MKA Senior's History Thesis Selected for Publication in The Concord Review

MKA Senior and varsity swimmer, Will Zaubler, will have the honor of seeing his junior independent history thesis, Don't Dive in My Pool: Normalizing Segregated Swimming in Montclair New Jersey published in the Spring 2015 issue of The Concord Review. Founded in l987, this prestigious publication recognizes exemplary history essays by high school students in the English-speaking world, and is distributed to 44 states in the U.S. and in 38 countries around the world.

Zaubler worked closely with his Upper School History and Ethics teacher, Andrew Prince, on this project. Prince says, " Will came into the process with his topic already in mind as it combined his passion for swimming and a historical phenomenon that captured his interest. He underwent an incredibly thorough research process which included not just books and scholarly articles, but interviews with Historians and Montclair Residents and trips to the Montclair Historical Society to delve into their archives. Will demonstrated an incredible aptitude for history which was equaled by his work ethic, both of which made working with him on this project easy, informative and a genuine pleasure."

Stemming from the MKA Upper School History Department's concern that students were skimming through a modern American history syllabus without sufficient opportunity to study deeply or reflect on what they were being taught, the Junior History Research Project was introduced in 2004. This alternative to the traditional American History AP course requires every member of the junior class to spend six months conducting independent, in-depth research, using both primary and secondary sources, into an aspect of American history, prior to writing a thesis which can range anywhere from 3200 - 6500 words.

Will is the seventh MKA student since 2007 to have a junior thesis published in the Concord Review.