Parents of students at Kamehameha Schools Bishop Estate (KSBE) students received an email from Vice President of Education Dr. Holoua Stender, notifying them of new graduation requirements that would begin with the class of 2022.
A new set of unified high school graduation requirements for all three campuses was recently approved by the Kamehameha Schools Board of Trustees. These new requirements will enable Kamehameha Schools students across the three campuses to have access to comparable and consistent educational experiences, founded on the achievement of the E Ola. Learner Outcomes which will assist each student to grow toward realizing his/her full potential as good and industrious global citizens and servant leaders.
“I am sincerely grateful to nā Poʻo Kumu (principals) and nā Poʻo Kula (headmasters) from Hawai‘i, Kapālama and Maui for their incredible work in creating our first-ever set of Kamehameha Schools graduation requirements beginning with the class of 2022,” said Education Vice President Dr. Holoua Stender.
The new graduation requirements will begin with next year’s incoming freshmen class (2022). Students in the classes of 2021, 2020 and 2019 will continue to follow the requirements set forth prior to the new tri-campus graduation requirements.
The new requirements are categorized into three areas:
Nā Papa ‘Ikoi (core courses)
Nā Papa Mauli (electives)
Nā Mauli Hiwa (non-credit courses).
*Language requirement includes two years of Hawaiian language (Hawaiian 1 and Hawaiian 2). Students who pass a tri-campus proficiency test for Hawaiian 1 may earn placement in Hawaiian 2. Students who pass a tri-campus proficiency test for Hawaiian 2 may earn placement in Hawaiian 3. Students who attain proficiency in Hawaiian 2 via assessment, or by completing the Hawaiian 2 course, may choose to enroll in Hawaiian, or another language (e.g., Japanese, Spanish, etc.) and complete at least two years of their selected language to fulfill the language requirement.
As a part of Nā Papa ‘Ikoi and Nā Papa Mauli, students will earn 26 core and elective credits. In addition, all students will be required to take two years of ‘ōlelo Hawai‘i (Hawaiian language).
Stender stated:
“This emphasis on ʻōlelo Hawaiʻi conveys Kamehameha’s commitment to cultivating a strong Hawaiian identity, which we believe provides a competitive advantage for our haumāna and graduates.
For the Nā Mauli Hiwa requirement, students will participate in school-based activities which foster character development, cultural identity, college and career readiness, safety, health and well-being, and servant leadership. A notable component in this new educational experience is a culminating senior capstone project demonstrating how E Ola! Learner Outcomes become embodied in student-centered, personalized projects which enable haumāna to become local and global leaders, who are culturally engaged and play significant roles in creating strong ʻohana and communities throughout ka pae ʻāina o Hawai`i and beyond.
The approved requirements align Kamehameha to other independent schools, while also acknowledging emerging trends in college acceptance requirements. As haumāna explore their options for college and career, they will be confident knowing that Kamehameha Schools has prepared them with rigorous and relevant courses of study. Haumāna wil be equipped with skills, knowledge and values through our Hawaiian culture-based program of study which will prepare them with a unique growth mindset for learning and leadership in the complex global society of today.
Our kumu, administrators and operations staff continue to put their hearts and souls into creating wonderful and enriching educational experiences for your keiki. As always, I am grateful for their dedication to our haumāna and to all of you, for fulfilling the sacred mission that Ke Ali‘i Pauahi set forth for us 130 years ago.
Our campus staff will continue to discuss and review these new graduation requirements among their colleagues, department heads, and campus leaders, and will work diligently to prepare our haumāna as we take this important step forward.
More information will be forthcoming about the Hawaiian language proficiency assessment for incoming freshmen and their senior capstone project. This information will be sent out by your student’s campus. The new requirements and frequently asked questions are available online if you would like to see more. If you have other questions about the new requirements, please call your son’s/daughter’s counselor or the high school principal’s office.”
We, teachers, change the mindsets of self-doubters, instill a lifelong love of learning for many, care for the children of others as if they’re our own, and play a major role in creating all other professions. Yet, despite those superpowers, many of us have heard or uttered the phrase ourselves, “But I’m just a teacher,” when we’ve been encouraged to pursue leadership opportunities beyond our classrooms, schools or districts.
