NEWS LETTER

202４ August

Edit and Issue

Improve Your Non-cognitive Skills.

HOKENDOHJIN- FRONTIER, Inc.
Human Frontier Counseling Center
4F Aoyama 1-Chome Tower, 1-3-3,
Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
107-0062, Japan
Tel: 03-6747-6250

Schedule a counseling appointment

０１２０－７８３－７４４
Office hours:(excluding holidays)
Monday through Friday１０：００～２０：００
Saturday
10：00～18：００

Non-cognitive skills have been a much-talked-about topic, and they seemed to bedrawing general attention lately. In the past, Japanese school report cards only had anumerical grade for each subject on a scale of 1 to 5: 1 is the lowest and 5 is thehighest. However, the current report cards assess each subject based on three
categories: “knowledge and skills”, “thinking, judgment and expression”, and“taking initiative in learning”. Each category is rated as ◎(Excellent), 〇(Good), or△(Poor), and an overall numerical grade is given. “Knowledge and skills” and “thinking,judgment and expression” are cognitive skills, while “taking initiative in learning” is a
non-cognitive skill. Many of you may find it greatly different from the report cards thatthey received at their schools.

E-mail :sodan@humanfrontier.co.jp※We will reply to you within two business days
after receiving your message.

©2016, 2024 HOKENDOHJIN-FRONTIER Inc.

You can also schedule acounseling appointment
through the LINE app.
（＊Reservations only.
Counselings are not available on LINE.）

On your LINE app, tap“Addfriends” → Tap the “QR code”
icon and Scan the QR code above toadd it on LINE.
Or, tap “Add friends” → tap“Search”, choose “ID”, enterthe LINE ID “@hfsodan” and tap
the search icon to add it on LINE.

Non-cognitive skills are, to put it simply, abilities that cannot be measured by testscores. These skills are not immediately visible and are associated with mind andsocial nature of an individual, including traits like motivation, perseverance,cooperativeness, and self-control. They are getting much attention now because
nurturing non-cognitive skills that guide us to value both ourselves and others isessential for navigating the current fast-changing society. Although our society placesemphasis on tangible accomplishments, people are also expected to demonstrate noncognitive skills. Some people may find it difficult to meet the expectation, wondering
how to respond to it and feeling at a loss.
How do non-cognitive skills develop? Plays in early childhood are known to promotevarious non-cognitive skills. Children have numerous opportunities to enhance noncognitive skills when they play with friends. Simple interactions such as saying “Please”
and “Thank you” help cultivate sense of consideration to others and cooperation.
Childhood plays present many opportunities to nurture non-cognitive skills such as
positive feelings, willingness to try more or try harder, a sense of accomplishment andself-confidence, and curiosity to learn new things feeling excitement and joy.
Also, it is considered that non-cognitive skills can be enhanced with appropriate
interventions even in adulthood because the skills are amenable to surrounding
environment. Therefore, it is important to establish a work environment whereindividuals can set realistic goals and gain successful experiences while payingattention to emotions of their own and others, just as they did during their childhood
play.
Reference: Excerpt from the article written by Masumi Hoshino (Lecturer, Faculty ofLetters, Meiji Gakuin University) for Asahi Shimbun Online Terakoya Asahi forTeachers

Counselor’s Oasis
Resting, as for me, means having a time by myself and doing whatever I want without worrying about time. It
may be sitting in a comfortable chair, looking around the garden, eating what I want when I want, taking a nap
when I get sleepy, playing the piano, listening to the music I like, stretching while walking, doing whatevercomes to my mind, and spending time without thinking about anything other than myself. When I spend time
like this, I feel refreshed, and once again can feel like “I can take it easy and do my works at my own pace.”