Students Make History At Vermont History Day

 BARRE, VT: 143 young historians from all over Vermont competed at the Vermont History Day Contest, on Saturday, April 5, at Spaulding High School in Barre.  The Vermont Historical Society organizes this event as part of the National History Day program. The young historians presented a wide range of documentaries, websites, and performances, and the winners from each category are eligible to participate in the national history competition in June. “At first I didn’t know anything about this bill, but after doing the play, I can talk about it and know a lot about this bill,” commented a Poultney Elementary student when asked by judges what she’d learned about the Brown vs. Education bill that was passed in 1954.

This year’s theme was “Conflict and Compromise in History,” and students were asked to address various sides of an issue. The 2008 participants showed a wide range of interests. Group exhibits included: “Versailles: Negotiated Peace, Factors of War”; “Where Have Our Local Factories Gone?”  Individual exhibits included: “Title IX ‘Let ‘Em Play,’” and “Conflicts over Land: America’s Wild Horses.”  Websites included: “Conflict & Compromise of Alternative Energy in History.” 

Students worked on their projects during the school year and grappled with both the learning of the material and the creative process involved in making presentations to the public. “We started working on our play in October,” explained a student from Black River, who acted in a play about the Treaty of Versailles. “We re-wrote it a couple of times until we got it right.  We wanted to explore how the creation of a treaty based on revenge works, and we learned that one act of revenge creates another.” 

“In the Salem witch trials, there was conflict because there was no compromise.” said a Mt. Holly student who participated in a skit about the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. He described his team’s effort at getting the language for the play.  “We tried to make it so that we spoke exactly like they did back then, so we used some of the exact same sentences from the trial in our play.” Along with creating papier mache rocks and a backdrop to create a grizzly death scene, the students spent hours researching and learning their topic, including trips to the library and internet work.  “In the end, they finally stopped killing people because there was no real proof that anyone was a witch.” 

This year’s participants are from these schools: Mt. Abraham Union High School (Bristol); Mt. Holly School; Brighton Elementary (Island Pond); Black River High School (Ludlow); Burlington High School; Vergennes Union High School; Proctor and Poultney Elementary, Junior & Senior High School; Brattleboro and Mill River. 

Junior division is comprised of grades six through eight, and senior division includes grades nine through twelve. Each division has categories that provide for individual and group programs in formats including written research, dramatic performances, documentaries and exhibits. First and second place rankings in each category at Vermont’s competition will advance to the National History Day contest, to be held on June 15-19 at the University of Maryland.
 

National History Day started in 1980, and it continues to be a highly regarded academic organization for elementary and secondary school students. The program annually draws 700,000 participants in grades 6 through 12 in 48 states, the District of Columbia and American Samoa.