Having been a finalist for the National History Bee every year since he was a freshman, Russellville High School junior Niles Butts has proven he has a knack for history.
“I like history,” said Butts, adding that he regularly watches the History Channel and reads historical novels. “It's fun and something different. History is my hobby.”
The National History Bee is set up like a spelling bee, but contestants must answer historical questions instead of spelling words.
“We play multiple rounds,” said Butts, who is the son of Daryl and Gloria Butts and has two older brothers, Lawrence and Joseph Butts. “Everyone tries to score eight points to advance, and each correct answer is worth one point.”
Butts was a part of the first group that Scholar's Bowl coach and English teacher Susan DeArman took to the National History Bee in 2013. Butts has participated in the Junior History Bee for the past two years. This year, he participated in the varsity state level competition held in February at Spain Park High School in Birmingham and qualified to advance to nationals.
However, Butts will not be able to compete because he will be in Paris, France with Russellville's Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC) squad, which recently won their national competition. He does have hopes that maybe he can attend next year.
“He is really good at history,” DeArman said. “He knows some historical facts that historians would be stumped about.”
The National History Bee is just one competition that the Scholar's Bowl Team participates in every year. Butts, the team captain, and his teammates (Caleb Mayfield, Cameron DeArman, Bernie Moussad and twin brothers Jake and Josh Williams) compete with teams all over the state. To prepare for competition, the team practiced every Thursday after school in the fall and attended a Scholar's Bowl class in the spring.
“We start our day with John Green 'Crash Course on History' Youtube videos,” said Susan DeArman, who also coaches the junior varsity team comprised of freshmen and sophomores. “Then, I primarily go through question packets with them. We usually stop and talk about the questions. They're all strong students who usually specialize in a category.”
Scholar's Bowl contestants must be knowledgeable on all subjects, such as literature, art, science, math, history and pop culture. This year, the team placed second at the district competition held at Northwest-Shoals Community College in Phil Campbell against local teams such as Brooks High School, Muscle Shoals High School, East Lawrence High School, Belgreen High School, Phillips High School and Central High School. Russellville advanced to regional competition held at West Point High School, where the team competed against schools from all over north Alabama. At state competition held at Jefferson State Community College in Pelham, their record was 2-3 out of five rounds.
Having coached the team for several years, DeArman has a lot of experience with Scholar's Bowl. She is actually a prodigy of the RHS Scholar's Bowl Team, for which she once served as a captain. When she was in high school, she was coached by Sharon Daily.
“My dad said I was full of useless knowledge, but I don't think it's useless,” said DeArman. “I did not know then I was preparing to be a coach. It is a legacy passed down to me.”
