Emma An, member of the National History Day (NHD) club and junior, started internalizing the importance of history education from a young age.

“Ever since I was little, my parents have emphasized the importance of history, especially when learning more about my own heritage and the position of Korean history in a greater framework to other global trends,” An said. 

Sometimes when she sat next to her mother on the couch, An said she would listen to heartwarming, shocking, and inspiring tales from history flowing freely to her in the Korean language, an emblem of her family’s heritage and culture. Other times, in Korean school, she said she learned about events like the tragedies of Japanese occupation.

An said these crucial childhood experiences shape her current interest in history and propelled her to create a National History Day project.

 “As I got older and started taking more World and U.S. history classes, I found myself enjoying the process of connecting small events to their greater future impacts (for NHD),” An said. 

Waning Support

An’s story reveals the importance of history education for millions of children at a time where it is currently being devalued, but her love of history is not shared among most Americans. According to a poll conducted by the American History Association, two thirds of Americans consider history to be “little more than an assemblage of names, dates, and events.” A recent ruling from the Supreme Court has also paved the way for massive layoffs at the Department of Education, threatening support for history education nationwide.

Simultaneously, the Trump administration is also slashing support specifically for humanities and arts education. On April 3, Dr. Cathy Gorn, Executive Director of National History Day, woke up to terrifying news: Due to funding cuts at the National Endowment for the Humanities, National History Day had in turn lost $336,000 in funding for the next two years of operation.

Gorn said, “It was quite a shock. Fortunately though, I went on social media and asked people to help by sending in support. We had an outpouring of donations and support, so we were able to hold the national contest as planned this year. It’s the long term that is of great concern to us right now because not only have we lost these grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, but now there is no National Endowment for the Humanities to go to for the future, and we’ve been supported by them since 1978.”

Important Experiences

Contrary to mainstream belief surrounding NHD’s importance, Karis Ho, NHD Nationals competitor and sophomore, said the contest helped her develop invaluable skills. 

“National History Day has definitely taught me how to research topics well,” Ho said. “I think the researching process is really crucial for all stages of your life and makes you really employable.”

The NHD contest places a heavy emphasis on research and evidence-based inquiry. As students advance to higher levels of competition, they often intensely revise their projects and refine their arguments.

Ho said, “(In) the editing process—going from regionals to state to nationals—there were a lot of things that we cut down and changed in the performance. At Nationals, it was really cool to see the work that we did along all these steps pay off.”

An said a hallmark of her NHD Nationals experience was meeting a variety of people from different states and countries who had dedicated a whole year to thorough historical research.

“I believe that NHD Nationals is important for showing the accumulation of all the competitors’ efforts into understanding a historical event, really devoting themselves to it,” An said. “The main reason why I think NHD is such a great competition and event overall is the ability to find new people that you’ve never talked to before and just learn about their opinions on what they’re passionate about.”

Furthermore, An said that the contest demanded intense collaboration.

“Studying history, especially under NHD, requires a lot of team collaboration…, “ An said. “I think learning history and being able to work with a team overall has helped improve my collaboration skills.” 

Gorn said after working at NHD for decades, she has seen how transformative the competitive experience is. 

“I’ve seen some students who might be extremely shy when they first get involved in History Day,” Gorn said. “They keep doing it year after year, and by the time they’re in high school, they’re running for student body president or the student representative on the school board. They really come out of their shell a lot, and I think that has to do with doing interviews of individuals in history or or going through the interview process with judges.”

Gorn also said skills gained from NHD shape life trajectories.

“We have students who have gone into politics, who are in state legislatures,” Gorn said. “Jake Sullivan was the national security adviser for President Biden, and he was a History Day student. We have a number of stories like that.”

Mindset Shifts

Beyond concrete skills, An said her research through NHD has instilled key lessons into her psyche. 

“By investigating the hidden or significant events in history, I feel like I have gained a critical perspective on multiple aspects of an event,” An said. “An event is not just a black and white scenario where someone might think something’s right and something’s wrong. I think it (NHD) has overall helped me to approach real life situations with an open mind and neutral position so I can effectively learn all the details.”

Ho said her topic imparted timely wisdom.

“I researched Nellie Bly, an investigative journalist who went undercover in an insane asylum,” Ho said. “She exposed the poor conditions that the women were facing and stood up, exposing the truth to the public. She showed that it’s important that we stand up for the vulnerable, and I think I apply this to my life by knowing that my voice is important. I need to stand up to people in places of authority when they’re corrupt and abusing their power.”

Responsible Citizens

With her newfound knowledge, Ho said extrapolating lessons from history—then acting on them—is an important part of National History Day and history education in general.

“I think that studying history has shown that we have a lot to learn from it,” Ho said. “If we don’t study this, and if all education about history is cut off, then how are we going to learn from our mistakes? We are just going to continue messing things up.”

An concurred, saying the implications of ignoring history are extensive and alarming.

An said, “Defunding humanities programs is going to be very detrimental, especially because history holds great importance to modern society. It’s not just history; it’s philosophy, the arts, and learning more about human interactions and the evolution of diverse cultures throughout the ages.” 

Gorn said threats to NHD and history education en masse inhibit the growth of an informed citizenry.

“…you can be super interested in science or math, and that’s great,” Gorn said. “But you also have to understand the impact of science events and math on human society…. That helps you be a much better citizen and a much better voter. (You become) knowledgeable and informed.”

Ultimately, Gorn said despite the indisputable importance of history education, its place in schools, and in turn, the nation’s future, remains unclear.

Gorn said, “History doesn’t repeat itself….It doesn’t (repeat) exactly because context changes; times are different. But we see some of the same trends when we look at past and current issues. And so if we can’t see those trends, we are just moving blindly into the future, and it’s not going to serve anyone.”