I’ll confess that I’ve used that phrase at various points during my career as an educator. While it might be difficult to determine why educators are often less confident in the value of their input, the self-doubt is real.
Perhaps it’s the perception that major policy decisions impacting students and schools often occur with minimum input from teachers. Maybe it’s the manner in which social media has a way of amplifying the most critical voices in any topic, including education. Or, perhaps teachers are feeling overwhelmed and fatigued from being frequent targets of criticism for issues beyond their control.
Regardless of the reasons, the voices of dedicated, creative, and solution-focused educators are often overlooked on issues that impact how they do their jobs and serve children.
Special Opportunity for Educator Input
As I’ve gained opportunities over the years to interact with individuals at the state and federal level concerning education issues, I’ve seen the importance of being in the position to share the stories of those who might not have the ability or opportunity to speak out concerning their interests. The Department of Education values and needs the input of those who interact with students on a daily basis. The School Ambassador Fellowship Program is unique because it gives teachers, counselors, librarians and other school leaders the opportunity to provide input and feedback on policy matters that impact their schools and communities.
Although Fellows will have differing goals and interests, the opportunity to hone leadership skills is a universal aspect of the program. I’ve been fortunate to work in numerous contexts as an educator – from preschool to teaching university students. Those experiences have been gratifying. Nevertheless, I’ve always questioned the lack of diversity in our teacher corps. Simply stated, there aren’t enough Black men leading our classrooms.
James Ford, Nathan Gibbs-Bowling, Abdul Wright & Kevin Dua – State Teachers of the Year for NC, WA, MN and MA – discuss their journeys as Black male educators.
Although I’ve had numerous wonderful experiences thus far as a Fellow, it has been extremely rewarding to do work supporting others who also have a desire to increase our percentage of Black male educators. Whether through work as a Teach to Lead critical friend, or as a presenter at the inaugural convening of Black Male Educators for Social Justice, the ability to develop my leadership skills while addressing that topic (and others) has been extremely rewarding. Other Fellows have addressed areas that represent their interests in education, like special education and career readiness.
Elephant in the Room
Let’s be honest. For any number of reasons you might feel that applying to represent teachers on behalf of the Department of Education is just something you don’t feel you can do. And, if your primary reason for applying to the Fellowship is based exclusively on how you feel about issues, it might be best to pursue other opportunities where you can impact our field. However, if you desire to be a voice for the students and families you support at the national level, consider applying. For me, the best time to be a true advocate for my students and my families is, always, right now.
There were 6 Fellows selected for the 2017-2018 cohort. Does that mean you have to be the BEST at something in order to be selected? Not necessarily.
Must you be creative, passionate and eager to contribute to conversations around improving the outcomes of all students? Absolutely!
Most teachers have those skills and many more to spare. They’re our local heroes. What’s your superpower? More importantly, are you willing to share it?
Editor’s Note: This Commentary is part of a special report exploring game-changing trends and innovations that have the potential to shake up the schoolhouse.
Read the full report:10 Big Ideas in Education.
I have spent many years working in education as a teacher and social worker, and it is clear that schools are no longer just a learning environment for young people. As the number of students affected by homelessness or living at or below the poverty level continues to increase, the demand for services for those affected also increases. Schools have become sanctuaries that provide food, warmth, and support, with a little education thrown in. The reality is that learning takes a back seat for a child whose basic needs are not met.
Shining a light on youth homelessness galvanizes districts to confront the prevalence of homelessness and begin creating solutions. Congress passed the McKinney-Vento Act more than 30 years ago, issuing landmark legislation that recognized a shared responsibility among community members to care for young people who live without safe and stable housing. And in 2012, the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness began a coordinated effort across federal agencies to end youth homelessness by 2020. Despite these efforts, homelessness continues to have a big impact on the academic and economic success of our students. Homelessness can contribute to students’ failing classes and affect their social-emotional well-being. For school districts, it can topple graduation rates.
About the Author
Kerry Wrenick is the state coordinator for homeless education at the Colorado Department of Education. Based in Denver, she was the president of the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth from June 2016 to October 2017.
It has been my challenge to find a better way to support these students to help them reach their full potential.
