Social Skills Class Elective by Kayla

Social Skills Class Elective by Kayla - June 2025 Scholarship Essay

Social Skills class should be a required elective.

Many kids, especially those in elementary and middle school, struggle to appropriately convey their thoughts and feelings. This struggle to communicate often ends up causing hurt feelings and miscommunication. I believe having a social skills class, where kids learn how to interact with their peers, would greatly benefit not only neurodivergent kids but neurotypical kids as well.

Throughout my time spent in elementary and middle school, I often struggled to understand my peers and connect with them. I was eventually diagnosed with autism and moved to a specialized program that helped support my needs. Along with constant support, a social skills class was also required. This social skills class was greatly beneficial to me because it taught me how to fit in with my peers. This social skills class highlighted what was, and wasn't, appropriate to do in society and taught me how to treat others with respect. During elementary school I was often treated poorly by my peers and ostracized on the playground for just being who I was. I believe if everyone in my grade had taken this social skills class, the bullying would have occurred less frequently because more students would have been accepting of people who looked and acted differently than them. Overall making social skills a required class would decrease the percentage of bullying and help gain acceptance for minorities.

Another reason why social skills should be a required class is because it has later life benefits. Many kids have not and will never learn how to appropriately associate with their peers. Having a class that is required and teaches these vital skills would be a way for the kids who would otherwise never learn, to learn these skills in a safe space. Once they have learned these skills, they can use them for the rest of their life from interacting with peers and coworkers to job interviews. Statistics show that kids who have a higher degree of social awareness are twice as likely to go to college and 67% less likely to be arrested in adulthood. Social skills should be a required class because it sets kids up for future success.

Overall, Social Skills should be a required elective because it would decrease the percentage of bullying in schools, help students learn acceptance towards minorities, and help children to be more successful in life.