10 Skills Every Student Should Learn

I read through this article this morning, and wondered what I myself would list and how I would rank them by priority.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2011/08/11/ten-skills-every-student-should-learn/

The list/order (which may not be a ranking) in the article was as follows. Some items seem to overlap, but it is a good list that includes many of the skills and concepts I try to prioritize in my college liberal arts courses:

Every Student Should Develop the Ability to...
1. read, enjoy reading
2. type quickly - 40 words per minute and use electronic media fluently to get/send ideas
3. write (meaningfully, persuasively in an organized, engaging way)
4. communicate effectively and respectfully (especially in situations of conflict, high pressure)
5. ask questions / analyze the quality of answers- Could you explain this again? What does this mean? Why is it significant? etc.
6. be resourceful - find what you need proactively, creatively
7. be accountable - be responsible/get things done
8. know how to learn - get needed info/ideas/help
9. think critically - evidence based thinking like a scientist, make decisions and solve problems creatively
10. be happy - have/get necessities + positive outlook on life

Also mentioned = Find one's passion for something, have global empathy, prioritize, put others before oneself, be persistent

I agree that all of the above are important, though "typing quickly" seems a bit too micro compared to the others. I would just include that under the ability to write or communicate.

I would probably put "The ability to learn actively and autonomously" (as opposed to passively/dependently) as the main skill students need to learn. Of course, that skill would include many of the other skills because effective autonomous learning requires the ability to find something one is passionate about, set priorites/schedules, ask questions, get needed resources, read, understand and evaluate the materials critically and communicate what is learned in order to get feedback/reactions from others.