National History Day!

Parents’ Coalition was honored to be invited to the final national competition of National History Day (NHD), held at the University of Maryland last weekend; and the reception at the National Museum of American History (NMAH) this past Wednesday.  What an event!  A total of 2,800 students competed during this past week at NHD.

Congratulations to all the students and their parents, guardians and teachers who work so hard throughout the year.  As readers of this blog know, Parents’ Coalition is a strong supporter of NHD and offers the annual Prize in the History of Education at our local Montgomery County level.

Your intrepid reporter had a chance to speak with some of the students whose work was showcased the final competition, including Shana Yang from Guam, whose presentation, “Chamorro Reactions to Health Reforms during the U.S. Naval Era,” was inspired by her interest in the indigenous peoples of Guam and their reaction and interaction with U.S. Navy personnel.  She became interested in the topic when reading books on the subject in middle school.  I also spoke with Daniel Dorminy from McDonough, Georgia, who was fascinated by the question, when did the Continental Army change from a somewhat rag-tag group of individuals to a disciplined army in the modern sense?  What caused this transformation?  His interest led to his topic on, “Baron Von Steuben: Catalyst for Victory.”  Connor Naughton, from Easton, Massachusetts, chose the topic, “Recombinant DNA: The Scientific Revolution that reformed Diabetes Treatment and Therapeutic Drug Development” because of a friend who has diabetes.  That led to his interest in how innovations and medical discoveries change treatment of disease.  I also spoke with Caroline Yapp, from Kalamazoo, Michigan, who has just graduated from Kazoo Middle School and is about to enter high school.  Her topic was on the change in the Monarchy during the English Revolution, “The Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Enlightening the World through Diplomacy.”  And of course I couldn’t pass up a discussion with Marylander Aurora Quezada, who is a student at the Baltimore City Neighbors School, and whose topic, “The Berlin Wall: The Rise of the Fall” was inspired by her mother, who was in Berlin at the time the wall fell.

The reception included Senator Daniel Inouye (D-HI) who thanked everyone for “making history an important part of our life.”  We also heard from John Gray, the new Director Designate of NMAH, who will begin his tenure next month; and from Ken Behring, who inspires us all with his steadfast dedication to natural and cultural history, learning, and museums.  With new director John Gray, we look forward to a continually energized museum and inspiring exhibits under his leadership.  And of course Dr. Cathy Gorn was there – she seems to be everywhere these days!  As Executive Director of National History Day Cathy makes an enormous difference to the study of history, encouraging thousands of students, parents, guardians and teachers to study history.  Thank you Cathy!

National History Day is open to any student, and here in Montgomery County we are so lucky to have dedicated teachers, and parents and guardians who work with their students on these fascinating subjects.  And of course many thanks to the Montgomery County Historical Society who puts on the event here.  Thanks all for stepping up to the plate and being so involved and active in our civic life.