, that is not the case. When we utilize critical thinking strategies, we allow our mind to ask thought provoking questions helping us not only to learn material but internalize it with a deeper understanding. By practicing critical thinking, we become more open minded, creative and more effective problem solvers. Most importantly of all when practicing effective critical thinking we learn to be fair minded coming from an emotional intelligent and logical perspective when taking action. All together critical thinking, financial literacy and basic soft skills go a long way, but this is not necessarily taught in traditional school, so it is up to parents and families to teach these skills and traits to their children at home. Nelson Mandela stated “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” so it is up to us to work on our knowledge and critical thinking skills to make the world the better place. If every household works towards being a loving, understanding and productive home, we will be one step closer to peace.

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REFERENCES Green, Cary J. Leadership and Soft Skills for Students: Empowered to Succeed in High School, College, and Beyond. Dog Ear Publishing, 2016. Ashford, Ellie. “Employers Stress Need for Soft Skills.” Community College Daily, 17 Jan. 2019, www.ccdaily.com/2019/01/employers-stress-need-soft-skills/. Reeducation (Director). (2016, March 15). 5 tips to improve your critical thinking Samantha Agoos [Video file]. Retrieved March 18, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dItUGF8GdTw&feature=youtu.be Turner, L. H., & West, R. L. (2018). Perspectives on family communication. Dubuque: McGraw-Hill Education....