{"id":518,"date":"2021-03-28T13:25:22","date_gmt":"2021-03-28T17:25:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/slis.simmons.edu\/blogs\/lis476\/?p=518"},"modified":"2021-03-28T13:25:50","modified_gmt":"2021-03-28T17:25:50","slug":"vermont-history-day-and-the-vermont-historical-society","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/slis.simmons.edu\/blogs\/lis476\/?p=518","title":{"rendered":"Vermont History Day and the Vermont Historical Society"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Toben Traver<\/em><\/p>\n

What happens when we engage students in the process of histor<\/span>ic documentation <\/span>and <\/span>research? <\/span>This is the question that drives the annual Vermont History Day <\/span>(VHD) <\/span>program and <\/span>competition. Since 1983, <\/span>VHD<\/span>, <\/span>administered <\/span>by the Vermont Historical Society<\/span>(VHS) <\/span>in <\/span>affiliation with National History Day (NHD), has worked to provide Vermont 5<\/span>th<\/span>–<\/span>12<\/span>th <\/span>g<\/span>rade <\/span>students with opportunities to develop research skills,<\/span>grapple <\/span>critically with historic topics, and <\/span>present the fruits of their labor to their peers and community. <\/span>All s<\/span>tudent projects are organized <\/span>around a common theme selected each year by NHD, a <\/span>national non<\/span>–<\/span>profit <\/span>organization <\/span>committed to <\/span>teaching, preparing, and inspiring the next generation of historically<\/span>–<\/span>grounded <\/span>citizens. Students are charged with delv<\/span>ing <\/span>into the topic of their choice<\/span>, and encouraged to bring <\/span>in creative skills and interes<\/span>ts<\/span>; projects <\/span>\u2013<\/span>solo or in groups of up to five <\/span>\u2013<\/span>can take the form of an <\/span>essay, a performance, an exhibit, a documentary, or a website. Placing first or second in the <\/span>statewide <\/span>April <\/span>competition qualifies students to compete at the <\/span>n<\/span>ational level in June. <\/span>In 2021, <\/span>as in 2020, these competition<\/span>s <\/span>will be <\/span>virtual events <\/span>due to the ongoing COVID<\/span>–<\/span>19 Pandemic.<\/span><\/p>\n

VHD <\/span>fits squarely within the mission of the <\/span>VHS<\/span>, which is to engage <\/span>a wide audience<\/span>\u201c<\/span>in <\/span>the exploration of our state’s rich heritage<\/span>… t<\/span>hrough our outstandi<\/span>ng collections, statewide <\/span>outreach, and dynamic programming<\/span>\u201d<\/span>(Vermont Historical Society, 2021)<\/span>. <\/span>The program <\/span>provides a<\/span>n opportunity <\/span>for students, parents, and teachers from across Vermont to connect <\/span>with <\/span>and learn to value historic materials. <\/span>VHS also <\/span>demonstrates a clear understanding of how they <\/span>can tailor their services to this group of users <\/span>by highlighting <\/span>possible pro<\/span>ject ide<\/span>as oriente<\/span>d to <\/span>the <\/span>issues that animate them <\/span>\u2013<\/span>environmental degradation, social justice, and indigenous rights, <\/span>for instance. <\/span>How<\/span>–<\/span>to guides and tutorials are w<\/span>ritten with grade<\/span>–<\/span>school students in mind, using <\/span>language and imagery they might find approachable. <\/span>Resources on the VHS website guide <\/span>participants in how to locate and evaluate <\/span>primary and secondary <\/span>sources, a critical component <\/span>of building archival <\/span>and i<\/span>nformation <\/span>literacy. Further, resources link to various other libraries, <\/span>museums, local historical societies, and <\/span>repositories <\/span>throughout the state. In th<\/span>is <\/span>way, th<\/span>e <\/span>project <\/span>helps raise awareness of the broader environment of cultural heritage <\/span>centers <\/span>thro<\/span>ughout <\/span>Vermont<\/span>, and provides avenues for outreach to critical partner organizations and future <\/span>potential <\/span>allies of the VHS.<\/span><\/p>\n