In 2015, I was the McKinney-Vento liaison for Kansas City Public Schools—which are located in the highest-poverty county in the state of Kansas. The community had nearly 1,200 identified homeless students and counting, and families were turning to our schools for help. But a lack of resources and funding to provide assistance compounded the problem. We couldn’t count on federal grant funds alone, which then rounded out to about $50 per student.
Read the full article here: May require an Education Week subscription.
Editor’s Note: This Commentary is part of a special report exploring game-changing trends and innovations that have the potential to shake up the schoolhouse.
Read the full report:10 Big Ideas in Education.
My career has been motivated by two questions: What underlies opportunity gaps in educational outcomes? And how can we use empirical insights to help close them?
My first attempt to use scientific evidence to improve educational practice was with a team of management consultants who were working with a charter-management organization to reduce class sizes from 25 to 23 students in secondary schools. I shared with them the landmark Tennessee STAR (Student Teacher Achievement Ratio) study, which found that class-size reductions improved academic outcomes for younger children but only when class sizes were reduced to between 13 and 17 students. The team quickly changed course in response.
About the Author
Lisa Quay is the executive director of Mindset Scholars Network. Based in Los Angeles, she previously worked at the Stupski Foundation, Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute on Law and Social Policy at the Berkeley School of Law, and the Bridgespan Group.
How easy, my 23-year-old self thought. All you have to do is put up a slide with facts, and people will change their behavior! I learned quickly, however, that “facts” are never straightforward, and data alone are never enough.
My understanding of this disconnect between research and practice has deepened in my work with Carol Dweck and Angela Duckworth and the 26 other leading scientists studying individual and structural factors that shape achievement motivation as part of the Mindset Scholars Network…
Read the full article here: May require an Education Week subscription.
By Donna Fletcher (Conference Coordinator, National Science Teachers Association)
As a parent, I recognize that I am my children’s biggest advocate and I work hard to make sure that they have the best learning opportunities inside and outside of the classroom.
When I relocated from Washington, D.C. to Florida, I struggled to find schools that were rigorous in their instruction, included strong community and parental involvement, provided a diverse selection of extra-curricular activities, and offered the support services my children needed. Eventually, I found a school that met the majority of my expectations, but that school was located in a different county. As a result, I relocated to an address within that area. With a background in education and familiarity with the District of Columbia Public Schools system (DCPS) through my older children, I constantly found myself comparing the materials being taught at my children’s elementary school to the lessons that were taught in DCPS over 15 years earlier. To my chagrin, my younger children were lagging far behind, academically.
Therefore, my search to find a more rigorous academic program led me to placing my younger children in a private, Christian-based school. However, I have found that while private schools promote a superior academic experience, in actuality, they lack more than they deliver. Academic rigor, community and parental involvement, extracurricular activities, and the passion needed to encourage the love of learning were all missing from the private school my children attended. Thus, my search continues.
The new national education law, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), gives more power back to states to determine their own academic standards, but provides several grant opportunities to ensure school districts are implementing evidenced-based interventions to improve academic achievement. Student Support and Enrichment Grants combine several programs from No Child Left Behind to improve academic achievement by providing all students with funding for improved school conditions, well-rounded learning, and efficient use of technology. Title IV, Part B of ESSA also provides opportunities for communities to expand or establish community learning centers, which provide a broad array of resources; including meaningful parent engagement.
Florida has updated its academic standards in an attempt to align them with college-and-career-ready expectations twice, since 2011; the most recent update occurred in 2015. However, Florida’s ESSA plan does not explain the process through which updates have occurred. Florida does attempt to emphasize a well-rounded education by including progress in science and social studies as an indicator of school success. However, Florida fails to include progress in English Language Proficiency (ELP) as an indicator of school success and will only provide assessment instructions in English; despite a diverse student population. Furthermore, Florida does not incorporate student subgroup (race/ethnicity) data in its school grading system. Student subgroup data will only be reported on school report cards. This process does not guarantee struggling subgroups will be identified and supported. Florida proposes to use a simple A-F grading system to identify underperforming schools. For schools that do not earn a “C” grade after two years, the plan calls for the schools to close or turn over operations to a charter or an external operator. While schools are held accountable for continued failure, as a parent, I am concerned about the impact on students who are enrolled during the two-year improvement period. Lastly, Florida does not explain how it will use the set-aside Title I dollars for school improvement or how the state will encourage the equitable distribution of funds.
