History comes alive
History was made by Utah State University’s history honors society, Phi Alpha Theta. Mt. Logan Middle School asked society members to judge its annual American history fair Wednesday evening.
“The students were very excited to volunteer,” said the society’s adviser Susan Shapiro. “Many of the members are going to be teachers, or are thinking about becoming teachers, and this project gave them a taste of that.”
Mark Dewey was the Mt. Logan history teacher that sounded the cry for the need of volunteers. Dewy told Shapiro that the middle school students were thrilled to have college students judging their projects, even more so than other teachers or adults.
“The university is such a tremendous resource, and when you are able to utilize that, it forms a special bond with our students,” Dewey said.
Dewey’s comments were confirmed by some of the Mt. Logan students.
“I think that it is great to have the college kids come to help,” said eighth-grader Kelly Mikesell. “It’s fun for us and I think it is fun for them.”
Another eighth-grader, Lisa Christensen, said, “I think it is cool that the college students want to see our projects.”
The society members also felt that judging was a “cool” experience.
“A lot of my teachers have inspired me and I want to continue that legacy, by teaching as well,” said Scott Davis, a history senior at USU. “This is a great opportunity to look at teaching from a different angle.”
Davis was echoed by fellow history senior, Michelle White.
“It is wonderful to see the look of understanding that comes on the students’ faces,” White said. “History is such a great teaching tool. It helps us understand the past, present and prepares us for the future.”
The society students were each assigned six out of the 140 exhibits to judge. Dewey instructed them to, “ask follow-up questions. Flush the information from the kids and ask for examples beyond their exhibit information.”
They were also given a judging form to fill out for each of the exhibits. The criteria on the form included visual appeal, organization, relationship to the theme and an analysis on the importance of the topic.
The winners of the history fair will advance to a regional competition at Weber State University and have a chance to compete for state at the University of Utah and then on to nationals in Washington, D.C.
-stephhafen@cc.usu.edu
Keith Cash from Mount Logan Middle School listens attentively to his judge, history major Ben Jones. Jones complimented Cash on his knowledge of Helen Keller and how her disabilities were similar to his own. (Photo by Becky Blankenship)
Mark Redd describes his display on the atomic bomb to judge Christine Merrill, a Utah history major. Phi Alpha Theta adviser Susan Shapiro said students were thrilled to have college judges at their yearly fair. (Photo by Becky Blankenship)