Glen Ridge High School History Club members who helped propel the club into the national championship tournament are, from left, standing, Insoo Ju, Mark Budko, Leo Holzapel and Finn Petersen; and seated, Steven Majewski and Soren Razo. Not shown are Nate McCarthy, Ekambir Potukuchi, Seth Thrikawala, Luke Nakamura, Olvia Hernandez and James Collelo.
Beginner’s luck? Not likely. But the Glen Ridge High School History Club, composed of seventh- and eighth-graders, after their first-ever inter-school competitions, are now poised to compete in the national championships this May.
They qualified by finishing second in the state championship, held at Ridgewood High School, on Jan. 20.
For good measure, they then captured the state southern regional title, at Toms River High School, Feb. 8. The club advisor is history teacher, David Majewski. The nationals are in Orlando, Fla., May 23-27.
“I had such a strong group of club members who wanted to test their knowledge against other schools,” he said last week at GRHS. “They enjoyed the competition, but not necessarily to advance to the nationals. They’re just a great group to work with, they work hard and love history.”
Club members volunteered to be in the championships. Some, although qualifying, will be unable to attend the national competition.
Those who made it all happen are seventh-graders Mark Budko, Olivia Hernandez, Insoo Ju, Soren Razo, Nate McCarthy, Ekambir Potukuchi, Seth Thrikawala and eighth-graders Finn Petersen, Leo Holzapel, Steven Majewski, Luke Nakamura and James Collelo. If available last week, they were asked what they liked so much about history.
Steven, whose favorite historical period is the American Revolution, said knowing what happened in the past will help you with the future.
Leo seconded this.
“And it helps you relate to people,” he added. “If you visit another country, it would be helpful to know what they relate to.”
Insoo said he enjoyed learning about the people, from King Tut to Harriet Tubman.
“There’s a huge range of historical figures,” he said. “I do admire the brave pioneers who forged paths and changed the way we live our lives. Some made mistakes, but still society formed around it.”
Soren, quoting Winston Churchill’s reminder, “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it,” said history is a way to see how people worked solving problems.
“I find history cool and the stories,” said Mark. “And it’s a good way to learn about current events, consider questions about it and how the events compare to other periods of history.”
He especially enjoys 20th century history because there was a lot to learn about the wars, advancements in technology and geo-politics.
For Finn, history reflects how horrible human beings can be, but also how good.
“Like the atrocities of World War Two, but also the bravery of the soldiers,” he said.
He was also interested in learning how people strove for an answer; for meaning in life. “The Greek gods could be horrible, somewhat like humans,” he said.
“Greek mythology is part of history. It was a religion. But it reflects the thinking of people who created history.”
He gave as an example the character of Othello.
“Othello was a good guy, but he killed his wife because he thought she cheated,” he said. “But cheating isn’t considered a reason for killing now. But in the story of Othello, he was a good guy.”
Because of this example, Finn said history can reflect the advancement of human values.
Majewski said after the state championships, the southern regional title was especially important to the club.
“It solidified that they were worthy to go to the nationals and the state competition wasn’t a fluke because we placed so high,” he said.
Preparing for the nationals include practice each morning as well as during the club’s ordinary Friday meetings.
“We’ll go through Jeopardy-like games I created,” he said. “For instance, who was the destroyer god of ancient India? The answer is Shiva.”
The club also has annual overnight trips. This year it was Washington, D.C. and next year the destination is Gettysburg.
Ancient civilizations and religions are studied in eight-grade history at GRHS. In seventh-grade, students learn about World History, the Civil War and Reconstruction. Majewski said the study of various religions is an important part of the history curriculum.
“It’s a class where we learn to accept people,” he said. “Learning the history of religion is an essential in a student discovering their own beliefs. In the eighth-grade, it’s a time period when they question everything. Knowing what other people believe opens up their eyes.”
Win or lose at the nationals, come next school year, the club will participate in tournaments.
“We’re hoping to build this into an annual goal,” Majewski said.
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