An Invitation to Homeschoolers
During the 2004-05 National History Day (NHD) competition, home school student Brynne Piotrowski wrote a Senior Historical Paper that won second place in the Florida History Fair state contest and Best Naval History Award at the national contest. Her winning paper was titled "Anticipated Arrival: Communications Intelligence in the Battle of Midway."
Home school students are welcome to participate in the National History Day program. Here are Brynne's thoughts about her experience.
Homeschooling
And the History Fair
By Brynne Piotrowski
As a homeschooled participant in the 2004-05 history fair, I encourage all homeschoolers to take part in their local history fairs. History fair is a truly exceptional and enriching academic opportunity that it is available to all, no matter how you are educated or who your history teacher may be.
One of the unique aspects of history fair is that students get the chance to conduct an in-depth study of a specific topic in history that really interests them. Finding a topic that ties in with the overall theme of history fair is key to a successful experience. Historical topics can be found in any of the academic disciplines: science, math, literature, philosophy, and so forth. Last year, my topic was in military history; specifically, codebreakers in WWII. The National History Day and Florida History Fair organizations (NHD and FHF, respectively) both publish suggested topic lists and are great places to start looking for topic ideas that reflect the history fair theme.
No matter which category (performance, documentary, exhibit, or paper) your history fair project is in, quality research is essential. Public and university libraries are excellent places to begin investigating a topic. Furthermore, the NHD website (www.nationalhistoryday.org) has great research links and is home to the National History Day Rule Book. The Rule Book is important because it details all the required technical aspects of history fair projects and offers some good research suggestions. Research sources are also available at places that might be surprising. I was fortunate that a local military base had a museum on military codebreaking. I also found a nationwide association of veteran military codebreakers that had a branch in my area. With careful research, homeschooled history fair participants can find a wide variety of resources available to them.
Homeschoolers often do not have designated history teachers. Although history teachers often play a key role in history fair, other people can offer assistance and suggestions that are just as valuable in completing a history fair project. A parent or friend can critique a board, performance, or documentary, or proofread a historical paper. A good history fair project requires clarity and thorough explanation so that judges and others who are not as familiar with the topic do not have trouble understanding it. Having other people review a project helps to ensure that it has this clarity and thoroughness.
While conducting research, many history fair participants find people who are acquainted with their topic and eager to offer their help. In my case, I met a couple of gentlemen (one a former US Navy cryptologist, the other a volunteer at the National Museum of Naval Aviation) who had extensive knowledge of WWII military codebreaking. Both of the men were very helpful and supportive-suggesting places to search for sources and even reading and providing feedback on my paper. Homeschooling affords the unique opportunity to be flexible during normal school hours, something homeschooled history fair competitors may find very beneficial. The lack of a history teacher may be a concern to a homeschooler who is interested in participating in history fair, but the people you meet in the course of your research will likely become some of your most useful tools.
The actual history fair competition is the same for homeschoolers as it is for students of public or private schools. All history fair participants need to get to know their county coordinator, who usually works with your local school district. A county coordinator helps with registration for local history fair and, should you advance to state level, will help you prepare for that competition. Each state also has a history fair coordinator (for Florida, it is Mrs. KC Smith), who runs state history fair and helps state winners prepare for National History Day. My experience with history fair competition as a homeschooler was exceptional, and both my county and state coordinators were extremely accommodating and happy to have a homeschooler competing.
History fair is an opportunity I encourage every homeschooler to take advantage of. My experience was both enriching and a lot of fun. I truly believe that every student who takes part in history fair does not come away empty-handed. The knowledge and research skills that participants acquire during the construction of their history fair projects will prove to be valuable tools in future educational endeavors. If you are fortunate enough to advance to state and/or national competition, I offer you my sincere congratulations! That is quite an accomplishment and the chance to experience both our state and our nation's capitals firsthand really gives you an appreciation of why studying history is so important. So to all homeschoolers, I challenge you to give history fair a whirl. See what original projects you can come up with to relate to this year's theme. Best of luck!