8th Grade at Cambridge: The Quest for Truth, Goodness, and Beauty
By: Scott Buresh, Founder and 8th Grade Unit Teacher
8th grade is the culminating year for students at Cambridge. Our vision statement, that we seek to develop in our students the capacity and character required to live out their God-given destinies as they proceed to high school and beyond, reaches its full potential in this final year. God invites students into a quest with no guaranteed outcome but His presence with us.
We see this quest played out in the lives of many characters, fictional and historical, throughout 8th grade. We will join Frodo and Samwise on their quest to destroy the ring in Fellowship of the Ring, discovering the power of community and a good guide. We witness the response of ordinary Americans to the challenges of Nazism and Japanese Imperialism in WWII. We spend time with key figures in the Civil Rights Movement, struggling alongside men and women who are image bearers of equal dignity and worth.
Students selected and painted characters of virtue from the 8th grade year. Malcolm X and Atticus Finch are represented here.
Each of us is created in God’s image with the full potential of persons to choose evil or good, which we will also see in the life of novelist and Soviet dissenter Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn during the Cold War.
A goal of our survey of modern history is to challenge students to understand the times that they live in and empower them to face the challenges of our times. Recurring themes of personhood and agency to choose the path of virtue or vice inspire students to make choices that further good and limit evil.
Jesus is our Master Teacher in this process. We draw significantly from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 as we seek to understand how a virtuous person lives out the reality of God’s Kingdom each day.
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
Jesus teaches us that our ultimate quest is for truth, goodness, and beauty, and they intersect as God’s Kingdom comes on earth. Students receive a rich feast of these pillars throughout their units with rich literature, hands-on experiences and opportunities to serve, and guest speakers who are living out their own God-given destinies.
Ella Rambissoon, Class of 2021, speaks at 8th grade graduation.
Students demonstrate their growing knowledge and understanding through writing a biography, a creative short story, and a research paper, among other assignments. They will gain confidence as public speakers through in-class presentations and a final speech they will give at the chapels leading up to graduation.
A fruit of their maturity in understanding and kindness is the opportunity to spend significant time outside of the walls of the classroom. Woven throughout the year are strategic field trips and service opportunities we hope they never forget! Many years this includes a trip to Nogales, Mexico as we partner with Cuirim Outreach and a trip to New York City to walk the streets of Harlem, visit the site of 9/11, and enjoy a few Broadway shows.
Our hope is that students commence high school inspired to take ownership of their own learning and equipped to move forward with confidence that they can engage whatever challenge awaits them with God’s guiding presence in their lives.
The Class of 2020 looks out on Nogales, Mexico.