MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) — Alex Gold recalled that his dad, Adam, “was reading Harry Potter books to me by the time I was 5,” so that’s where his love of reading began.
And, he remembered that his mom, Shannon, gave him a book about World War II, and after that “I was hooked on history.”
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Those things, said the 10-year-old Hoover Elementary School fourth-grader, set his feet firmly on the path to Atlanta in June, when he will compete in the National History Bee — one of 50 U.S. elementary students eligible to do so. The National History Bee’s National Championship will be held on June 1 at the Hyatt Regency in Atlanta.
The Globe Gazette reports (http://bit.ly/11EYMcy) Alex earned his spot in regional competition in Des Moines in March. He got his shot at the regionals when he placed well on the first-level test, taken online earlier in the school year.
He is a member of the talent development program at Hoover and his talent development program teacher, Joyce Anderson, suggested students take the test.
At the regionals, action was live, with students competing head to head on questions answered by buzzing in first. Three other Hoover students also qualified for the regional contest but fell short of a national trip.
“We talked about how this would be a good experience” and how the children would learn from it, Anderson said.
The students were competing with middle school students through the eighth grade, so not everyone was confident elementary kids could earn placings.
Alex showed his stuff by answering questions such as:
— Which president shut down the Second National Bank? (Andrew Jackson.)
— Who was the first African-American player to play major league baseball? (Jackie Robinson.)
— And what is a form of fighting that originated in Japan? (Samurai.)
By the end of the competition, the middle schoolers had, as expected, earned the top 10 spots, which qualified them for the national contest.
However, two weeks later, Anderson got a note that said Alex had qualified for the next step — the national contest was featuring an elementary student-only contest as part of the event.
When his parents broke the news, “I thought they were kidding,” he said. “I was really excited.”
He’ll be busy, he said, pouring over study guides that give insight on eras to be covered.
He truly is a history buff. This is the student who wrote a summer paper on Alexander the Great “just because I wanted to.” He loves Civil War history, and his passion for the history of World War II has never waned.
And his favorite history era?
He thought a few seconds and said, “The Egyptian Era through the Vietnam War.”
In other words, almost all of history is his favorite and it fascinates him.
“Well, the thing is,” he said thoughtfully, “three seconds go by — and you have history. History keeps going; it’s endless.
“You learn from it. You can find your lost heritage if you want to know how deep your roots are. Are you from India? Are you a Native American? History is our tool.”
This AP Member Exchange was shared by the Globe Gazette.
