March 25, 2008
The Best Leadership Education For Your Child
Leadership education is about teaching children not only how to think, but also how to be leaders themselves in every aspect of their lives, whether it's at home, in the community in government, and in business.
Does this sound like the kind of education you'd like your child to benefit from? I know I want my children to think outside the box.
Throughout history, the greatest thinkers and leaders have been taught using a mentors and tutors in their homes.
As the students' education progressed, they moved on to prep schools. Continuing through the mentor approach, they would study the classics.
The mentoring system created the best leaders in the world. Sadly enough, today's Americans usually think of professionals and specialists when they think of leaders. These specialists are rarely leaders.
Today, our nation is mostly filled with people who would rather be followers. They either ignore or don't even notice the system's problems. If the next generation is going to be any better than this one, we need to teach our children to be great leaders who can make a difference.
There are four important components in leadership education: Mentors, time, and classics.
When we say "time," we mean the students need enough time to learn. In order for your child to learn, it's important to have some kind of structure. Older students may need education 5 days a week for 5 hours a day or so.
This is enough time for young students to do their reading and studying. Younger students need less time.
We are going to combine mentoring and the classics. Leadership education consists of discussing the classics with mentors, which is part of learning how to think.
It is essential for the mentor to read the classic that the student is reading. Both student and teacher should keep a reading journal by writing about key ideas.
You might choose to begin the day with an hour long math lesson. You might move on to writing or having a mentor discussion for another hour. In between, you could do studying, free reading, and experimentation.
For centuries, this type of learning has been the means for acquiring knowledge and skills needed for leaders.
With leadership education, you will be encouraged to find a mentor who can read and study the classics with your children. Although most people are familiar with certain literature and history classics, there are classics for practically all subjects.
Even math and science has classics, such as Newton's Principia Mathematics. No, you don't have to start your child on this book, but when it's time for a good classic in mathematics, it's worth trying.
If you want your child to think logically and clearly, leadership education will provide the foundation. If you plan to mentor your child, you must be certain that you are a great thinker and learner yourself.











