DEAN of EXPERIENTIAL LEADERSHIP
Joseph Alexander
A teacher at Chandler School in Pasadena as well as a wrestling coach at San Dimas High School, Mr. Alexander is passionate about developing youth to their fullest potential. Mr. Alexander has worked in a variety of leadership roles that have led him to the position of Dean of Experiential Leadership for Reach Academy for Young Men. He has challenged youth to become better versions of themselves in a wilderness therapy setting, group home setting, backcountry setting, and via formal and informal classroom settings as well.
Mr. Alexander holds a bachelor's degree in Outdoor Leadership, with the philosophy of his education being in experiential education or learning by doing. As the father of experiential education, John Dewey, once said, "We do not learn from experience, we learn from reflecting on experience.". Mr. Alexander looks forward to living out the contemplation part: Examining one’s own experiences. Mr. Alexander believes this is how people not only become better leaders, but also better people as a whole. In his spare time, Mr. Alexander loves to get outside and surf, camp, and spend time with loved ones.
My Course
An Exploration of Self and Decision Making
In In this course, students will explore their inner workings and their very own decision making process. We make a number of decisions every day, some of them are simple and some are complex. In order for an individual to make a well informed decision they must understand themself. Students will engage in experiences where they will contribute to group or individual decisions. Along with this, students will reflect on their experiences and learn about various decision making models. The objective of this course is for each individual to gain insights into themselves and to develop strategies that can guide their own decision making process.