On National History Day, middle and high school students learn about history at historic moments
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College Park, Maryland – On the day President Donald Trump sends 700 Marines to Los Angeles to help stop protests against immigration enforcement, dozens of middle school students defended a research project on friction between the government and protesters.
The display in the exhibition hall at the annual National History Day Competition featured a New York entry entitled “Kent State Massacre: Tensions Between Protest and Authority.” The website’s contest included entries from Louisiana regarding the Vietnam War protest, and the documentary section discussed the Boston Tea Party, where South Carolina entries were the first major colonial protest.
The theme of rights and responsibility for the annual contest was chosen long before last fall’s election, but many entries have had the opportunity to explain the history behind what is happening in America under the new administration.
“They are in great harmony with what’s going on in the world. They’re worried and they want to know more,” said Kathy Ghosn, executive director of the organization. “And they are naturally drawn to the topic of fairness. So, we see a lot of civil rights, human rights and justice types of topics here, but that’s very natural for young people to place importance in that direction.”
Of the 500,000 students participating in local and state competitions, approximately 3,000 have participated in national competitions that include multiple judging at the University of Maryland.
Their final project, which can take the form of displays, websites, essays, performances and documentaries, details the history of the First Amendment, the state’s responsibility for refugees, women’s suffrage, foreign policy, medical experiments, and more, where LGBTQ+ people are being forced out of the military.
The Trump administration attacked or downplayed many events that are the subject of their entries, saying that American history, reflected in museums, archives, libraries and education, should not emphasize the failure of the country.
“If we teach children about past tragedy, somehow we suggest they will feel bad,” Ghosn said.
The future is unknown
In early April, National History Day was consistently awarded by the National Fund for over 50 years, losing grants, which accounted for roughly 20% of the budget.
The state Humanities Council, which organizes and hosts local and state-level competition, has all canceled grants. Without that funding, some states could lose their Humanities Council entirely in the coming weeks.
“The losses are much greater than what happens at the top. People think, at this federal level, “We’ve kicked out the agents.” It’s great because we’re saving money, but it has a ripple effect. It has a domino effect.
This year, the National History Day Organization was able to raise public support and fund the people for students who were not able to receive national support.
“Everyone is here, but I don’t know what will happen next year,” Ghosn said. “It would be a terrifying, terrifying shame that children and teachers are not allowed to participate.”
How tens of thousands of teachers use material created by the National History Day Organization to make topics more practical, teach students to analyze their own information, and how to validate sources to determine the truth.
“This isn’t just this competition. It’s a culmination in the competition. It’s a year-round program that takes place in the classroom, and teachers use the history day we have and the training programs we have.
Replace the pins and ask good questions
A cluster of students dressed in business attire filled the hallways of the university’s Stamp Student Union, highlighting presentations and deal buttons and pins with students from other states.
Some focused their research on larger and more well-known topics, such as passing the Little Rock Nine, the Holocaust or Endangered Species species, and the Passing of the Disability Act.
McKennamenold, 13, and Sarahayney, 14, of St. James School in Elizabethtown, Kentucky, looked into the history of banning books as they noticed what was happening in the United States today.
“I felt like I was really connected to this topic,” Sarah said. “I wanted to share books with people who banned them, but it should not happen anywhere in the world, not just in the United States, as literature is such an important history.”
Other children zoomed in on local or specific people or topics.
Sadillankford, 14, and Scarlett Lauen, 14, of Holly Shelter Middle School in Castlehane, North Carolina, said they chose to focus on cases from the backyard of Wilmington 10 civil rights activists.
“This was honestly a critical moment for the US, so it was amazing that we had never learned anything about it except by doing research,” Sadie said.
Wilmington 10 is a 10 civil rights activist who was falsely convicted of arson and conspiracy after a 1971 school separation assault in Wilmington, North Carolina, and was jailed for nearly 10 years. To prepare their reports, the girls reviewed autobiography, newspaper clippings, and even interviewed protest leaders.
“These kids, they’re not shy about calling out presidents, generals, civil rights heroes, etc,” Ghosn said. “And they’ll talk to them… because the kids are real and they’re asking good questions.”