Several Redmond youths were winners or finalists in the National History Day (NHD) competition, last month at the University of Maryland.
Emily Hamlin, who just completed sixth grade at Sunrise Elementary School, won first place in the Junior Division Individual Exhibit category for “Patsy T. Mink: Rewriting the Rules.”
Samvit Jain, who just finished eighth grade at Redmond Junior High School (RJH), was the first place winner in the Junior Paper category for “Leader and Spokesperson for a People in Exile: Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce.”
RJH students Rahul Devanarayanan and Nicholas Kodati, both of whom have completed eighth grade, placed third for their Junior Web site, “Mikhail S. Gorbachev: Dictator for Democracy.”
Also from Redmond, Leigh Douglas, who has completed 10th grade at Inglemoor High School, placed 11th for her Senior Division Individual Performance, “The Actions and Legacies of Elizabeth I: The Woman Who Gave Birth to an Empire.”
And Nathan Maris, who has completed ninth grade at International Community School, placed 13th for his Senior Individual Documentary, “J. Harlen Bretz and the Great Missoula Flood: An Individual and his Radical Geologic Theory.”
THE POWER OF ONE
This year’s NHD theme was “The Individual in History: Actions and Legacies.”
Students took great care in explaining how individuals can make lasting changes in societies.
Hamlin noted, “Because I am a dedicated student and athlete, I wanted a topic that related to Title IX which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally-funded education program or activity. I chose Patsy T. Mink because the legacy she left allows me to play sports and have equal opportunity in education.”
Jain chose Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce because “his activism earned him national and international sympathy and his eloquent speeches, impassioned petitions and powerful encounters with the top government and military leaders of the U.S. helped shape federal policy at the time. Joseph earned a voice for the Nez Perce and for Native Americans on the diplomatic table, as opposed to the battlefield.”
Kodati explained, “Mikhail Gorbachev liberated Eastern Bloc countries, was an environmentalist, redefined global expectations for government accountability and foreign relations and most significantly, assisted in ending the Cold War, a military and technological standoff between two of the world’s greatest superpowers at that time, the U.S. and the Soviet Union.”
Devanarayanan added, “By taking what was supposed to be the ‘worst’ country in the world, in terms of living conditions in the West’s eyes, and enacting vast and radical reforms of social redemption, Gorbachev made it even clearer to Western nations the imperative need to work for society’s improvement and destroyed much bureaucratic resolve to procrastinate such change and expenditure.”
HISTORY IN ACTION
On her first trip to Washington D.C. for the NHD competition, Hamlin observed that the nation’s capital is “like a huge classroom. Everywhere you look there is a new place to visit and another thing to learn. …I loved seeing the Constitution, Bill of Rights and especially the Declaration of Independence. It was rewarding to see the meaning behind the writing in these documents.”
Other students raved about the opportunities to meet and learn from other young history buffs from elsewhere in the U.S. and many foreign countries.
Devanarayanan noted that they were “different from us in many ways, but were brought together for the same purpose.”
WHY HISTORY MATTERS
The NHD participants offered excellent advice as to why kids and teens should be curious about history.
“Kids and teens NEED to be curious about history because so much of it has directly impacted them,” Hamlin stated. “Kids take so much of history for granted and I think that they should know that anything we have gained in the past, such as Title IX, can be easily taken away and that we must always stand up for our rights.”
Jain believes it’s valuable “because of its importance to every field out there. Whether one is interested in science, literature, music, art or well, history, the skills can be put to good use. One important theme of the History Day competition is the importance of combining good analysis with the historical facts. It is this deeper level of study that has lasting significance.”
Said Kodati, “To understand why things are happening around the world today, one needs to examine the past few decades which have led up to this point. Young people are questioning themselves, ‘Why did the economic crisis happen? What is the deal with the war in Iraq? How has humanity caused global warming?’ When students are curious about today’s events, they ought to realize they should first be curious about history to understand the big picture.”
Devananarayanan concurred, “The chronicle of humanity is filled with conflicts caused by problems similar or the same as past issues. Had individuals properly learned from the mistakes, warnings and actions of previous figures, many and most of these conflicts would have been averted.”
Even students who say they don’t like history should care because it tells us about human nature.
As Douglas pointed out, “When you get past the names and dates, it’s really no different than your average soap opera. There’s a reason why television shows, movies and books are written about these people — they led interesting lives. I’ve learned entertaining little anecdotes about the people I have studied, that can only remind you they were only human, after all.”
