By Ley Bouchard
What American institution began in 1902 as a corn club? Imagine what thatwould look like? Several youth gathered around a table or a campfirediscussing how to grow corn or tomatoes?
Everyone knows about 4H. It’s an institution in America. Launched more than 100years ago as corn or tomato clubs with an agricultural focus, 4H has evolvedinto an organization that transforms youth and adults, families andcommunities, the counties and states in our nation with its mission which isplayed out in every small town and large urban metropolis in the country.
Even If you are an alum of 4H, you may think you know a lot about theorganization that taught you the 4-H Creed:
I Pledge…My Head to clearer thinking, My Heart to greater loyalty,My Hands to larger service, and,My Health for better living,for My Club, my Community, my Country, and my World.
Not your mom and dad’s 4-H4-H is not the club it was several generations ago. Each year, decade andgeneration the organization has stepped up a notch, improved the programs,created partnerships and programs to meet the needs of an ever-changingsociety and to keep up with industrial, technological, educational andscientific trends.
During National 4H month, it seems only appropriate to review and write aboutan organization that has in its history served so many youth, families andneighborhoods. In the following pages you will learn a little about thisnoble group which is really one-of-a-kind in terms of the lifelong legacy ofleadership and fellowship skills it instills in its members.
Many national leaders and political figures were 4-H members. First LadiesPat Nixon, Jacqueline Kennedy-Onassis, and Rosalynn Carter were among them.
Maxine Nordick is the 4H Youth Development Extension Agent for Cass County.
“4H is the educational outreach program of NDSU. The Big M: Growinggreat leaders, we are all about growing great leaders through the 4Hprogram,” she says.
What began as positive youth development became 4-H Essential Elements, then8 Essential Elements, has evolved into the Big M: Belonging, Independence,Generosity and Mastery. Cheryl Baldwin, Extension Specialist 4-H YouthDevelopment Community Approaches for the University of Illinois Extension,Freeport Center, writes about the progression of the Big M in herarticle, “The Big M Fact Sheet.”
“We no longer talk just about positive developmental outcomes, but about thekinds of program features and youth experiences that influence or producethose positive outcomes. Belonging, Independence, Generosity, and Masteryare foundational program features or key concepts that guide our work withyouth in 4-H. They are the cornerstones. As researchers continue to study4-H and other youth development programs, more key ideas will emerge, butfor now we are focusing on BIG-M and the 8 Essential Elements definingBIG-M.”
The concepts which guide
Belonging, Independence, Generosity, and Mastery are overriding conceptswhich apply to a lot of different things that we do. They are complexprinciples. For example, Mastery isn’t just tied to completing andexhibiting a project. And, Generosity isn’t just participating in a service project. While these activities are important, BIG-M focuses our attentionon more than just activities and our common practices. It’s about how andwhy we do them. These key concepts have implications for all that we do increating meaningful learning experiences for youth. They apply to: how wetalk to and coach youth, what we focus on in club meetings and activities,helping youth express their interests, how youth relate to eachother, and the opportunities youth create for themselves.
Character counts. 4-H provides teacher programs for education and hasincorporated them into the Fargo School District: Six pillars ofcharacter: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring,citizenship. This program encompassed the whole state of North Dakota.
“Most people don’t know the vast and wide experiences they can have in 4-H.4-H experiences really help them develop skills; it helps them develop theimportant skills they need in college; it helps them develop confidence, ithelps develop skills needed to become well-rounded, productive adults,” saysNordick.
Cass County has a 4-H outdoor skills program which involves the shootingsports, the discipline and outdoor education, archery, and more. “The newoutdoor skills club we have will touch all kinds of things: Dutch ovencooking, bird-watching, wildlife, camping they are going to do a variety ofdifferent things with that and the group determines what they do. 4H clubsare set up so they design their programs and what they want to do, the 4Hmember decides what they want to take; a lot of them are independentprojects they work with a family member, mentor or a volunteer leader; it’sabout families working together with their kids,” Nordick says. “I thinkthat is the beauty of the 4-H program; it is family based, kids can belongto one club, a variety of different ages can be in that group, and it’s agroup of families getting together for the common good providing positiveexperiences, helping them develop their communication skills at the 4-Hmeeting. I think it is a wonderful example of how a simple little businessmeeting can help them develop their leadership skills and it helps them tobe a productive member of the community.”
Reaching the kids
“We reach kids through: community club programs, school enrichment (4-Hextension agents go into the classroom and teaches nutrition and healthyliving), after school programs which are involved with Fargo Youthcommission and train staff which delivers programs to youth, ·CHARISM (forkids in McCormack neighborhood where 4-H science programs are implemented),and other after school programs like camping at the statewide 4-H camp inWashburn, which has a variety of camps such as a horse camp, livestock,‘Wish I had a Horse Camp,’ and military camps,” says Nordick.
