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Is it possible for teachers to guide leaders in instruction? Can they encourage your children to become leaders in the future? Well, the first thing you can do in forming your children to become leaders is changing your own education paradigm. "Why is there a need to change from your paradigm right now?" Most of you attended a public or private school. Those schools are like a factory where your kids start in kindergarten progressing to first grade, much like a conveyor-belt system. Everybody learns the same thing at each grade level or should I say each station on the conveyor-belt. Your children are told what to read, believe and think. Even if classics are introduced, it still makes no difference. The classic approach in a conveyor belt model still makes your kids think about what they've learned at school, but not to think beyond that. Too often, teachers lecture and "force-feed" information to their students. Please know I do not believe lectures are bad; they have a place. But too often, teachers lecture, telling their students what to think about the readings. Later on, tests are given to determine if the student knows what the teacher thinks about the readings, not what the students discover about the readings. John Gatto says it well. After you fall into the habit of accepting what other people tell you to think, you lose the power to think for yourself. John Taylor Gatto, A Different Teacher, 2002 When you are continually being force-fed with information, you start to become dependent and have difficulty in thinking for yourself. To become future leaders, it is important to modify your education paradigm that you use with your children. Are you like the teacher who requires textbooks for every learning activity? That's one way of developing your child to become a follower. Everyone thinks students are not knowledgeable enough to evaluate a particular topic so they depend on the textbook to explain it. Too often, students just learn to read and master only what the textbook wants them to learn. This type of education is very limiting to the student's capability to think and learn. Stop and think for a while. Schoolbooks offer questions. If your child can answer them, he can go on to the next grade level or conveyor belt station. These types of learning do not promote thinking outside the answers. You become highly trained but not highly educated. Leadership education takes a different approach to curriculum. One of the essential elements of leadership education is teaching how to think. I don't think your children should complete their education and not know how to think on their own. Shifting your educational model from "what to think" to "how to think" can be a major change in your life. Below are some practical ways to set a foundation for this type of education by starting with yourself. As you develop your children to think, you may see some changes happening in your household This new type of education involves the whole family and binds them together so it takes a little time of adjustment. It may first take a toll on the parent because all the effort begins from you. It's not as easy as handing them books and telling them to start learning and thinking. Those textbooks only serve to teach them "what to think", not prepare them "how to think" for themselves. How do you get your kids to know "how to think". Believe it or not, you should start with yourself. As you begin your education as an leadership educator and as a parent, begin reading one classic. Choose an interesting one. If you need help choosing, get a classic list that is tailored for young adults. After that, get another one until you've read four or five classics. With this, you're on a fine path to leadership education. When children see you, their parents, learning and studying, they'll have a new outlook on what learning is like. They will get as excited as you are about what you are learning. With that said, share with your children what you are learning right now. After reading four or five classic books, incorporate a writing session. Keep a reading journal at your side when reading the sixth one. Write what you think about the classic and then share it with someone. Sharing your insights with others is vital to becoming a leader yourself, so model this for your children. On to your own children! When starting with your kids, read aloud a classic together. The first one should be for enjoyment purposes only. If they are not used to it at first, its better to read several before going to the journal making and discussion part.If you think they are ready, request them to write in their special journal after each reading. Next, start a discussion about what your children wrote. Francis Bacon said, "Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man." The foundation of good instruction which is reading, writing and discussing is a good way to develop your kids into being able to think on their own. It is absolutely essential that your children, the future leaders, be able to think by themselves and one of the best ways is to get them to read, write and discuss classics.
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Kerry Beck has been featured in magazines and radio shows and would like you to discover the best leadership education homeschool curriculum by giving you a special report, " What Is Leadership In Education "?
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