History By Choice

SPRING HILL - More interesting than Britney Spears?

By far.

That was the lightning-quick response from Springstead

High School sophomore Erinn Barnes, 15, when asked by a

judge about the men featured in her history project:

Influential comedians Don Rickles, George Carlin, Bill

Maher and Lenny Bruce.

Erinn's project, "The place where my jokes come from,"

completed with classmate Matt Ryan, 16, covered

censorship, freedom of speech and the history of comedy

in the United States.

It was one of 45 featured in the school's annual

history fair Thursday, in which 76 students in grades

9-12 showcased exhibits, documentaries and performances

in the school's media center.

With a theme of "conflict and compromise in history,"

the students were invited to chose a topic - anything

throughout history, as long as it received approval

from a teacher - and prepare a presentation: Display,

documentary, performance, 2,500-word research paper or

Web site.

And choose they did.

The students' projects covered the history of a broad

range of topics throughout world and American history,

from the New York City draft riot of 1863 to Gulf War

Syndrome and schizophrenia.

Most were presented on poster board, complete with

carefully chosen photographs and framed text. Students

began working on the projects in September, with much

cited, non-online research required.

During the fair, students presented their projects

before groups of judges, who scribbled notes and graded

each project on accuracy, creativity, originality and

more.

Erinn explained that she and Matt chose their project

on comedy because it seemed like something no one else

would think of.

The tidbits included in their project - presented on a

wooden display, complete with cardboard cutouts of the

comedians and jokes sprinkled throughout - were enough

to make the judges laugh out loud.

"Bill Maher makes (controversial talk show host) Don

Imus look like a saint," a judge quipped.

On the other side of the room, judges hovered around

the project created by freshmen Ashley Garcia, 14,

whose work covered the controversy surrounding Citizen

Kane, a movie released in 1941 by Orson Welles that

sparked a feud when newspaper giant William Randolph

Hearst claimed it was about him.

"So did they finally compromise?" a judge asked.

Ashley grinned.

"Apparently, they ran into each other in an elevator,

looked at each other and nodded," she said. "But Orson

Welles always denied that it was about (Hearst)."

"I love movies, and they're a big part of her history,"

she added. "People watch them every day, and they

influence our lives."

The history fair takes place each year as part of

national history day, started by a teacher in 1976 who

wanted to make history come alive, said Suzanne

Miranda, school and district history fair coordinator

for Hernando County.

"It's fun and exciting," she said. "The kids love it,

and they learn so much."

Two students from Springstead's history fair will

advance to the district competition Feb. 16, when other

middle and high school students from the district will

compete. From there, winning students will advance to

the state and national competitions.

In 2005, a Springstead student's project won first

place at the national level.

Miranda, a nationally board certified social studies

teacher, said the competition only gets better.

"The competition will be intense at districts," she

said. "Expect bigger and more (amazing) projects."