Leadership As A Part Of Education

For your reading pleasure, here's an interesting article. It's written by Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, in which he describes some recent successes in applying those insights to the education system. I found myself agreeing with just about everything he wrote, and noting that several of his points are echoed in my own Math book (even though I've never read his book).

I particularly liked this part:

"Some adults who visit the schools at the urging of enthusiastic colleagues arrive on-site quite cynical. Some question the whole notion, saying, "It's unrealistic to think that every child can be a leader." But they miss the point, for in the Knowledge Worker Age, leadership is a choice, not a position. We don't define leadership as becoming the CEO or the few percent who will end up in big leadership positions. We are talking about leading your own life, being a leader among your friends, being a leader in your own family. Leadership, as one school put it, is doing the right thing even when no one is looking."

That's exactly how I approach leadership qualities with the students I work with. It's about controlling the aspects of your life (or Math studies) that you can by working hard at it, regardless of whether that puts you at the top of the class or just somewhere in the middle. Focus on taking charge of your own path and the rest will follow.