Room 103 stares back at him. He is there to learn about American history on a global scale. His mind wanders, filling the abyss of time: “What will my 8th grade Capstone project be?”There are no clocks, no way to keep time besides the seconds ticking in eighth-grader Asher Treister’s head. He counts them. Time goes by so slowly for those who wait.
Treister’s journey will culminate in his presenting his long-term research project to family, friends, and faculty. He, though not knowing what he will speak about quite yet, will have the words to answer all the questions thrown his way.
The last vapors of heat hiss their way into the room. The answer remains elusive. It is somewhere in the air outside, surfing the gelid, howl- ing waves of the present. Or maybe it lies dormant on the Internet in the future. He does not know yet.
What he knows is that he does not have much of a say in the matter—eighth-grade Capstone projects are based on American history alone. Treister will learn about the Philippines, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Spanish-American War.
“The topics come out of what they’ve been studying… looking at America in more contemporary world history,” said Dan Doughty, Head of Middle School. “If you said… you can choose anything in the world, that’s a lot to overcome.”
The midday beams softly pierce the room as they creep through the drooping blinds with trepidation.
Capstone is worth 20% of Treister’s grade. “I don’t really know what I’m going to be doing with my Capstone yet,” Treister said.
“As the culminating project of the eighth-grade history course, the Capstone is designed to empower students both to demonstrate the historical thinking and writing skills that they have developed, rooted in the themes and questions introduced in their ‘U.S. and the World’ course,” according to Poly Prep’s official website.
All of these parameters are meant to guide eighth-grade students in constructing their project. Think of it like a scaffold. Too laissez-faire, and the students risk presenting a disjointed project. Too hands-on? A room full of grumbling eighth-graders at 10 a.m.
“Research shows that giving students structured independence, like guided research projects, helps them develop the self-management and critical thinking skills needed for success in high school, according to the American Psychological Association in 2019.
There are levels the middle schoolers are to overcome, and they cannot start at the very top without a solid foundation. Middle schoolers have assignments that help simulate the final project.“That was probably the thing that prepared us most… we made a slide-show and presented it,” Treister said.
He twirls his pencil on his table, watching it spin in circles and circles of confusion. The graphite drills its way into the desk. It leaves a small, but dark mark. So too will history leave its mark on Treister, in one way or another.
In that same process, he will become an Upper Schooler. He will learn how to make a strong thesis and sustain it with evidence. He will use both primary and secondary sources, the latter of which 8th-grade Capstone does not allow. Despite the lack of freedom, he will become accustomed to working within those parameters to deliver a project that is not only the product of critical thought but also of careful deliberation. “Capstone is really an opportunity to bring together a lot of the skills they’ve [the middle schoolers] been building… making an argument, defending that argument… and presentation skills,” said Doughty.
History begins to whisper to Treister. He thinks, “It’s interesting to get to know what America does in certain scenarios,” Treister said. He began to notice something he had not previously thought about:
“I noticed something with the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Hawaii, which is where the amount of strength or, the amount of resistance they showed, the more independence they strived for.”
He realizes now the importance of research, independence, and public speaking.“It’s a good way to grow presenting skills… we’ll get more comfortable,” Treister said. He will soon be ready for upper school, and for his next Capstone project, which awaits him only four years from now.
“Communication skills are critical for success in school, work, and life,” according to a 2020 article from the National Education Association, the largest labor union in the US that serves public school teachers/faculty, aspiring teach- ers, and retired ones, among others.
Similarly, Carlyle Muldrow ‘26, who has been at Poly since nursery, said: “Eighth grade… allowed me to learn how to do very good research.” While the eighth-grade Capstone process was structured, it is almost entirely independent in 12th grade. “That’s what’s helped me to get through this Capstone project as a senior.”
And so the dawning sun is still tender, its rosy rays not having grown warm just yet. There he sits, studying, studying, and studying. Eventually, the answer will come.
