Students at Newberg High School got a chance to be the teachers recently, an activity which sometimes produces the best kind of learning. Thursday, January 17 was Freshman History Night, and the Commons area at the high school was packed with students, parents, and community members. Each freshman researched a World War I topic of their choosing, and this event was the chance to present their learning. Having the freedom to choose what they wanted to research brought a huge variety of topics: communications, poison gas, trench foot, doctors, nurses, hospitals, zeppelins, and more.

“When you think about the Great War, you think about the nations that won,” Hanna Sommers poster reads. “But what about those that lost?” Her research focused on a German soldier who lost his life in the Battle of Verdun–a soldier who was her great-great grandfather.  “I learned he won an Iron Cross, which is a huge honor for a regular soldier,” Hanna said. For her display, she made her own replica of an Iron Cross, displayed a family bible, and created a copy of a letter written by her ancestor soldier, Josef Unton Gebhart. 

Diana Cervantes’ interest in art led her to study Anna Airy. During WWI, the technology of photography was not at a level which made it easy to capture the scenes of battle. Airy was one of the best of the artists who took risks to go to the front and capture it in a drawing so that others could know the difficulties of war. 

“I’ve learned a bit of Morse code myself,” said Edward Fine, showing off his presentation on this communication language used in WWI. As part of his display, he created a device similar to a telegraph, where touching the metal contact caused a light to go on. Some of the best communications people in WWI could communicate about 40 words per minute through Morse code.

Edith Cavell was a British nurse serving in German-occupied Belgium during WWI. “She is famous for helping many Allied soldiers escape to safety,” said Maria Yin. Her display included a drawing of Cavell which Maria drew herself. Cavell’s efforts to rescue soldiers led to her execution by German soldiers on October 12, 1915.

These students and dozens more demonstrated their learning in fantastic ways. Self-chosen research projects, and the chance to present them to the public, leads to learning and skill development that will last a lifetime.