By JANE NORDBERG, DMG Writer
May 20, 2008
PAINESDALE — They’ve been ambassadors for history in downstate Mount Pleasant, and now they’re spreading the message even farther.
After making it through the regional and state competitions, four local students will be competing at National History Day, to be held June 15-19 at the University of Maryland.
The event is a nationwide competition of middle and high school students based on a theme which changes every year. Students could choose to do a documentary, exhibit, performance, web site or paper based on this year’s theme of “Conflict and Compromise.”
“We wanted to do something local, and something we could both relate to,” said Jeffers High School ninth-grader Hannah Rundman, explaining why she and classmate Brittany Puska chose to enter an exhibit on the 1913-14 Copper Mining Strike. This is the second time at the Nationals for the duo, who did an exhibit on the Finnish Winter War last year.
Puska said they’ve learned a few things since last year.
“There are rows and rows of exhibits, so it’s important we have something that makes ours stand out,” she said.
Following judges’ suggestions from both the regional and the state competitions, the trick is to add improvements without inadvertently messing with a good thing.
“We don’t want to take out something the judges really liked,” Rundman said. “It’s hard to make it stronger without fooling with it too much.”
Kalle Markkanen of Houghton Middle School also chose the same topic, although as an eighth-grader he competes at the junior level and is not in direct competition with Rundman and Puska.
“I thought it was the spitting image of perfection after the regionals,” he said of his exhibit. “But I realized after (the state competition) that I really had to do some serious revision.”
He eschewed his original cardboard foundation for foam and added some three-dimensional elements such as a shaft rock house and a picket sign with strike wording.
“One thing I didn’t want to change too much was the timeline, which everyone seemed to like,” he said. He’s also been paying strict attention to the NHD rules which limit an entry’s word count to 500.
Markkanen was sponsored by his parents as his school did not participate. At Jeffers, social studies teacher Cheryl Ruohonen is a proponent for the program, but said she didn’t believe in making History Day work a mandatory assignment.
“It’s even more impressive when you know how much work they put into this on nights and weekends because they want to,” she said of Rundman and Puska. “They’ve spent an untold number of hours, not for a class assignment and not for an ounce of extra credit.”
Hancock Central High School 11th-grader Kirsti Wall will also advance to the NHD finals for her Web site on the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia, a topic she chose after reading a book.
“The judges seemed to like the fact that I chose it on my own curiosity,” Wall said. They also praised her inclusion of artwork from one of the survivors and her Web site’s ease in navigation.
All four students say they plan to provide more context about why their topic has national or international significance. Wall also plans after the competition to make her site live so her work won’t be in vain.
“I’d like to do that if I can find a host for it,” she said. “I think this is a really good topic more students should know about.”
For more information on National History Day, go to www.nationalhistoryday.org
May 20, 2008
PAINESDALE — They’ve been ambassadors for history in downstate Mount Pleasant, and now they’re spreading the message even farther.
After making it through the regional and state competitions, four local students will be competing at National History Day, to be held June 15-19 at the University of Maryland.
The event is a nationwide competition of middle and high school students based on a theme which changes every year. Students could choose to do a documentary, exhibit, performance, web site or paper based on this year’s theme of “Conflict and Compromise.”
“We wanted to do something local, and something we could both relate to,” said Jeffers High School ninth-grader Hannah Rundman, explaining why she and classmate Brittany Puska chose to enter an exhibit on the 1913-14 Copper Mining Strike. This is the second time at the Nationals for the duo, who did an exhibit on the Finnish Winter War last year.
Puska said they’ve learned a few things since last year.
“There are rows and rows of exhibits, so it’s important we have something that makes ours stand out,” she said.
Following judges’ suggestions from both the regional and the state competitions, the trick is to add improvements without inadvertently messing with a good thing.
“We don’t want to take out something the judges really liked,” Rundman said. “It’s hard to make it stronger without fooling with it too much.”
Kalle Markkanen of Houghton Middle School also chose the same topic, although as an eighth-grader he competes at the junior level and is not in direct competition with Rundman and Puska.
“I thought it was the spitting image of perfection after the regionals,” he said of his exhibit. “But I realized after (the state competition) that I really had to do some serious revision.”
He eschewed his original cardboard foundation for foam and added some three-dimensional elements such as a shaft rock house and a picket sign with strike wording.
“One thing I didn’t want to change too much was the timeline, which everyone seemed to like,” he said. He’s also been paying strict attention to the NHD rules which limit an entry’s word count to 500.
Markkanen was sponsored by his parents as his school did not participate. At Jeffers, social studies teacher Cheryl Ruohonen is a proponent for the program, but said she didn’t believe in making History Day work a mandatory assignment.
“It’s even more impressive when you know how much work they put into this on nights and weekends because they want to,” she said of Rundman and Puska. “They’ve spent an untold number of hours, not for a class assignment and not for an ounce of extra credit.”
Hancock Central High School 11th-grader Kirsti Wall will also advance to the NHD finals for her Web site on the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia, a topic she chose after reading a book.
“The judges seemed to like the fact that I chose it on my own curiosity,” Wall said. They also praised her inclusion of artwork from one of the survivors and her Web site’s ease in navigation.
All four students say they plan to provide more context about why their topic has national or international significance. Wall also plans after the competition to make her site live so her work won’t be in vain.
“I’d like to do that if I can find a host for it,” she said. “I think this is a really good topic more students should know about.”
For more information on National History Day, go to www.nationalhistoryday.org
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