Overall, while the plan clearly articulates its intentions, it provides little explanation for how the stated goals will be achieved. How can I, as a parent, get more involved and engaged to help advocate for my children? For my children, who are in the middle of the pack, how can they receive resources to accelerate their abilities to the next level? How does Florida’s ESSA Plan empower parents to choose higher-performing schools with very few available spots for students zoned to under performing schools?
Florida’s ESSA plan is not an all-encompassing document; specifically as it relates to the lack of information regarding explanations for funding, school accountability, and amended academic standards. The consolidated state plan should be viewed as one additional resource in the search to find answers and be empowered to impact our children’s education. As a parent, my goal is to support instruction received inside the classroom by fostering added learning through enriching opportunities outside the classroom and like all parents I want the best for my children.
Donna Fletcher is a mother to eight children, Conference Coordinator for the National Science Teachers Association, and a fierce parent advocate. Fletcher has a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from the University of the District of Columbia and a Masters in Human Development from George Washington University.
Washington, DC- The DC State Board of Education (SBOE) will hold its monthly public meeting on Wednesday, January 17, 2018, at 5:30 p.m. in the Old Council Chambers at 441 4th Street NW. The SBOE wants to hear the community’s thoughts on the proposed content of a new school report card that will provide the same information about every public and public charter school in the District. The school report card will contain two kinds of data: information that is required by the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and information that is important to the residents of the District. The public may sign up online to testify at this month’s SBOE Public meeting about the school report card. The deadline to sign up is 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 16, 2017. Residents who testify will have three minutes to provide their input and recommendations to the SBOE.
At Tuesday night’s SBOE ESSA Task Force meeting, representatives from the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) outlined updates to their content and format proposal for the new report card. Task force members reviewed the proposal and provided comments and recommendations. This proposal was based on feedback from State Board members, community members, and the members of the ESSA Task Force. Over the next few weeks, OSSE will work with the SBOE to finalize the content proposal with the intention that the State Board will vote on the proposal at its February public meeting.
At this month’s public meeting, the State Board will also honor the recently named District Tier 1 public charter schools and organizers of National School Choice Week with ceremonial resolutions.
Individuals and representatives of organizations who wish to comment at a public meeting may also submit testimony via email at sboe@dc.gov. Individuals should furnish their names, addresses, telephone numbers, and organizational affiliation.
The draft agenda of the meeting is below. Please note that the agenda may be altered, modified or updated without notice.
Call to Order
Announcement of a Quorum
Leadership Election
Approval of the Agenda
Approval of Minutes
Comments from the President of the DC State Board of Education
Comments from the State Superintendent of Education
Public Comment
2017 Tier 1 Public Charter School Ceremonial Resolution (VOTE)
National School Choice Week Recognition Ceremonial Resolution (VOTE)
2018 Committees Resolution (VOTE)
ESSA Report Card Recommendations
Adjournment
The DC State Board of Education is an independent agency within the executive branch of the Government of the District of Columbia that works to advise the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE), which is the District’s state education agency. The Board is comprised of nine elected representatives, each representing their respective wards, with one member representing DC at large, in addition to two student representatives. While OSSE oversees education within the District and manages federal education funding, the Board approves education policies, sets academic standards, and determines teacher qualifications. The State Board views its role in the achievement of this mission as one of shared responsibility, whereby it engages families, students, educators, community members, elected officials and business leaders to play a vital role in preparing every child for college and/or career success. More information about the SBOE can be found at sboe.dc.gov.
By Charlene Crowell, (Communications Deputy Director, Center for Responsible Lending)
AMSTERDAM NEWS — Mounting student debt is a nagging problem for most families these days. As the cost of higher education rises, borrowing to cover those costs often becomes a family concern across multiple generations including the student, parents, and even grandparents or other relatives.
Today’s 21st Century jobs usually demand higher education and specialized skills to earn one’s way into the middle class. In households where educational loans are inevitable, it becomes an important family decision to determine which institutions are actually worth the debt incurred. Equally important is the institution’s likelihood of its students graduating.
Higher education institutions that do not provide its students and graduates with requisite skills and knowledge become money pits that lead to deeper debt and likely loan defaults.
