When Red first heard the phrase "soft skills" she didn't know what it meant. So, Black explained that it was a term used to describe essential skills, such as critical thinking and problem solving, communications, and conflict management (vs."hard skills" which refer to tangible and technical skills). Black then mentioned that the Texas Education Agency (TEA) often refers to them as "21st Century Skills" – sarcastically adding how she's old enough to remember they were important in the 20th Century, too.
The soft skill topics list below are important for students ranging from middle school to adult education, as well as all employees. That's why we included them in ALL of our Career and Technical Education curricula. What's more, unlike more traditional curricula, they've been developed to allow students to see the relevancy of each topic and how these skills are transferable – between their personal lives and the workforce, and from industry-to-industry.
But don't believe us, check out a few samples! We've linked the high school versions of Money & Math, Motivational Interviewing (Red's favorite because of the worksheet), and Teamwork and hope they'll give you a better feel for our approach.
- Introduction Of Red & Black … And Life's Detours
- Appearances
- Career Opportunities
- Communications
- Conflict Management
- Constructive Feedback
- Critical Thinking & Problem Solving
- Diversity
- Education
- Employability Skills
- Intellectual Property
- Interpersonal Studies
- Leadership
- Money & Math
- Motivational Interviewing
- Negotiating
- Policies & Procedures
- Project Management
- Relationships
- Resume & Professional Portfolio
- Rights Of Employees & Responsibilities Of Employers
- Safety
- Teamwork
- Technology
- Values & Priorities
- Vocabulary
This video contains one of our (OK, one of Black’s) favorite images and shows what happens when your big sister is in charge of presentation slides. Oh, if stuffed animals could talk! But it doesn’t matter what method of communication you use; what’s important is that you communicate!
Curious about the back story on this student-created video?
In 2012, the seniors at YES Prep Public Schools in Houston were reading our book, What I Learned About Life When My Husband Got Fired!, and we were invited to be the keynote speakers at their Senior Summit. The theme was "Life Is A Journey," and we used our own personal journeys, as well as the "story" of Red & Black, to talk about many important life lessons.
When one of the seniors, who wanted to pursue a career in media production, learned that YES Prep had videotaped the presentation, he asked permission to create a series of YouTube videos using excerpts from our keynote presentation. Of course, we were flattered and said, "Yes." (Thank you, Aurelio Puente, for asking, and for producing such great videos!)
The videos may be “older” (but, then, so are we), but the lessons are still relevant because life lessons aren’t tied to a year, a trend, or a technology. They’re simply part of growing up, moving forward, and figuring out life … one step at a time.
Stay tuned as we'll be posting more of Aurelio’s videos, along with newer videos — both live and animated. Or, better yet, register for our Saturday newsletters, and we'll keep you updated!
First, about the laughter in this video … it came from the audience of high school seniors — not a laugh track. What we find fascinating is that the creator of this video, one of those seniors, decided what should be in this video. You never know what (if anything) is going to resonate with audiences (especially students), and we were merely telling stories about how we wrote a book that was originally intended to be the basis for a sitcom ... but how life never goes as planned.
Curious about the back story on this student-created video?
In 2012, the seniors at YES Prep Public Schools in Houston were reading our book, What I Learned About Life When My Husband Got Fired!, and we were invited to be the keynote speakers at their Senior Summit. The theme was "Life Is A Journey," and we used our own personal journeys, as well as the "story" of Red & Black, to talk about many important life lessons.
When one of the seniors, who wanted to pursue a career in media production, learned that YES Prep had videotaped the presentation, he asked permission to create a series of YouTube videos using excerpts from our keynote presentation. Of course, we were flattered and said, "Yes." (Thank you, Aurelio Puente, for asking, and for producing such great videos!)
The videos may be “older” (but, then, so are we), but the lessons are still relevant because life lessons aren’t tied to a year, a trend, or a technology. They’re simply part of growing up, moving forward, and figuring out life … one step at a time.
Stay tuned as we'll be posting more of Aurelio’s videos, along with newer videos — both live and animated. Or, better yet, register for our Saturday newsletters, and we'll keep you updated!
Interested in learning more about our book — or buying it? Click here.
When creating this video, Aurelio, a high school senior, did more than answer the question “Who Are Red & Black?” What apparently stood out to him was not just that we were sisters, but that we had taken very different roads and faced different challenges, yet it was still one story. One with a very unusual family tree.
Curious about the back story on this student-created video?
In 2012, the seniors at YES Prep Public Schools in Houston were reading our book, What I Learned About Life When My Husband Got Fired!, and we were invited to be the keynote speakers at their Senior Summit. The theme was "Life Is A Journey," and we used our own personal journeys, as well as the "story" of Red & Black, to talk about many important life lessons.
When one of the seniors, who wanted to pursue a career in media production, learned that YES Prep had videotaped the presentation, he asked permission to create a series of YouTube videos using excerpts from our keynote presentation. Of course, we were flattered and said, "Yes." (Thank you, Aurelio Puente, for asking, and for producing such great videos!)
The videos may be “older” (but, then, so are we), but the lessons are still relevant because life lessons aren’t tied to a year, a trend, or a technology. They’re simply part of growing up, moving forward, and figuring out life … one step at a time.
Stay tuned as we'll be posting more of Aurelio’s videos, along with newer videos — both live and animated. Or, better yet, register for our Saturday newsletters, and we'll keep you updated!
Don’t Expect A Compliment From A Sarcastic Sister — But Have A Comeback