Teaching students 21st Century Skills are important to help them become all-around better people who are citizens that contribute to the world. But teaching them the habits of mind skills are also important for people because having these skills will allow for further development of critical thinking skills, having flexible thinking, learning to work through problems and challenges without giving up, as well as collaborating with others. As I have seen in the workplace and on the sports fields, collaboration is key to success in working with others. Also, I have seen when people cannot use flexible thinking to help them when they approach problems, and this inflexible thinking can lead to more difficulties. Being able to persevere through difficulties can help students become better at coping with life’s problems as well and can help build resilience.
