Seniors Gordon Peeler and Ryan Maxwell spent the last month of their senior year hanging out with surfers at the beach. During the same period, senior Megan Craighead decided to go to France for two weeks. These Pingry seniors were not cutting classes, but fulfilling an important senior requirement: the Independent Study Project (ISP).

Although Pingry’s curriculum has offered the option of ISPs for approximately 25 years, beginning last year the school established a program that requires all seniors to undertake an ISP in their last month of school. An ISP gives seniors an opportunity to take personal responsibility for studying a subject that is of personal or potential interest.

Seniors this year undertook a range of projects: one senior worked for a federal judge, another worked towards a pilot’s license, and two others wrote a cookbook.

Assistant Dean of the Upper School Ananya Chatterji, who helped oversee seniors’ ISPs this year, believes the program is of great value because “students have the opportunity to work totally on their own, with very few limitations, on something that they love—or think they might love—to do.”

She added, “I have found that all students find that it is a big learning experience, regardless of their choice of project. They have the opportunity to do something so different from taking six classes a day, and they overall really appreciate the chance to explore something of their design. I think seniors grow through the process—shaping, planning, and completing an ISP—and there is a large amount of value in that self-discovery.”

At ISP Night on June 4, 2008, parents and Pingry staff members gathered in Macrae Theatre as a group of seniors discussed their projects and gave performances relating to their independent study. Megan Craighead, for example, presented a slide show of her trip to France, where she studied French with a host family; Megan plans to study French in college, either as a minor or as part of a double major.

Maureen Brady and Jenna Devine performed flamenco dancing, which they studied during their four ISP weeks at a studio in New York City. In addition, Luke Beshar performed an original song he recorded for his ISP, and Parul Agarwal played traditional Indian music on the sitar, a guitar-like instrument.

Two pairs of seniors also demonstrated their talent for video editing. Lou Riccardi and Kristopher Mazara presented their comic meta-documentary, “The Making of The Making of”—a film showing the two at school as they “make” their ISP film. The evening’s other filmmakers were Gordon Peeler and Ryan Maxwell, who, during all that time at the beach, were actually shooting and editing a documentary on surfers; the film includes footage of wave-riding and wipeouts.

Gordon, Ryan, and the other seniors will discover next year that college, like their independent study projects, often involves self-guided, independent learning—and, more importantly, the opportunity to focus on those interests they feel most passionate about.



© 2008 The Pingry School