You know, I went looking for research on this before the essay and found little to nothing on the negative soft skills, though there is a bit of a movement around some of the other social aspects of school. And I tend to have a problem writing about solutions; it’s more fun — and easier — just to gripe.
But I’m thinking about it! And I do appreciate the suggestion.
It does seem to me that the first step would be to give agency and meaning back to students, but that is far easier said than done.