When you enter a school classroom today, you would most likely see kids working through sets of tasks in textbooks, memorizing equations, analyzing poetry, or studying for tests. All of this is important, but here’s the thing: while students can demonstrate proficiency in algebra or history dates, most students step into the world unsure of how to lead, follow, persuade, or make decisions. The reality is, education refines the brain, but fails to hone the leadership muscle.

And leadership isn’t a lofty skill meant for CEOs and politicians. Leadership is a necessity in life; Whether it’s leading a team project, being a proactive participant in college, or later, managing responsibilities professionally and socially. If education intends to prepare students for life, leadership deserves a seat next to math and science.

The subject that never makes it to the timetable

Consider the school schedule: English, Science, Math, History, Geography. It’s all essential. What about the course that teaches a child how to deal with conflict, inspire others, or present a thought with conviction? That subject still doesn’t make it on the schedule, the act of leadership is left to chance experiences - perhaps a debate club or a student government election.

As a result, many students leave school with good courses of study, but little experience in making decisions or problem-solving solving or learning how to perform under duress. In effect, they prepare to answer the questions on an exam, but they are not prepared to always answer the questions of life.

Leadership can be learned, just like algebra

Many believe that leaders are born rather than made—and education shows us otherwise. No child is born knowing how to write an essay or solve an equation, yet schools educate them indiscriminately. Leadership can be learned under the right conditions of practice, feedback, and reflection. A quiet student can learn to step into a leadership role to lead a discussion; an extrovert could learn the power of listening. All they need is a structured environment where leadership is a skill practice and not a fortunate personality trait. Schools can provide that.

Blending leadership with academics

The great thing is that leadership does not need to stand out as a separate heavy topic. Leadership can fit seamlessly into the learning of existing academics:

•Science labs can simultaneously serve as teamwork exercises, with students rotating through the roles of leader, risk-checker, and presenter.

•Leadership enhances academics instead of competing with or contradicting them. The student will learn that knowledge is not just a vehicle for testing their learning, but rather a vehicle for collaboration and an opportunity to contribute to the group.

Why this matters more than ever

Information is readily available in the world today. A search engine can give you what a word means more rapidly than you could access it in a textbook. What will never be replaced is human leadership - and being able to unify and mobilize people, create trust, and maintain the ‘big picture’ in ambiguous situations.

Schools as leadership laboratories

Consider schools to be mini-societies. They already have all the raw materials to use—groups, competitions, timelines, success, and failure. With intentional design, schools can become laboratories for leadership. Student councils, group projects, peer mentoring, and service-learning projects can help students to assume responsibility, take initiative, and deal with successes and failures when they arise.

Most importantly, school ensures that every student—not just the ‘naturally confident’—has an opportunity to lead. This allows leadership power to be not an exclusive badge, but a common skill.

More than careers: Building citizens

Leadership training serves dual purposes: to help students prepare for future employment and to help them grow into responsible citizens. A teenager who learns to participate respectfully and negotiate disagreements peacefully in school may later become an adult who builds bridges with respect and understanding across differences in their society. A child who learns to speak up in class may go on to advocate for justice, peace, and equity.

When schools intentionally create leadership skills as part of the learning process for all students, they are not simply producing a college-ready or career-ready graduate; they are producing changemakers, innovators, and empathetic citizens.

Rethinking success in education

At its essence, education needs to address this question: Should we want students to only perform well in assessments, or should we want them to be successful in life? If we want success, then the latter is where it is at.

When schools teach leadership in addition to academic subjects, they do not fill minds with knowledge; rather, they build character, courage, and conviction. While reading may sharpen minds, it is leadership that builds the backbone. And it is the backbone, as much as brainpower, that will define the leaders of tomorrow. The author is Dean of Academics, Noida International University.