1. 'We cannot not communicate'. Discuss.

‘We cannot not communicate’, a famous quote by Paul Watzlawick who understood that
communication is a big part of our lives; it happens all the time.
Paul Watzlawick was an Austrian born psychologist and philosopher who was best
recognized for his venture in schizophrenia, as well as his communication theory
regarding the five axioms-which described the functioning in interpersonal
communication. ‘One cannot not communicate is the first axiom in his theory. According
to him there is no way a person cannot not communicate and he was right. We are always
communicating; even the silence sends out a message. Verbal or non-verbal, even the
lack of action sends out a message. Silence may be a suggested message to the others.
When one fails to respond in a communication, that is still communicating something to
the others. This shows that no matter how much a person tries to not communicate, there
will be some form of communication going on. Every little behavior sends out a message,
regardless of whether it is intentional or not. Therefore, all behavior has communicative
value.

Since we humans communicate all the time, most of the time we do it as a matter of
course, without thinking about it. In our daily lives we talk, we listen, we write, we read,
we think- all this to share and manage our thoughts to be known to one another. Quite a
number of people may think that communication involves just speaking to one another,
they may not know that behavior and body language are also a kind of communication,
i.e. non-verbal communication.
Apart from talking and listening, other examples of communication in which we take part
are; we write in books; we read books, magazines, newspapers; we think to solve
different problems or challenges; we behave differently towards different type of
situations, we behave a certain way when someone or something makes as happy and a
different way when it makes us angry or mad; we communicate a lot when we it comes to
body language, most of the times it’s easier to tell whether a person is lying by observing
their body language, how they react to what you’re talking to them about.
What we wear, our clothes, also sends out a type of message to other people. When a
person dresses in expensive clothes, wearing expensive jewelry, whether the person is
truly rich or not, they’re clearly trying to send out the message that they are high up in the
economic status. In the work place, the way people dress can communicate a level of
professionalism. People intentionally or unintentionally communicate messages by the
way they dress.

We need to communicate to each other in order to work together and achieve our goals in
life together but due to poor communication we sometimes end up disagreeing with each
other. Poor communication between a parent and a child could lead to the parent getting
mad and giving unnecessary punishment to the child, the same goes to poor
communication between a teacher and student which may even lead to a child failing that
particular subject due to attitude problems that resonated from the earlier communication
problem. Communication is a very important skill in the world today and that’s why it
has been listed among the 21st century skills( which comprise of skills, abilities, and
learning dispositions that have been identified as being required for success in 21st
century society and workplaces by educators, business leaders, academics, and
governmental agencies. This is part of a growing international movement focusing on the
skills required for students to master in preparation for success in a rapidly changing,
digital society) we can’t do without.
2. Communication and collaboration is the first competence in the
21st century skills. Explain why.

The 21st century skills comprise skills, abilities, and learning dispositions that have been
identified as being required for success in 21st century society and workplaces by
educators, business leaders, academics, and governmental agencies. This is part of a
growing international movement focusing on the skills required for students to master in
preparation for success in a rapidly changing, digital society. Communication and
Collaboration are a part of what is known as the four C’s of the 21st century skills, some
of the most popular learning strategies in todays environment. The four C’s are:
 Communication
 Collaboration
 Critical thinking
 Creativity
Critical thinking is all about solving problems, while creativity teaches students to think
outside the box.
Communication is the process of sharing or exchange of ideas, information, knowledge,
attitude or feelings among two or more persons through certain symbols, signs or
behavior. Communication as a skill lets students learn how to best convey their ideas.
Effective communication requires students to speak their mind quickly and clearly so
others can easily understand their thought. It may require a student to understand how
they present themselves to their peers and how they’re perceived as well. As a result,
communication is the easiest skill to practice and the hardest one to master.
It is often taken for granted in today’s society. Today technology-based communication
has totally taken over the traditional based communication, such as writing of letters or
just talking face to face, where you could clearly interpret the message if it was not direct,
where you could get the tone of the other person and know what they’re saying or at least
the context of their words, today all of this has become harder.
In the age of text-based communications- SMS, emails, social media, etc.- it’s never been
more crucial for students to convey their thoughts in a way other people can understand
them. This is because it is harder to catch a tone in text, which is critical to understanding
the context of someone’s words.
With effective communication students can streamline their ideas and make a good
impression on people around them. They need to understand how to read and interpret
their different audiences so as to get the reaction and response they expect from them;
they also need to learn how to effectively communicate and work in groups, which brings
us to our next point-collaboration, which basically means team work.
Collaboration is the practice of working together to achieve a common goal. It is a skill
that teaches students how to work together to achieve a common goal because whether
they realize it or not, they’ll probably work with other people for the rest of their lives. It
is important because it gives students perspective on when their ideas are valid and when
they may have to compromise for the good of a project.
One reason why collaboration is important is the growing emphasis on project and
enquiry-based learning; motivated by research that shows that it has influential effects on
student learning and knowledge retention.
As compared to individual labour, collaboration allows for: an effective division
of labour, the incorporation of information from multiple sources of knowledge,
perspectives, and experiences and enhanced creativity and quality of solutions stimulated
by ideas of other group members.
Collaboration has been found to increase student’s social competency.
There is an increasing need for students to be able to apply their knowledge and problem-
solving skills in social settings. Other people don’t always have the same ideas as we do,
as we interact more with other people we realize that we have almost none of the same
ideas as others do- this can affect a student in either one of this two ways; one-discourage
the student since no one seems to be agreeing with his/or her idea or two- encourage them
because they realize they are bringing something unique to every conversation. It is
important for students to look at this situation in the second way.
Virtually every job requires someone to work with another person at some point even if
it’s to accomplish a very simple task. Practicing collaboration helps student understand
how to address problem, pitch solutions, and decide the best course of action. It can also
help them work on their self-esteem, self-confidence, which will build up their courage
when required to address a group of people.
Collaboration will inevitably happen in every student’s future career, so this is a crucial
skill to practice in readiness for their careers ahead in their future.

Communication and collaboration truly are the first competence in the 21st century skills
because they play a very important role in building up the character of a student.