Juniors can participate in an essay competition to have their writing published by the school in a new student history journal. History teacher Courtney Goen said that although she is requiring all of her students to enter their essays in the competition, it is open to all interested juniors.
Librarian Susan Stutzman said that the papers submitted to the competition will consist of two to three page essays that explore historical topics relating to American History. Goen said that the specific topics will be chosen by the students based on their own interests and inquiries.
“I wanted this particular writing assignment to be self-assigned so that students could write about anything they were thinking about or wanted to explore,” Goen said.
Goen has been collaborating with Stutzman about the competition, which was introduced this year to junior students. The competition will be judged by Goen, Stutzman, and principal Richard Kitchens. Stutzman said that the journal will be modeled after scholarly journals published in colleges and universities.
“The idea is that [the journal] provides a published venue for student writing which we hope will inspire students and encourage them to write at their most polished level,” Stutzman said.
Goen said that although the publication method is uncertain, it is possible that the journal will be published as a PDF that will be attached to the school website.
“I think that knowing that [their] peers might read it, [students] will take it more seriously,” Goen said.
Goen said that along with the essay competition, there will be a competition for the journal’s cover illustration and name. All essays, cover illustrations, and name entries will be due May 22.
“We have not figured out the prize, but it will be something cool,” Sutzman said.
Stutzman said that there are several checkpoints in the writing process and students will be provided with support along the way. Stutzman said that students are welcome to sign up for a research conference with her, or a writing conference with her or Goen.
“The journal will serve as a model for future students, [so] that they can be a part of a history journal legacy at PHS,” Goen said.
Junior Sabina Addis is writing about the socioeconomic gap in the Bay Area and nationwide. Addis said that she doesn not mind the essay and views it as an assignment rather than a competition.
“I do not have the mindset that I want to win or anything,” Addis said.
Junior Eric Hung said that the competition is an excellent idea because students will be able to see their writing evolve. He is writing about submarine warfare during World War II.
“It is fun to let my ideas run wild,” Hung said.
Kitchens said that he is glad that Goen and Stutzman have taken the leadership in launching the history journal. He said that he does not know of any other high school that has its own published journal. Kitchens said that the project will allow students to develop skills necessary for college.
“I really like the idea of students stepping up their game and pushing themselves to do a scholarly project,” Kitchens said. “The earlier [students] learn these skills, the more [they] can refine that skill.”
