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
We all know that when people post quotes or testimonials, it’s often a marketing device. But the truth is getting feedback, and especially stories, about Red & Black from others is eye-opening. And often what keeps Red going when she faces days of frustration (and piles of paper) with all the work associated with Red & Black being a start-up company.
Every time someone tells Red how her crisis, and how she learned to take control of her life, has helped them, it gives her a warm and fuzzy feeling. And how does Black respond?
Great quote. Save it somewhere. And, make a note that we need to create a form to make it easier for people to give us feedback — both positive and negative, as how else can we improve?
So, when creating the DON’T TAKE OUR WORD FOR IT section, we thought about playing off our tagline “real sisters. real life.” and calling it “real feedback.” Which, as most things do, got us on a (slight) tangent about “why” (Black’s favorite word) Red & Black is resonating with people. And, although that may become a post one day, it doesn’t change the fact that we love hearing from those of you who have experienced Red & Black because you speak from a place of authenticity and credibility.
Looking back (which Red loves to do, while Black prefers looking forward), if we had realized the journey we were about to take when Black turned Red’s crisis into a brand, we’d have saved all the feedback in one place. And Black would have probably used an Excel spreadsheet to organize it. Instead, we often find it when looking for something else.
It has come from “real people” who’ve looked to Red & Black for their own enjoyment, but also from individuals (educators and students) in education settings, as well as community and religious organizations. But some of the most eye-opening feedback has come from those in the criminal justice world – both on the “inside” and “outside”.
Sign up on the sticky bar at the bottom of the page to be one of the first to receive our feedback form, as we really do love hearing from you on all things Red & Black! Plus, it’s an easy way to get a little bit of Red & Black delivered to you every week.
Over the years (and much to our surprise), we’ve found that many of the ideas and approaches Black shared with Red to help her deal with an assortment of topics are resonating with people of all ages. (Red will be the first to tell you that Black sees things differently than most people … while Black just sees herself as extremely pragmatic.) It may be because many are what Red describes as "instantly actionable" items or “duh” moments. Others may simply get you to stop and think. But that, too, is a good thing. So, we created this LEARNING FOR LIFE section.
LOTS OF LISTS
Red will be the first to admit that she’s learned that lists for the sake of having lists is not productive. But over the years, we’ve been told our lists are often valuable checklists. Some were ones Black created for Red when she was going through her “crisis” (Red’s word, not Black’s), while others were created when we were teaching at KIPP Houston High School. But over the years, we’ve developed ones in response to conversations we’ve had with people, although Black may come up with lists just to get you thinking.
CONVERSATION STARTERS
People told us they’re using our sisterly banter to start conversations with others — family, friends, at work, and even in classrooms — so Black created CONVERSATION STARTERS. Each provides our perspectives but then lists some “leading questions” to get the conversation started.
We all have those days when we feel life is out of control, so we’ll continue to provide you with information and tools that we hope you’ll not only enjoy and find useful, but also want to share.
Technically, they’re weekly newsletters, but readers have told us they get them thinking — get them talking — get them taking action, so sign up on the "sticky bar" at the bottom of the page.
Shop, Social Media & Site — UPDATE!
RED & BLACK SHOP
We’re excited to announce we’ve finally opened the store and will be adding more items over the coming months. But it’s not about selling “stuff” … it’s about combining inspiring and entertaining messages (what we like to call “merchandise with meaning”) with items that are both practical and fun.
And, following a commitment we made years ago, everything is Made In The USA.
Please check it out at www.RedandBlackShop.com.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Not to brag, but our social media followers are growing faster than expected (except on Facebook, but that might be because we lost 4,500 followers … on purpose).
For those of you who use social media, we’d love it (well, Red would "love” it — Black would greatly appreciate it) if you could check us out — and if it’s not too much trouble … help us spread the word!
WEBSITE
It seems we keep saying our new and totally revamped website is about to launch. Well, we’re about to finalize all the library topics, which is the last major piece. That was a major project, and I’m sure we’ll tell you all about it, as it showed both the strength and weakness of artificial intelligence (AI) to review lots of data. But we’re almost there.
SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE …
The world is changing — and we’re all being inundated with opinions, politics, and misinformation. Add in AI, and more than ever, people are looking for authenticity and human intelligence. Or, at least, human connection. So, when it comes to Red & Black … what’s more “real” than real sisters?
We’re going to stay true to ourselves and continue to focus on content that will (hopefully) help people laugh, learn, and build community alongside us. (OK, there may be some eye-rolling at Black’s unexpected comments or Red’s “cluelessness” at times.) On social media. With our merchandise. In our newsletter. On this site.