Political leaders are teachers. This is true even if they do not intend it. They are role models, both good and bad, for the public. Political leaders also educate the public about specific policy issues and matters of national concern.
Healthy societies produce healthy leaders; unhealthy societies produce unhealthy leaders. In that way, the leader as a type of teacher is a way of judging the values, collective beliefs, and future direction of a community. Several American presidents, for example, were former schoolteachers. Of note, President Lyndon Johnson was a public school teacher in rural Texas. His experiences there inspired him to support such landmark legislation as Project Head Start.
