A Naturally Unique Season

There’s a lot to look forward to in the fall at Scituate High School.  Between homecoming, the Thanksgiving football game and Powder Puff, this fall is getting pretty busy for the student body.  For many juniors, though, this fall has been encompassed by the infamous Credo Project.

The Credo Project is assigned to all juniors who take AP Language & Composition as an English course and takes place for a little over a month.

“It’s my favorite part of the year because I get to learn so much about you people and because it’s cool to see the kinds of ideas you people come up with,” states AP Lang teacher Mrs. Blake.  

The whole project is based around transcendentalist, Henry David Thoreau, who lived in isolation in nature for a few years in order to truly connect with himself and live his life to the fullest.  These ideals are exactly what the students try to emulate throughout the month on their own time outside of school.  Each student chooses an approved activity to add to their routine, and they reflect at the end of the process on any type of progress that has been made, whether spiritual, mental, physical, etc.  

In an interview with senior Will Montgomery, Will said he conducted a social experiment for his project.  “Before I would go on a walk with my dog I would listen to a certain type of music and then on my walk I would smile and wave at every person that walked by and note every characteristic they gave me.”  He looked for any waves, smiles, and glances that people gave him on his walk in order to mark the difference in reactions he got as a result from different genres of music and to see how his mood affected theirs.  When I asked how his project related to the ideals of transcendentalism, Will replied, “That’s what Henry David Thoreau’s whole philosophy was about, trying to analyze society.”

“This year I’m building a house,” junior Sean Francis optimistically stated, adding, “First day of school I went to Mrs. Blake about it and she said ‘Okay, don’t kill yourself,’” her main concern being Sean’s safety.

Sean, unlike other students this season, has been working on his project for a little over two months now.  When questioning him about why he would endure such a labor intensive project, he responded in a casual manner, “Because it’s what Thoreau did.”  For Will Montgomery the only effect of the project for him was that he finally discovered which genre of music most effectively prepares him for a run.  However, Sean’s project has been taking a bit more of a tole on him. “I’m definitely going crazier. I’ve started talking to myself when I’m working on the house… I learned masonry in a week. It’s definitely helped me learn what I can do with my hands.”  But in a project as unique as this – where it’s up to the students to create a level of difficulty – the results are bound to be different for everyone.

When I asked Mrs. Blake why this project was more unique than others in SHS she replied, “It’s a project you can pick and put your own voice into… After the initial anxiety passes, it turns into people getting really excited and passionate about them.” As a junior, I can confidently say that this is an intimidating project to pursue.  The thought of stepping outside your comfort zone to challenge yourself and live life to the fullest is a concept many people, especially teens, tend to avoid. The Credo Project gives juniors the nudge they need in order to push them toward new opportunities that could invigorate their lives.