The Bolles School offers many great electives that branch out beyond normal school subjects, such as the Studies in Leadership class.
The course teaches students the core fundamentals of what it takes to be a leader along with implementing the idea that leadership is not just innate, but can also be taught.
One of the unique differences between Studies in Leadership and other classes is that it is run by two teachers, Coach Toblin, the Head Football Coach, and Ms. Moyer-Shad, teacher and Director of Student Activities.
“We started it in part because we noticed that there was nothing like it, we wanted something different,” said Moyer-Shad. “We have a lot of leadership programs and opportunities on the campus, but no real training for them. We really wanted an opportunity for students who were interested to be able to kind of explore these topics that really aren’t touched on in any other class.”
The course is a project-based elective and does not have any quizzes or tests. The semester that a student serves as a member of the course will revolve around two big projects.
The first is the Better Bolles project, where a group of students go around the school and find something that can be fixed or added in order to better the school. The group will then present their solution in hopes of implementing it.
The second project is called the Urban Plan Project This project revolves around groups of students working together to change six city blocks of a fake town.
Students have said that the course has helped them greatly and that they would recommend the course to others.
“Both teachers provide honest help and give us good pointers that revolve around life that are not just about leadership,” said Jordan Alexander, who is taking the class this year.
Drew Cannestra is also currently in the class. “This class is probably my favorite, as it teaches us how to adapt to problems and enhance our communication skills,” he said. “The course teaches us skills that can be used even after we graduate from Bolles and even college.”
Coach Toblin wants his students to understand that a leader is not just someone who gives speeches.“There’s different ways to affect others, there’s different ways to affect the group, but also learning about yourself and what your leadership style is. So our biggest hope is that kids learn something about themselves that they can use in other aspects of their lives, whether it’s here at Bolles or when they leave for college.”
