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Leadership Education For Children

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Written by Kayley Kenzie

Monday, 24 March 2008

Leadership education instructs children how to think and prepares them to be leaders in all areas of life: at home, in the community, in business, and in government.

by KayleyKenzie

Leadership education instructs children how to think and prepares them to be leaders in all areas of life: at home, in the community, in business, and in government.

This is the sort of education that most parents would like for their children. I know I want my children to be innovative thinkers.

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 best leaders were made through the mentoring system. Unfortunately, the leaders most Americans think of are usually trained to be specialists or professionals. They weren't trained for true leadership.

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.

When the student is reading, it is just as essential for the mentor to read it. Ideally, the student and the teacher alike should write down key ideas in a reading journal.

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.

For successful leadership education, your child needs a mentor he or she can read the classics with. While most of us are somewhat familiar with classics in history and literature, it's important to remember there are classics in almost any subject.

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.

Leadership education will teach your child how to think well. If you plan on being your child's mentor, you must make sure that you are a great learner and thinker.

About the Author:

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