The education of a leader

Granted! The qualities that make President-elect Obama stand out were all probably innate to his psyche. But it is said: "Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value, Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to benefit therefrom." (Tablet of Wisdom, Bahá'u'lláh.)

So even though Barak Obama possesses such outstanding qualities, without proper education his qualities would remain hidden. The question I ask, is apart from his unique personality, what went into bringing such qualities out?

Could it be that being raised by his grandparents had something to do with it? Grandparents, having raised their own children, no longer are in a position where they have to learn how to raise a child, and having lived several decades, have had time to reflect on life, on their own past behavior, and develop a wisdom that is rarely available to parents of young children.

But in today's society, grandparents do not have much role in raising children. They see kids once in a while, get to have them stay for maybe a week at a time, and then only once or twice a year, and often are too busy, or too tired to really engage with their grandchildren. Even worse, by the time kids are in their teens or twenties, they are acculturated to thinking grandparents as strange and definitely not cool to hang out with.

But imagine grandparents that were engaged on a much more regular basis with their grand kids; I'm talking about daily contact and also maybe parents that listen to the advice of their kid's grandparents. Could the wisdom built by this older generation be key, and I mean KEY, to unlocking the potential of their grandchildren?