1. Teamwork
2. Problem Solving
3. Interpersonal skills
4. Oral communication
5. Listening
6. Personal/Career Development
7. Creative thinking
8. Leadership
9. Goal-setting/motivation
10. Writing
These skills apply to a wide variety of jobs far beyond those typically found in Fortune 500 companies, and indeed can be viewed as fundamentally important life skills quite apart from one's professional life. Yet, when one looks at how people use these skills in real life, it is easy to see that they are not separated out but rather are integrated almost unconsciously to respond to different situations in appropriate ways. You cannot work effectively as a team without interpersonal skills, the ability to communicate and listen effectively, and appropriate leadership. Creative thinking is indispensable to problem solving, as are the abilities to set goals and motivate oneself to personal and career development. That these, and other life skills, are so interrelated is one of the core principles of the middle school model.
In This We Believe, the National Middle School Association calls for successful schools for young adolescents to provide "curriculum that is relevant, challenging, integrative and exploratory." We are lucky at Stoneleigh-Burnham that our structures facilitate integrating disciplines, for example in Humanities, which features English and Social Studies skills, including elements of media and technology literacy, but also integrates the performing and visual arts as appropriate. This supports the mission and vision of the School. The course also reflects the great deal of crossover that exists between standards delineated by the National Council of Teachers of English and those outlined by the National Council for the Social Studies, from writing skills through media literacy to critical thinking and more. Additionally, our teachers have the chance to talk regularly about students and about curriculum. Research tells us that schools with teams and common planning time are 50% more likely to be high-performing schools than institutions without these features. When teachers visit each other's classes, share and discuss student work and rubrics, and meet to discuss connections within grade years and transitions from grade to grade, it is not surprising that students benefit. There can be much less duplication of effort, or even contradictions from class to class such as might be found in schools where teachers labor alone in isolated disciplines. It is thus much more likely that students will have the necessary skills in place for success at the next level.
Like many teachers, I have often had to endure listening to the truism the "schools don't prepare people for the real world." In point of fact, though, schools exist in the real world and are populated with real people living real lives. If we are able to collaborate and coordinate with each other in support of the girls who attend our school, integrating our curricula and helping students develop their skills in appropriate contexts, we will be able to go beyond preparing people for the real world or even mimicking the real world. We will be able to allow our schools - and most importantly, our students - to reach their potential.