Learning life skills

Coral Wilson

With graduation approaching, Huntington Beach High School seniors are

about to enter the real world. Jill Hardy’s students had just

completed the advanced placement economics exam they had spent the

year preparing for, so she decided to focus the day’s lesson on a

skill essential to her second job as a city council member --

networking.

Handing out name tags, Hardy instructed the seniors to adopt new

identities and new personalities. She asked them to gather

information such as full names, hometown, occupation and interesting

facts. Hardy had divided the class into three groups: modest,

self-absorbed and right in the middle.

What happens when self-absorbed teenagers meet? The room quickly

filled with the chatter of conversation.

“Do you believe in genocide?” Robert Wills, 17, asked his friends.

Wills, who had written Vladmir on his name tag, immediately and

dramatically fell into his role. Spewing an incomprehensible mix of

English combined with Russian imitations and a heavy accent, he

quickly walked away before his partners had a chance to respond. He

was in the self-absorbed group.

“They all have to die,” he declared to anyone who would listen.

Kristin Salaya, 18, introduced herself as a yoga instructor and

excitedly discussed fitness-related topics.

Against the wall, Brock Boyce, 18, stayed slumped in his chair and

then reluctantly got up.

“I hate this game,” he said and then announced with outstretched

arms. “I’m Tom.”

Spotting a group of his female classmates, he saw opportunity in

the class exercise and the game took on a new meaning.

“Everybody hug Tom,” Boyce said.

He pulled an armful of five girls toward him.

Hardy sent the students back to their seats to write everything

they could remember about their classmates’ new personas. Then, by

sharing the information, she demonstrated how those most successful

at networking were students in the third group who had balanced

giving and receiving information.

Too much modesty makes others uncomfortable, she said. And talking

about oneself makes it hard to get to know others.

“Some people need to take a break from talking about themselves,”

she said. “Believe it or not, even some people in this class.”

She discussed other tips such as shaking hands, which side to wear

a name tag and taking notes about new people to help remember them

later.

The tips, which she had learned in Sacramento, had become

essential in remembering the many people she meets as a council

member. She said she had spent six months trying to sell herself but

after obtaining the position, she found it hard to recall the many

people who recognized her.

“It is important to not only make sure that others know about you,

but that you also learn about them,” she said.

* CORAL WILSON is a news assistant who covers education. She can

be reached at (714) 965-7177 or by e-mail at

coral.wilson@latimes.com.