Students <\/span>are one of the <\/span>primary <\/span>audiences <\/span>for VHD, though they are certainly not <\/span>its only <\/span>beneficiaries<\/span>. While<\/span>, <\/span>according the V<\/span>HS website<\/span>, <\/span>one hundred and sixty<\/span>–<\/span>seven students <\/span>participated in the VHD competition in 2020, a virtual exhibition allows a broad swath of the <\/span>public to learn about the <\/span>individual <\/span>topics and projects, and perhaps connect with the VHS, <\/span>Vermont State Archives, or other organizations <\/span>that ho<\/span>use cultural heritage materials <\/span>(Vermont <\/span>Historical Society, 2020). <\/span>Educators are a central target of this program <\/span>as well. <\/span>VHD <\/span>provide<\/span>s <\/span>tools for <\/span>incorporating <\/span>historical teaching and learning into the classroom<\/span>, including suggested <\/span>topics of study releva<\/span>nt to Vermont\u2019s history, and <\/span>creative <\/span>methodologies for engaging in <\/span>research<\/span>, such as oral history<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

While many of the student<\/span>s <\/span>engaged in this program have benefited immensely, judging <\/span>by their glowing reviews on the VHD webpage, it <\/span>i<\/span>s <\/span>diffi<\/span>cult to quanti<\/span>fy the program<\/span>\u2019<\/span>s impact. <\/span>Many of the winning projects in 2020 originated from one school and <\/span>one <\/span>town<\/span>,<\/span>suggesting that <\/span>some teachers and communities have found ways to fold the program into their classrooms <\/span>successfully, while others <\/span>may <\/span>have <\/span>not. <\/span>That sai<\/span>d, local history, culture, and politics have long <\/span>been celebrated in Vermont, and the VHS has secured a <\/span>prominent <\/span>role in educating, promoting, <\/span>and preserving Vermonters<\/span>\u2019 <\/span>connections with their past. VHD provides a clear avenue for this <\/span>kind of wrestling w<\/span>ith history, offer<\/span>ing <\/span>students the chance to direct their own learning, and <\/span>show<\/span>ing <\/span>all involved the power that historical materials can have. In this way, the program helps <\/span>secure a <\/span>loyal base of support for the VHS, and <\/span>e<\/span>nsure the organization can contin<\/span>ue its mission <\/span>into the <\/span>future.<\/span><\/p>\n

Links for further reading<\/span>:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Vermont Historical Society: <\/span>https:\/\/vermonthistory.org\/<\/span><\/p>\n

Vermont History Day: <\/span>https:\/\/vermonthistory.org\/historyday\/<\/span><\/p>\n

National History Day: <\/span>https:\/\/www.nhd.org\/<\/span><\/p>\n

References<\/span>:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Vermont Historical Society. (2020). <\/span>Vermont History Day 2020<\/span><\/em>. Vermont H<\/span>istory. URL: <\/span>https:\/\/vermonthistory.org\/vhd<\/span>–<\/span>2020<\/span><\/p>\n

Vermont Historical Society. (2021). <\/span>Mission & Strategic Plan<\/span><\/em>.<\/em> Vermont History. <\/span>URL: <\/span>https:\/\/vermonthistory.org\/mission<\/span>–<\/span>and<\/span>–<\/span>strategic<\/span>–<\/span>plan<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Toben Traver What happens when we engage students in the process of historic documentation and research? This is the question that drives the annual Vermont History Day (VHD) program and competition. Since 1983, VHD, administered by the Vermont Historical Society(VHS) in affiliation with National History Day (NHD), has worked to provide Vermont 5th–12th grade … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Vermont History Day and the Vermont Historical Society”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":433,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[16,30374],"tags":[30351],"class_list":["post-518","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-events","category-historical-societies","tag-local-history"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/slis.simmons.edu\/blogs\/lis476\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/slis.simmons.edu\/blogs\/lis476\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/slis.simmons.edu\/blogs\/lis476\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slis.simmons.edu\/blogs\/lis476\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/433"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slis.simmons.edu\/blogs\/lis476\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=518"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/slis.simmons.edu\/blogs\/lis476\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":520,"href":"https:\/\/slis.simmons.edu\/blogs\/lis476\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/518\/revisions\/520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/slis.simmons.edu\/blogs\/lis476\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=518"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slis.simmons.edu\/blogs\/lis476\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=518"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/slis.simmons.edu\/blogs\/lis476\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=518"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}