Ninth grade military boarding school boys may be one of the most homework-resistant groups alive. Few students are more easily distracted by rifle drills, Facebook, and Taco Bell than this demographic, for whom the simple task of installing their printer or keeping ink and paper on hand is a major feat. Teachers with anything other than self-masochistic intentions would be wise to minimize the deadlines, tedium, and teeth-pulling involved in the typical research paper process. Why, then, are our ninth graders in the heart of not only a research paper, but a semester long, interdisciplinary research portfolio Capstone project right now? Perhaps, it is because their teachers are slightly insane. Or maybe because such a project, despite its frustrations and complications for educators and educated alike, ought not to be reserved for those seniors mature enough to handle it easily, but can be a formative part of students’ development in the early high school years. With the goals of building foundational writing, research, and technology skills as well as global awareness and class affinity, we ventured into our ninth grade Capstone experience.

Student support provides the rationale for such a project. At Valley Forge Military Academy, our freshmen are in a unique position. Many of them, for the first time, have made the startling jump from their comfortable life at home under close parent supervision, to a single-gender military boarding school. They flourish while immersed in the structure, camaraderie, and culture of this life, but it can also be a difficult time for some as they adjust to homesickness and discipline they have never before encountered. To support this volatile group, this year the core subject teachers for ninth graders proposed and implemented the Ninth Grade Experience, a holistic team teaching approach that provides support for each child.

The program, in essence, is collaborative. Math, English, History, and Science teachers meet daily to discuss student successes and concerns, communicate frequently with parents back home, and create a team structure for learning, leadership, and social life. When possible we seek to integrate our academic curriculums, but from the start we knew that beyond these minor collaborations, we wanted a cohesive project that would unite both the subjects and our students in a common activity of learning. With this idea in mind, we created our Capstone concept. The DRIVE acronym that forms the foundation for our program provided an excellent basis for this specific project as well. We set out to lead a team of freshman through five steps of discovery: Discuss, Research, Investigate, Venture, and Engage.

A theme for the project was already at the front of our minds. One of the emphases of our Ninth Grade Experience is to create a greater sense of global awareness in our cadets. Most of them, like us, have grown up in the comfortable suburbs of the Northeast, and have little knowledge or concern for the vast and struggling world beyond. To create a greater sense of world needs, we divided our students into four Capstone groups, and assigned a teacher to each one who serves as mentor. One region adopted the Americas, and the others Africa, Europe, and Asia/Australia. Within each continent, each student selected a country to make his area of expertise.

The first project of the Capstone was a history narrative essay. With two to three blank pages in Microsoft Word and English class instructions on how to use MLA citations, each cadet was responsible to compile and narrate a historical account of how his country has developed. Our students loved describing military conflicts, but had to be directed to describe the whole history of a land. Their job was to tell the story in a complete, logical, and fluid style. The papers were slow coming in, with seemingly hundreds of excuses relating to computers, printers, illness, and ignorance. Our team members, who are responsible for the residential program, took over in Hocker Hall, and a handful of non-compliant cadets spent a Saturday in the barracks (dormitory) hallway lined with desks. Several parents called expressing delight over their son’s sudden urgency to complete the project. Finally, our histories were collected, and we moved on to section two.

In this portion of the project, the students factor in Math. To coincide with the historical perspective, we wanted our cadets also to see the country’s current situation. Our math teacher introduced them to the Human Development Index (HDI). While studying the HDI for their land, our students were amazed. How exciting to see them compare their country’s HDI rank with those of their friends! Our student studying Iceland smiles in glee at his first place position, while Argentina and Nicaragua wonder how their countries can rate so low. “Everybody in my country is going to die!” laments the possessor of Bolivia. These indices fueled discussion about literacy rate, GDP, and life expectancy in a history discussion later in the week.

In science class our freshmen have been learning about geology and climate this year, so those become an obvious component of the project. They research rainfall, seasons, earthquakes, and volcanoes; developing an idea of what their land looks like physically. They focus on environmental issues, looking for potential problems relating to global warming, endangered species, food shortages, and pollution. In addition, they conduct a study of unique indigenous species, including animal life in their scientific survey. Natural Resources become another object of study, and we ask the cadets to provide an overview of the general demographics of their people as well.

After compiling their HDI statistics, cadets are now learning to format information in Microsoft Excel. While they’re great at Instant Messaging and uploading their iPods, Excel is not a tool with which ninth graders feel a close connection. They learn how cells work, and how to create column charts and two-way tables with their statistics. In addition to compiling the material on his own country, each student is also responsible for a specific chunk of information about his larger region. Eventually these charts will find a place in a PowerPoint presentation slide. These projects, like the narrative essays, are saved and compiled in individual portfolios for the ultimate presentation.

To make sense of their data, then, our cadets write a second essay describing the current state of their chosen land. We ask them to consider the implications of their HDI. What is life like for their people? What consequences or successes can their nation anticipate if they continue in their current state? Should the people consider some kind of change to improve the state of affairs? In this section of the project, they also summarize their demographic and scientific findings in clear prose paragraphs. Once again, they compose accurate bibliographies of their sources and notes to document their research.

Now for the fun part: each student chooses an “Action Item” for his country, an issue of importance which has caused him concern. Medical topics, food shortages, environmental issues, educational shortcomings, or military problems are all fair game. The student must develop a one-page description of the concern and a plan that he can implement to contribute to its success. Our cadets can start a fundraiser, write letters of concern to government officials, use a speech, meeting, or fliers to raise awareness, form a club or organization, or anything else they can imagine. Thus, our students are not only informed of global issues, but are active contributors to their resolution.

Finally, we believe our students should be not only knowledgeable and articulate writers, but also adept presenters of their new ideas. We teach Microsoft PowerPoint to each of our cadets, through which they create a slide show documenting the most important aspects of their land. The minds of our computer-savvy young men engineer some creative presentations. Each group also creates a master presentation of their continent, which they will deliver to an audience at year end.

Neat white presentation binders are filled with the components of the project. With the help of their art teacher, the students design flag covers and detailed maps of their land. A clear and concise description of life in the past and the present, with a hint towards the future, exists to testify to the student’s work and development. Though much hair-pulling is likely to occur along the way from teachers and students, a Capstone project at this stage in our young men’s development will ultimately prepare more disciplined researchers, writers, and technology users, as well as more globally aware young men, and a more unified Class of 2011.

John Ford, Walt Johnson, Jay Pearcy, and Kathryn Walker are teachers for the Ninth Grade Experience at Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne, PA.

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