By: Kingsley Ngitngit
This year, Syosset is welcoming a new honor society: Rho Kappa National Social Studies Honor Society. Accompanying science, music, and other specialized honor societies, Rho Kappa seeks students who are interested in both fields of history and giving back to the community.
Syosset’s chapter was started by Dr. Laura Wenger and Mr. Martin Connell, two history teachers interested in making our school a part of this national organization. Dr. Wenger said, “The social studies department actually offers more AP classes than most other departments, as well as just different electives. So we felt that it might be the time to start to notice students who really excel in the disciplines of history, economics, and social sciences, and we came across the National History Honor Society—Rho Kappa, which is really supported by the National Council for the Social Studies. It’s really the only one in existence.”
Rho Kappa will give students interested in history a chance to go beyond the classroom and into the Syosset community. Mr. Connell said, “[Rho Kappa] is something that I used to do in my old school, and I saw a lot of great involvement. I saw students get involved in over 50 hours of community service. Anything from volunteering at soup kitchens to volunteering at the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). Having something to strive for in social studies makes social studies feel more impactful. When you’re just in a class and you just have your basic periods, your basic exams…having this bar to achieve and to aspire to is something that Syosset should and now does have, and I’m really proud of that.”
Rho Kappa will host several events throughout the year. The first event hosted was in November for a Veterans Day event at the VFW organization in Syosset. Dr. Wenger said, “They will meet with veterans mostly from Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, maybe one or two older men from, let’s say, Korea, but they would really be the men in their 90s. But they’ll have an opportunity to hear their stories, show appreciation to the men and women who have served our nation, and then walk with them to the flag pole where they do a short ceremony.”
As for other Rho Kappa events, Dr. Wenger said, “December, we’ll really be looking at some community service, so toy drives, maybe connecting things to Ronald McDonald House. And then each month, we kind of have a slightly different theme. In January and February, we really want to look at campaigning and getting in touch with government officials, reaching out to our local representatives, to kind of see areas where they need support. So every month we will lay out a different focus.”
There are over 800 Rho Kappa chapters in the United States of America. Mr. Connell said, “We have that ability of being Syosset. We have so much involvement in the community, from the Walk-a-thon to the VFW to all these different opportunities that students have to be involved in our school community. I love the fact that students in Syosset don’t look at school as just something to go to and leave at 2 o’clock. You see students who are here and stay… working for clubs, working for sports, or trying to be involved in the community. So, we bring the Syosset community approach to our social studies honor society, which is going to make us stand out.”
Academics can get quite competitive in Syosset. Everyone wants to get the best grades they possibly can and wants to be a part of a lot of extracurriculars so that they can get more attention from prestigious colleges. When presented with this notion, Mr. Connell said, “Well, I hope that most students are joining for their love of social studies, and if not, if a student is joining because they just want to achieve another honor society, that’s great because we’re introducing them to social studies. It’s about getting someone in the door. Once you’re in the door, hopefully the passion grows from there.”
With Rho Kappa’s first year in Syosset, students will find new ways to develop their passions and skills in social studies. “Any sort of entry point for social studies, for history, for being a part of the humanities that we teach here, is a great opportunity to get somebody interested in social studies. So even if they’re not interested yet, hopefully through being in Rho Kappa, they’ll feel even more interested or passionate,” said Mr. Connell.
