Leadership Letter: Hard Truths About Soft Skills

Much is written today about the importance of soft skills for college and career readiness. These skills, such as self-management, communication, collaboration, goal setting and critical thinking, are held out as equally important to success in college and careers as academic preparation. Although few would reasonably argue with this observation, one aspect of addressing soft skills with our students in preparation for college and careers that sometimes gets overlooked is the effect of trauma and toxic stress on the physical and neurological development of children and youth.

While many articles analyze and encourage the acquisition of soft skills by focusing attention on the desired outcome, such as the expression of self-management to organize work, meet deadlines and resist the endless temptations and distractions afforded by the world to young adults, fewer articles deeply explore the complex reasons for the apparent lack of these skills among younger college students. Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and toxic stress have far-reaching negative effects on the successful development of the kinds of soft skills necessary for success in college and beyond. Therefore, any campaign to improve students’ acquisition of soft skills needs to consider and address the effects of ACEs and toxic stress.

Results from the Adverse Childhood Experiences study conducted in the mid-1990’s opened many eyes to the truth that we have less conscious control over many mental and emotional functions than previously believed – the kind of functions directly involved in the development and use of soft skills. The toxic stress created by adverse childhood experiences causes changes in the developing brains of children and youth that diminish the brain’s capacity for memory; mood regulation in response to conflict or challenging tasks; and executive functions related to attention, organization, problem-solving and decision-making – all functions intimately involved in the development and use of soft skills.

The mindset and behavior standards in the ASCA National Model are the very standards closely related to the soft skills identified by business and industry as those needed for college and career readiness. For school programs in general and comprehensive school counseling programs in particular to achieve these standards, we must pay close attention to the inclusion of activities and programs that support schools in the adoption of trauma-informed practices across all areas of the school’s operation.

As school counselors, we can provide an important leadership role among our school colleagues, communicating information about trauma-informed practices and the effects of ACEs and toxic stress on both student behavior and academic tasks. We can relate these to the underlying emotional and social processes involved with the development of the soft skills our students need to succeed in today’s college and career settings.

Contact Lyon Virostko, MSCA Middle School vice president, at virostkol@billingsschools.org.