The students in the freshmen English classes are diving deeper into their interests for a grade. Ninth graders are taking part in a ‘Passion Project’ to expand their individual knowledge of a personal interest throughout the third quarter. They are being asked to complete several separate portions of the project to exhibit progress.

“You have to have a slideshow ready, you have to have a mentor, and you have to have evidence of you working on your project,” freshman Ethan Mountain said.

Students are in agreement that this is an enjoyable school activity while maintaining the learning foundation.

“This is a fun project to add an interesting twist to the dull school life,” Mountain said. “It’s a very independent project since you’re not restricted on things you can do. You can do whatever you want. I will learn how to make and sell products to people.”

Though this is a pleasurable assignment to most, their opinions are subject to change as the project progresses.

“[Feelings about the project] would vary from person to person,” Mountain said. “I thought this was going to be a tough challenge at first, but as I got a clear idea of what I wanted to do, I found that it wasn’t as challenging as expected.”

Despite the common positive comments, there are several issues with the way this project was created and presented.

“I don’t think a mentor should be required to get a decent grade on the project. I feel it’s a restriction since you’d have to find a person capable of doing this one specific job,” Mountain said. “I also think it doesn’t have to be over the next quarter. I don’t think it has to last that long.”

Altogether, the English Passion Project takes the form of an exciting addition to the school atmosphere.

“I like it probably just because it’s something that we want to do and aren’t forced to do. We get to learn what we want to learn,” Mountain said.