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.

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.

When you look through history, you'll find that most of the world's greatest thinkers and leaders received their education from tutors and mentors at home.

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.

The majority of our nation is made up of followers who don't seem to have any problems with the current system. If the next generation is going to overcome this problem, we must teach them how to be the leaders that will make a difference in our world.

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 allows ample time for your child to study and read. Younger children won't need quite as much 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.

Both the mentor and the student should read the same classics. They should also both keep a journal, where they write down 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.

This learning pattern has existed for centuries, shaping students and equipping them with the skills and knowledge they need for leadership.

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.

There are even classics in science, such as Newton's Principia Mathematics. I wouldn't suggest starting out with this, but when the time comes to read a mathematic classic, try it out.

Leadership education will give your child the ability to think clearly and logically. If you are going to be a mentor for your child, make certain that you yourself are a good thinker and learner.

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