Middle-Senior High School students go back in time and learn more about history
WEST BRIDGEWATER - Eighth-grader Kylie Cruz gained more than historical understanding when she delved into NASA’s “hidden figures” behind the scenes.
Cruz was one of over 90 teens who participated in National History Day at the Middle-Senior High School Wednesday.
“We picked this project because it has a really good example of what women of African-American descent had to go through,” said Cruz. “I learned no matter your race or gender you can get through it, and no matter what people say you can succeed,” said Cruz.
“I learned only about 8.4 percent of NASA’s women were black (in the 1960s) and there were even fewer black men,” said classmate Dharlenny Soto of East Bridgewater, who partnered with Cruz on the project.
Jon Rada of Brockton and Austin Zhang of West Bridgewater teamed up to study the 9/11 attacks. “I learned 343 firefighters, 60 police officers and eight paramedics died at once,” said Rada, 14.
“It was pretty devastating,” said Zhang.
“Students gain so much by engaging in the National History Day projects,” said History Department Chairman John Nenopoulos. “They select topics of interest, making learning fun while building up their academic skills including research, networking and communications,” said Nenopoulos.
Students were given the opportunity to work solo or in partnerships or teams. Their work included written reports, board displays and interviews with judges.
School Choice students Olivia Falvey and Kara Cronin, both of Raynham, explored Prohibition for their history project.
“We picked Prohibition because we felt we could be really creative with it,” said Cronin. “Prohibition was an experiment to see if crime levels would go down if you removed alcohol,” said Cronin.
“This showed how much people wanted and needed alcohol to reduce stress and what they would do to get it back,” said Falvey.
Eighth-grader Eva Adams of West Bridgewater selected the Kent State shooting of 1970 with her team.
“We didn’t have prior knowledge about the Kent State shooting and we wanted to do something we hadn’t heard of,” said Adams. “I was surprised people could feel so strongly, and over 2,000 people filled the campus to protest – and some people were killed – but it was worth it because they stopped drafting from the campus,” said Adams.
“They didn’t want their education to be compromised so they fought for it,” said Adams. “I learned to fight for what I want and don’t stop until I get it.”
“It is wonderful to see how creative and informative the students’ NHD projects are each year,” said Principal Mark Bodwell. “They spend a tremendous amount of time and this becomes a great learning experience for them.”
Fourteen year-old Eric Ames of West Bridgewater crafted a giant display as a tribute to Eleanor Roosevelt. “I picked her because I thought she was an influential character in history who stood up for what she thought was right and fair,” said Ames.
“My favorite quote of her is ‘Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people,’” said Ames.
Other topics spanned the Salem witch trials, capital punishment, Title 9, Harriet Tubman, the Chicago Black Sox scandal and the Irish potato famine, among others.
“The National History Day showcase and competition is a win for all who are involved,” said Nenopoulos.