New research by the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) analyzed student debt on a state-by-state basis. An interactive map of CRL’s findings reveal on a state basis each of the 50 states’ total undergraduate population, for-profit enrollment, and the top for-profit schools by enrollment for both four-year and two-year institutions.
Entitled “The State of For-Profit Colleges,” the report concludes that investing in a for-profit education is almost always a risky proposition. Undergraduate borrowing by state showed that the percentage of students that borrow from the federal government generally ranged between 40 to 60 percent for public colleges, compared to 50 to 80 percent at for-profit institutions.
Additionally, both public and private, not-for-profit institutions, on average, lead to better results at a lower cost of debt, better earnings following graduation, and the fewest loan defaults.
“In many cases, for-profit students are nontraditional students, making sacrifices and struggling to manage family and work obligations to make better lives for their families,” noted Robin Howarth, a CRL senior researcher. “For-profit colleges target them with aggressive marketing, persuading them to invest heavily in futures that will never come to pass.”
CRL also found that women and Blacks suffer disparate impacts, particularly at for-profit institutions, where they are disproportionately enrolled in most states.
For example, enrollment at Mississippi’s for-profit colleges was 78 percent female and nearly 66 percent Black. Other states with high Black enrollment at for-profits included Georgia (57 percent), Louisiana (55 percent), Maryland (58 percent) and North Carolina (54 percent).
Focus group interviews further substantiated these figures, and recounted poignant, real life experiences.
Brianna, a 31-year-old Black female completed a Medical Assistant (MA) certificate at the now-defunct Everest University. Once she completed her MA certificate and passed the certification test, she found she could only find a job in her field of study that paid $12 per hour, much less than the $35,000-$45,000 salary that Everest told her would be her starting salary as a medical assistant.
She was also left with $21,000 in student debt. As a result, she has struggled since matriculation with low credit scores and cramped housing conditions for herself and three children. For her, public schools, according to Brianna, are “better in the long run” due to their lower cost despite having more requirements for attendance.
They came for the technology. And they stayed for the furniture.
In an instructional technology site visit organized by the National School Boards Association in November, 96 visitors from across the state and nation spent two days in the East Irondequoit Central School District. When the tours were over, some participants couldn’t stop talking about the variety of chairs – J-shaped scoops, cylindrical stools, oval ottomans, bean-bag chairs and movable foam benches.
“It’s just like the business world, where we’re seeing comfy chairs and flexible seating,” explained Nicole Charles, a fifth-grade teacher in the Rochester-area district.
“Kids can’t collaborate with each other when they are sitting in rows and desks,” said Superintendent Susan Allen.
In East Irondequoit, classrooms are busy – and often noisy. Instead of everyone listening to the teacher at the front of the room, individuals and groups are doing their own things. Students are interacting, both electronically and face-to-face, as they react to each other’s work.
Yes, there can be issues with control of the classroom. But East Irondequoit teachers told visitors that they just establish ground rules and expect students to follow them. When intermediate school teacher Jason DeJohn wants eyes on him, he says, “iPads flat on the desk.”
“The advantages have outweighed the craziness they brought,” said another teacher, Katie Van Eps.
With support from the University of Rochester (see On Board, June 12, 2017), East Irondequoit has become a champion of the idea that classroom technology can be used to tap into teachers’ creativity.
The NSBA site visit lent legitimacy to the 3,200-student district’s efforts to chart a path toward a style of teaching that district leaders and University of Rochester professors think all school districts will embrace, eventually. They call it “digitally rich teaching.”
The pedagogical concept is that once you put an internet-connected device in the hands of every student (called a 1:1 learning program), teachers will find new ways to teach that require students to use those devices in self-directed ways.
In a keynote address, Michael Fullan, the former dean of education at the University of Toronto, said the new paradigm is the teacher is a “lead learner” who is guiding students on independent paths of internet-aided discovery.
All participants received a copy of a 99-page book co-authored by Fullan called The Power of Unstoppable Momentum: Key Drivers to Revolutionize Your District. In its conclusion, the book states: “We know one thing for sure – you cannot buy your way into the future by adding technology … Pedagogy and culture drive change, and technology accelerates it – if you get the sequence right.”
