Brené Brown is an absolute genius. This video really demonstrates a lot of things and yes of course it made me reflect on my own compassion and what I allow myself to feel and what I don't but it also holds a mirror to what is often deemed in the education world "soft skills." And those soft skills can be defined by what Ms. Brown was discussing, the idea of empathy, compassion, and courage. We often to do not develop these skills in our young people because they are the "soft" skills the skills that come secondary to academic skills. I would argue that in order to truly learn in authentic ways we need to first have the courage to do so. And in that there needs to be work surrounding students and their identity. All identity work requires vulnerability and even if its internal vulnerability it is still asking us to be in a state of weakness which is often uncomfortable but wholeheartedly necessary. Ms. Brown goes on to discuss joy and that in the work of achieving joy, love, and belonging we need to be courageous enough to do that And courage is defined by vulnerability. These are not soft skills, they are the necessary skills.
