The historical society by Joshua

The historical society by Joshua - September 2019 Scholarship Essay

If I had to pinpoint what I feel is the most important part of the high school experience, I would say its the act of getting to experience new interests that could plant the seeds of a career into young minds. With that in mind, one of the primary ways students are exposed to these new experiences is through extracurricular activities, and if I had the chance to create one, it would be a competition where students would have to put on a historically accurate short skit about any time period due to how this activity would give students interested in history a place to further this passion, allow for students to learn how to properly research, and allow for students to learn how to properly act in the midst of competition.

This idea may seem quite odd but I feel it would help to address an underrepresented market in schools. When seeking an extracurricular activity, kids who enjoy teamwork and exercise can play sports, those who like to sing can join the choir club, those who like to write can join creative writing societies, and those who like to build things can join the robotics club. However, there is a notable lack of activities for those students who are truly passionate about history and want a place to belong. This competition would give these students a chance to express their passion for all of history, one of our core subjects in school that is so underrepresented in extracurricular activities. There is no grand competition like a math bowl or sense of community like a science club for history and I want to change that. Plus this club could inspire others to become interested and even develop a passion for history, fulfilling the necessary goal of an extracurricular to develop and expose students to possible careers.

In addition to inspiring students to develop a love of history, this activity would also be incredibly useful for teaching students how to properly research and find accurate historical data. In the age of the internet, the ability to properly research has become an incredibly important skill. By holding students to a level of historical accuracy, we can help build up students' ability to successful research and distinguish between reputable and deceitful sources. This will prove to be a valuable skill for many students, especially those who plan on attending college where successfully finding correct information is a necessary skill to have for most majors.

Finally, one last important point on why this extracurricular is one I would want to create is due to the competitive nature of it. Anyone can research and perform a historical segment when it's your friends who are watching and its all in good fun, but being able to present in front of people you are new to while competing against others adds a whole new set of challenges. I believe that these challenges, such as forcing students to perform in front of larger crowds and making students compete with their peers would give them a more accurate portrait of how the real world works. In the real world, there is a sense of urgency when you are trying to succeed. There are other businesses who are willing to outperform and outpace yours at every moment and you need to be prepared to outperform and outplay them. This is why a competitive aspect would be so rewarding for those participating, as it would allow for participants to get a feel for what the real world is going to throw at them while they are still in a relatively low stakes environment. Previously, this sense of competition has only really been seen in sports and is lacking for kids who simply lack an interest in the physical side of sports. By implementing a competitive aspect, I believe we can prepare kids who would have otherwise missed this valuable lesson due to a lack of athletic interests.

Extracurricular actives should seek to give students enjoyment while also preparing them for the real world in a way that the normal classroom setting is unable to do. Due to the competitive aspects, skills gained researching, and wider appeal of a historical recreation club I believe its fits these requirements and is what I would select if given the choice to choose a new extracurricular activity.