A Lesson in History
After Covid created meeting challenges, the History Club is back and ready to debate and discuss creative topics this year.
Photo courtesy of The Spectator
Members of the 2021-22 History Club pose for their yearbook photo earlier this year. The club had trouble meeting for the past few years due to COVID but is having a successful year this year full of lively historical debates and discussions.
Twice a month, students gather in Room 103 not to attend class, but to informally debate and discuss historical topics ranging from the Renaissance to “Who’s Better: Alexander Hamilton or Aaron Burr?”
The beloved Mrs. Molly Dallmeyer, Holocaust Studies teacher, is the facilitator to this discussion and a one-way ticket to a ride into history.
Dallmeyer has been teaching social studies for 25 years, and for the last 16 of those, she has educated students on the Holocaust.
“I became interested in the Holocaust while teaching US History… We never had enough time to talk about this event, so I petitioned to teach a course when I was hired here at DHS and fortunately I had the support of my department and district to do so,” Dallmeyer said.
Her love of history made her the perfect adviser when now senior Nicholas Ryan wanted to reactivate the club.
Ryan created a History Club in middle school before coming to high school.
“When I got to high school, the club here was dormant, so I worked to get it activated.”
The idea came to the club president based upon their love for debating and learning about historical events.
“We have discussions and do activities about various historical topics. We try to make them more obscure … one meeting we did an activity to simulate the Silk Road. Another we debated whether Aaron Burr should be considered a Founding Father,” Ryan said.
This is our third year, however, Covid makes it seem like this is the first year we really had regular meetings,… Last year we did as well, but not as many students were available. — Mrs. Dallmeyer
Not only does the history club hold meetings, but they also host a History and Outdoors night in November.
According to Ryan, the event “allows students to create presentations on topics of their choosing. It has been going for four years now.”
So, how many students exactly attend History Club? According to Dallmeyer, “History Club has about 20 history-loving students as members. All different grades!”
Though Covid has made attending the club difficult, there is still fun to be had in the History Club.
Dallmeyer’s favorite aspect about it is how she sees students she normally doesn’t see taking her day classes, and how passionate they are about historical events.
So where will the History Club go from there?
Currently, there is no change anticipated to come to History Club, but this is what Ryan had to say:
“At the moment, we do not have plans to change our methods. However, I will be graduating this year, so the new leadership will certainly run things differently.”
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