"What is your education paradigm?"



Most of us grew up in a public or private school, which can be likened to a factory. All the students come to the factory or the school. They start in kindergarten and move on to first grade, down the conveyor belt. At each stage of the conveyor belt (or grade level), the student learns the exact same information as everyone else. The students are told what to think. Even though the school may be using tools like classics, the school's approach to education only teaches students "what to think".

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.

How do you look at education? Do you believe educators needs textbooks for everything? If so, you are training your children to follow. The underlying assumption of textbooks is that the teacher and student do not know enough to evaluate resources so the textbook author will do it for you. All the student has to do is learn the conclusions of the textbook to become successful in "school". This model of education makes great followers who learn what to think.

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.

To begin your own education as a teacher or parent, start by reading one classic. Choose a classic that interests you. If you're not sure what classic to read, consult a young adult classics list. After you finish your first classic book, read another one. Repeat this until you have read four or five classics. You are off to the start of a fine education for yourself.

Your kids will have a different view on what education is if they see you studying and learning. Plus, you will eventually want to share what you've learned because you will be so excited with what you are learning.

After you finish five classics, read another one and add a writing activity. As you read this classic, keep a reading journal. In your reading journal, write down your thoughts about the story. Share your thoughts with someone else.

Next, read aloud an interesting classic with your children. Choose wisely as you make it enjoyable and fun for your kids. Read to them anything interesting, if they're just starting out with classics. When your kids are ready, have them keep their own reading journals. After this, you can have an engage in an interactive discussion on the classics that they've read or heard.

Francis Bacon said, "Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man." Three things work well for growing up children who can think on their own. These include reading, writing and Socratic discussion. Classics become the best way to instill these fundamentals of leadership learning.