Participants say History Day a competition worth the effort

“Revolution, Reaction, Reform.” The theme of the 2012 History Day competition holds promise for all participating sophomores, juniors and seniors.

Coming from their respective world history, U.S. history and government classes, students feel more prepared than in years before to place in this year’s National History Day.

Last year, students showed a lot of talent and several went far. Reaching the national level of competition in 2011 were Senior Ariella Yendler’s individual performance on the Scopes Monkey Trial, seniors Christine Tseng, Sanjana Chetia and Jennifer Yang’s group documentary on Japanese Internment during WWII and sophomore Anushree Dugar’s historical paper on the Colorado River Compact.

“It is rare that a school gets even one rather than two awards. It was a real victory for Saratoga,” AP US History teacher Matt Torrens said.

History Day differs in many ways from the typical social studies-related groups offering extra credit on campus such as Model United Nations, mock trial and speech and debate. Unlike Model United Nations and mock trial, History Day involves researching a project with a group that will involve detailed historical analysis opposed to developed technique of other clubs.

“History Day is specifically focused on interpretation, in-depth analysis and knowledge of prior historians,” Torrens said.

By December break, participants will have finalized their topics, presented them for approval by librarian Kevin Heyman, created an annotated bibliography and presented a mock exhibition of their topics.

Although the work seemed concentrated on first semester, most students were surprised to find the distribution feasible for their schedules.

“At first, I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to complete the different stages in History Day,” junior Cori Posadas said. “But then as I was completing deadlines, the work was equally spread throughout the months,”

But, past participants say, the overwhelming fear of the amount work required for History Day is warranted. The project involves building an exhibit, creating a video or skit, or constructing a website that demonstrated students’ knowledge on their topic and how it interprets the 2012 theme.

“It is a really big ‘time suck’ that involves participation through both semesters,” said Torrens.

Although it may seem as though these issues might decrease participation, the number of students involved in this year’s National History Day has increased from 75 to 300 participants or 70 groups from last year.

The increased interest is partially due to the influx of students interested in extra credit from participating. In APUSH classes, students receive 20 points of extra credit from participating in social studies related clubs or activities.

In spite of this additional compensation, students are still eager to participate.

“Even though my grade raised 4 percent, I would have still participated, because it’s a fun way of displaying what my group has learned in APUSH,” said junior Kristen Leung.

This year, the History Day open house will take place in the library on Feb. 16.