Leadership & Modern Thought

Leadership in the 21st century has evolved to require a full spectrum of skills, ranging from collaboration to creativity, and from entrepreneurship to complex problem solving. In order to prepare its students to be leaders and innovators that can truly impact the world around them, The Ocean School incorporates a "Leadership and Modern Thought" strand throughout its 6th-10th grade program. In those courses, students are exposed to core thought modes such as design thinking, ethical leadership, critical thinking, and reflection. By studying how we think, students are empowered to become meta-cognitive leaders who feel comfortable with a full array of approaches that they can tailor to unique situations.

In addition, applied, progressive instructional approaches including the case method, project-based learning (PBL), and the design process all work to further develop young leaders. Those approaches focus much of the learning onto existing, real-world challenges, so Ocean School students have nearly unlimited opportunities to analyze problems, build partnerships, work in high-functioning teams, experience iterative design, develop effective solutions, and present those solutions to local experts and leaders. Thus, the adoption of 21st century learning strategies means that the very work the students undertake during their courses precisely mirrors the work of real leaders in real workplaces.