Education

Teacher's son places first at History Day

Phillip E. Honstein

In the ten years Ferndale instructor Greg Hart has coached History Day competitors, this was the first year he coached his own son, Ben Hart, who happened to place first in state in the Junior Individual exhibit, even though he attends a school without a formal History Day program.

Ben said that History Day competition is a greater challenge than he expects in school. "Sometimes for a bibliography at school you might have to get five sources," he said. Ben's History Day bibliography had 57 entries.

Ben competed as an eighth-grade student of Bellingham's Fairhaven Middle school. A reduced workload in class provided research time.

Coaching his own son was rewarding for Greg. "As a teacher, it's satisfying to work with your offspring and see in them some of the best skills of your students," he said.

It took three quarters to create "Technology Shelters People: Home Building in Whatcom County," a project Ben described as "a four-sided, rotating, house-like exhibit." It stands approximately five feet tall and details the history of home building in Whatcom County from 1870.

Greg has gained a greater appreciation for parent involvement in history day: "For ten years I've been asking parents to help with history day... now I know what I put at their doorstep: trips to Kinko's, trips for rubber cement, trips to interviews."

Ben's interest in the topic began with an interest "in the homes I see in Whatcom County." Focusing locally meant that Ben had access to primary sources, both houses and people.

Although Ben did not place in nationals last week, he described competing as "a lot of fun," and said the project "improved my skills in reading and writing in a way I don't think I would have gotten even in high school."

Ben will start high school this fall. He plans to enter more History Day competitions, participate in student government, get ready for college, "and maybe try sports."

Published June 1999 in the Record Journal Newspaper.