Lights flash and speakers blare as rapper Meek Mill performs to a standing crowd in San Francisco. Surrounded by jumping fans singing along to the rapper’s hits such as “Going Bad”, freshman Justice Hartford remains quiet with a notebook in-hand, observing and taking notes amidst the commotion. For Hartford, this is not just a rap concert. It is also homework.

“It was hot in there after a while, and it smelled kind of like marijuana because most people were smoking,” Hartford said. “It was really, really loud.”

Hartford went to a Meek Mill concert for his Observation. All freshman must complete an Observation for their I-Search, a multi-month, in-depth research project on a topic of their choice.

“My I-Search topic is rap culture and how it affects the youth, or just people in general,” Hartford said.

Freshman English teacher Mercedes Foster said that when students do observation and become immersed in their topic, they discover new layers to their topic.

“An observation is an opportunity to see an element of your I-Search topic in-action, sort of in the wild,” Foster said.

Freshman Ella Kalmbach’s I-Search topic is on homelessness in the Bay Area. For her Observation, she went to observe a homeless encampment in Oakland under a freeway underpass, she said.

“I feel like when you just read articles about [homelessness], you don’t get a sense of what is actually going on,” Kalmbach said. “It was a really eye-opening experience for me.”

In observing the homeless encampment, Kalmbach said that she was able to recognize their humanity on a deeper level than before her Observation.

“They are just living their everyday lives,” Kalmbach said.

Freshman Molina Mills’ I-Search topic is the school to prison pipeline. For her observation, she went to schools that had officers on-campus.

“It was great to see everything with my own eyes rather than just research everything online,” Mills said.

Oftentimes, Foster said, students become disconnected from what they are studying. The Observation and going out into the community, however, helps counteract this phenomenon.

“An observation offers that visceral connection to your topic that no other kind of research gives you,” Foster said.

Hartford said that he felt like he benefited from doing his observation, and analyzing a subject that he is passionate about.

“I’ve liked it a lot because you get to pick what topic you do,” Hartford said. “For most assignments you get a book and you have to analyze the book, but with the I-Search you get to choose your own topic, so it’s cool to do stuff that you’re actually interested in.”

Foster said that in addition to the observation being a great learning experience for her students, she also gets to learn more about her students.

“When they’re describing what they saw and when they are bringing themselves into that experience, I think wow,” Foster said. “That is a part of that student that I hadn’t even considered, and the personality of the student shines through.”