Jonathan Grybos is a high school social studies teacher from Pennsylvania. He dedicates his classroom and time to a history club. This is no ordinary history club, however. Grybos has been able to cultivate several guest speakers for his club, including Dr. Noam Chomsky and SHPRS professor Dr. James Dupey. We asked Jonathan Grybos to tell us a little more about his unique club. 

Question: Why did you decide to get your master’s in history? How does this help you in your profession?

Answer: After finishing my first graduate degree in education, I decided to keep going. My undergraduate degree was in history with a specialization in secondary education and a certification in citizenship education 7-12 (to be able to teach government, history, geography and economics to 7th-12th graders). Teachers have to continue throughout their careers to acquire credits and training of some sort to keep their certification active. Though that doesn’t mean one must get a graduate degree, I was excited to. I’ve loved all of my university experiences and was happy to return again and again. Acquiring a master’s degree in history will help me be more effective in every sort of way at a high school. More than just a better understanding of the content, I can pick up skills, and resources, build relationships with professors and peers and be able to further grow as a professional myself; that would trickle to staff, faculty and students (ex: starting an after school club or being able to teach a dual enrollment college course at the high school). 

Q: What inspired you to start a history club? What is the name of your club?

A: When I was completing my undergraduate degree in history at Misericordia University, they had a history club that was neat and was run by my favorite professor. That is where the idea came from and I had hoped to bring this experience to the secondary level. The other rationale was the lack of opportunities and participation at the high school I was at. Apathy was widespread, but there were still many rockstar students who wanted to go above and beyond in their high school careers. Hopefully, if I made this club, it would just be one more positive experience for some to take advantage of during their limited time in high school. As a result, hopefully, we could start to build a culture of students who care about the world, their communities, history, democracy, the economy, and so on. Though it is more of a social studies club, we just called it “The History Club”…maybe a misnomer. 

Q: What topics do you discuss in your history club?

A: Our club is largely based on student’s interests. However, there is plenty of time that I am moving along unilaterally to get the ball rolling on some activities and opportunities for them. In the last two years or so at the two different schools I have taught at, we have done many activities and events with varying degrees of success and turnout! Sometimes we have had two students show up. Other days my classroom had been jam-packed with students and even four or five teachers. Since it is tough to nail down the topics we discuss, I thought including the events in the last two years would better to answer this…: 

• Various Guest Speakers:
  • Q&A with Professor Noam Chomsky
  • Dr. Aviva Chomsky – Latin American History
  • Dr. Kyle Ward – Historiography in the US, and POVs Around the World on US History
  • Dealing with Conspiracy Theories, QAnon, & January 6th – Interview Clips with Dr. Michael Gambone
  • Dr. Michael Gambone – Modern US Conspiracies
  • Dr. David Datmer – The Fight Over Historical Narratives in the US 
  • Dr. Allan Austin – Japanese Incarceration
  • Dr. Van Gosse – Molly Maguires 
  • Dr. Jeremi Suri – Civil War and a Q&A
  • Is Capitalism Good or Bad? – Interview Clips with Dr. James Dupey
  • Matthew Casey on Latin America, US Interventions, & The Catholic Church – After School Talks
  • Historian Mimi Eisen – Reconstruction
  • Brown University’s Costs of War Project – Impacts of the War on Terror 
  • Propaganda Watch Project – Propaganda Techniques and Social Media
  • Ad Fontes – Media Literacy, Bias, and Factual Reporting
  • All Sides Media – Media Literacy and Red Flags
  • Ground News – Media Literacy and Blind Spots 
  • Zinn Education Project – Howard Zinn and The Fight Over Historical Narratives in the US 
  • ProCon.org – Contentious Issues & Civil Discourse 
  • America’s Black Holocaust Museum – Africa Prior to Slavery

Q: How have the guest speakers inspired your students? Are students able to ask questions to the speakers?

A: The guest speakers have been extremely gracious with their time and efforts. Since there is such a wide range of groups and speakers, everyone is impacted differently. Some students may dislike or disagree with a few of the speakers we have on, which is okay–they’re still more than willing to listen and disagree healthily (also something special to highlight!). I always find delight when we end a Zoom call and the students immediately say “Wow, that was actually really good.” I think each speaker has left an impact with a different student. Often these scholars and groups dispel many misconceptions on the topics that are very common. Though it is really a case-by-case basis, I think the most impactful talks had been with Noam Chomsky, Brown University’s Costs of War, and All Sides Media. Those were the talks that ended and students stayed long after to discuss what they just consumed. I think Chomsky was just such a force that some were starstruck. The Costs of War Project just informed students on the heavy costs of human life in the last two decades in addition to economic and environmental costs. All Sides Media helped the kids to be much more careful when consuming media and to double check the work. 

Q: What notable speakers have talked to your students? 

A: I think the most notable speakers have been Noam Chomsky, Aviva Chomsky, Kyle Ward, Jeremi Suri, All Sides Media, Ad Fontes, and Ground News. The upcoming Mr. Beat and Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists would probably be up there as well. Though those listed are probably more well-known, I think every speaker we have had has been equally outstanding–something I bet the students would agree with. 

Q: What do you hope viewers will take away from these videos?

A: In addition to having the talks with our club, we also record most of them to put online publicly. Some prefer it not to be recorded, while others prefer the video to be private and only viewed by club members. Most let us post it for all interested in the social studies subjects to enjoy and learn. I personally hope the viewers (whether students, faculty, parents or people watching YouTube from around the U.S. and the world) learn why history matters, to be careful and challenge themselves on myths and misconceptions related to social studies, to seek advice from experts, and to hopefully gather up all of the other little gems available in the hours of online content that is available from this wealth of knowledge. In fact, I created playlists that are labeled as such for these goals such as “Advice to History Students” and “Why is History Important” — both common questions I ask every guest if possible so that there is a formidable collection of answers from a wide variety of scholars.