At age 50, National History Day keeps pushing students to seek difficult truths through research

By JAMES POLLARD
Associated Press

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — Middle and high school students across the United States are taking ownership of their history educations through a nonprofit that encourages young people to rigorously examine the past. National History Day has been championing historical research projects in secondary education for 50 years now. But participants say the work is more necessary now than ever. Executive Director Cathy Gorn says National History Day does not “promote a particular agenda” but instead teaches students skills like navigating primary sources and annotating bibliographies. Students find those skills are vital for navigating online misinformation. And acclaimed documentarian Ken Burns says their work fills him with optimism for the future of American democracy.