Feb. 24--The ability to communicate effectively is the single most important skill kids need to succeed in life, say the nation's grown-ups.
In a newly released report, Pew Research Center asked a random sample of 3,154 American adults to consider a list of 10 skills and answer the following question: "Regardless of whether or not you think these skills are good to have, which ones do you think are most important for children to get ahead in the world today?"
Communication skills topped everyone's list, regardless of the respondent's education level, gender or age. Reading came in second place across all demographics.
After that, in descending order, respondents ranked math, teamwork, writing, logic and science. At the bottom of the list came athletic skills, music and art.
One could argue -- and I, for one, will -- that fluency in music and art contribute to better communication skills. And exposure to athletics, of course, builds those vaunted teamwork skills.
But the survey strikes me as a variation on the internal tug-of-war that schools are forced to have, particularly here in Chicago, where Gov. Bruce Rauner's new budget proposal calls for deep cuts to a district already millions of dollars in the hole: We can't teach everything, so what's gonna go?
Usually athletics, music and art. I understand those decisions, even as I bemoan them.
For those of us with kids in our lives -- not just parents, but teachers, coaches, favorite aunts, trusted neighbors -- maybe it's worth drawing up our own list of skills to help impart.
What abilities do we use every day? What do we admire in our leaders, mentors, partners? What helps us succeed -- not just at work, but in our friendships, marriages, hobbies?
Maybe a few things will pop up that aren't on Pew's list -- or most school curricula. Like eye contact, a skill I'm constantly on my own kids about, in this age of Snapchat and text neck.
Which might be superfluous if, as I fear, they grow up in a world of bosses and friends and spouses who stare at their phones and grunt all day.
But it's one "communication skill" I know they'll have mastered when they come visit me in the old folks home.
hstevens@tribpub.com