The big lift is changing school culture, according to another speaker, Stephen Mauney, superintendent of the Mooresville Grade School District in North Carolina, which claims its implementation of a 1:1 learning program has led to boosting its high school graduation rate from 77 percent to 97 percent over 10 years.
“If it’s all top-down, the culture won’t change,” Mauney said.
East Irondequoit’s strategy has been to invite teachers to apply to take part in technological pilots, according to Joseph Sutorius, the district’s chief information officer. This has yielded a corps of teachers who are eager to try new things, then teach others, he said.
To get buy-in from everyone, including school board members, district officials have emphasized what Superintendent Allen calls the “social equity standpoint.” A former state Superintendent of the Year, she sees technology-enhanced teaching and learning as the best strategy to bridge the achievement gap between the economic haves and have-nots.
In a closing break-out session, district leaders were asked how confident they are that the initiatives on display during the site visit will result in higher student achievement after, say, 10 years.
“Our trajectory is sky high, in my opinion,” said Mary Grow, assistant superintendent for instruction. “I’m convinced in 10 years we’ll be a school to watch, no doubt.”
–Eric Randall is the Editor-in-Chief of the New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA)
Public education in America needs reform—and badly. There is an abundance of data showing the underperformance of our nation’s public schools. For example, the results of a major cross-national test, the 2015 Program for International Student Assessment, placed American students 30th in math and 19th in science out of all 35 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, an organization of the largest advanced economies. And the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress administered by the U.S. Department of Education found that a mere 40 percent of 4th graders, 33 percent of 8th graders, and 25 percent of 12th graders were “proficient” or “advanced” in math.
That’s not to say that all public schools are bad—quite the contrary. However, ineffective education tends to center in large, urban areas. When was the last time you heard someone say they wished they could move to Detroit to send their kids to that city’s public schools? It’s a pointed question—but the answer would be just the same if you said Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles, or Philadelphia. This is not a single state or a single school’s problem—it is a systematic problem for the entire country.
Consider this sad reality: Our nation produces technology so advanced that I could use the phone in my pocket—which is already three generations old—to take a video of you and email it to someone in London, but at the same time we can’t seem to teach a 4th grader to read in Detroit. Does this make sense? Why have we allowed this state of affairs to arise?
Read the full story here: May require an Education Week subscription.
Gary Wolfram is the William Simon Professor of Economics and Public Policy at Hillsdale College in Michigan.
Schools are under growing pressure to make sure that students are ready for work or job training, as well as college, when they graduate from high school. But employers say their young hires haven’t learned the reading, writing, and verbal-communication skills that are most important to a successful working life.
That gap between reality and expectations begs a boxful of questions about whether there’s a preparation problem and, if so, how to solve it.
Should K-12 schools add workplace-oriented literacy skills to their already-heavy lineup of classics like the five-paragraph essay? Who should teach young people how to write an environmental-impact report or explain quarterly business results to investors: High schools? Colleges? Or are such skills better learned at work or in job-training programs?
Surveys of employers paint a picture of discontent. Executives and hiring managers report that they have trouble finding candidates who communicate well. Good oral-communication skills, in particular, rank especially high on employers’ wish lists, alongside critical thinking and working in teams.
But do companies’ hiring struggles mean that K-12 schools, colleges, and job-training programs are doing a poor job of preparing students for work?
Some labor economists argue that the much-ballyhooed “skills gap” is caused not by inadequate career preparation but by companies’ refusal to provide the pay and training necessary to get the workers they need. And many educators argue that the primary purpose of schooling isn’t to create a jobs pipeline but to prepare young people to be informed, active citizens.
Education Week‘s new special report on literacy and the workplace won’t be able to resolve these arguments for you. But it can give you a glimpse of how some schools and employers are grappling with the workplace-literacy demands that young people face. Relatively few K-12 schools, it seems, are seriously exploring this kind of work…
Read full article click here, may require ED Week subscription
“But I’m just a teacher…”
Commentary 
They came for the technology. And they stayed for the furniture.
Schools are under growing pressure to make sure that students are ready for work or job training, as well as college, when they graduate from high school. But employers say their young hires haven’t learned the reading, writing, and verbal-communication skills that are most important to a successful working life.