Lisa Kasson-Bauer has been working for the Clay County Extension 4-H programafter they received a grant from the Grant Family for her position.Kasson-Bauer’s work promotes science and technology programs for kids in after-schoolprograms and home-school programs. “We use GPS and go on scavenger hunts tolearn how they work and teach kids how to use a compass as a backup totechnology which doesn’t always work. We played mouse trap race cars – racecars powered by mouse traps. You pull the chopping mechanism back and youwind the fishing line around the axel and when you release the choppingmechanism it propels the cars forward. We have built chevy shades which areweighted medieval catapults so kids are learning tools and engineering. Oneof our biggest projects have been a sea perch, it was an idea of a person atMIT. The Aquatic Robotics Team have built eight sea perches. They learnedhow to read plans, measure, cut, simple electrical systems, buoyancy,nautical terms, water quality issues and how to present their project to thepublic. After building the remote controlled vehicles they have practicedoperating them in swimming pools and picked up rings and put them inbuckets, have demonstrated them at the county fair, have traveled to SilverLake to run them under the ice by means of a fishing hole and taken them toTurtle Lake where local water quality tester, Bob Link has used his pontoonto take the youth out and taught us about water quality.
“When using the perches, they utilize an underwater camera to view the topography of thelake and wildlife. We hope to do additional water quality education in thefuture as well as a day to repair the perches and engineer improvements.”
“The youth are exposed to think about careers in math, science andengineering as well as nautical careers. I think the youth were excited tobuild and operate the sea perches,” says Kasson-Bauer said, “but the problemsolving, engineering and water quality education is invaluable to youth.”
Lessons in writing
Mattie Richardson, a 17-year-old senior from Sheldon, N.D., is a member andformer ND 4-H Ambassador. She is also the author of two novelettes,“Appaloosy,” and “Dusty’s Trail” as well as a regular contributor to TheValley Equestrian. She says she feels 4-H has greatly contributed to theaccomplishments she has achieved. “4-H has been an amazing program for methat has given me a lot of opportunities that I otherwise wouldn’t have had.Through 4-H I’ve had the opportunity to learn more about the animals I ownand to show them, to practice my public speaking, and participate incommunity service projects. Even more importantly I’ve been able tomeet so many new people through 4-H; people that have taught me new thingsand have helped me to gain skills that I will be able to use for a lifetime.Through their examples I have also learned how important it is to helpothers.“All around, 4-H has impacted my life hugely,” she adds. “So whether it is showing adairy cow for the very first time, sweating out a speech given to a hugeassembly at the Extension Youth Conference in Fargo, or just hanging outdoing community service projects with my other 4-H friends, I’d say that 4-Hhas been a wonderful experience me and has even changed me as a person,helping me to gain new skills, head out on new adventures, and feel a senseof confidence in everything I do.”
Proof positive
Recent findings from the “4-H Study of Positive Youth Development” indicatethat young people in 4-H are three times more likely to contribute to theircommunities than youth not participating in 4-H.
Additionally, the research from the Tufts University study indicated thatyouth in 4-H thrive through the health and science education and careerpreparation experiences they receive through 4-H programming. Compared tonon-4-H youth, 4-H’ers are more likely to spend more hours exercising orbeing physically active. 4-H youth also have higher educational achievementand higher motivation for future education – reporting better grades, higherlevels of academic competence, and an elevated level of engagement atschool.
Notably, the Tufts research discovered that the structured learning,encouragement and adult mentoring that young people receive through theirparticipation in 4-H plays a vital role in helping them actively contributeto their communities.
“The findings presented in the Tufts study are evidence that the youngpeople who are involved in 4-H are better equipped to lead more productiveand altruistic lives,” says Donald T. Floyd, Jr., president and CEO ofNational 4-H Council. “Although 4-H has been the largest youth developmentprogram in the nation for more than 100 years, many people are unaware ofthe incredible and uncommon commitment of 4-Hers to break throughobstacles, tackle big problems and make measurable contributions where theylive.”
In fact, 4-Hers all across the nation are empowered to take on the leadingissues of their towns, counties and states and make a lasting difference. Awonderful example of this is “4-H Helping Hands Day.” North Dakota 4-Hersencourage family members, friends, neighbors and others in theircommunities and counties to join them on 4-H Helping Hands Day, Friday, Oct.21, to assist Minot with flood cleanup. Free bus transportation to Minotwill be available at 7 a.m. that day from four sites in: Bismarck,Carrington, Devils Lake and Williston. The buses will return about 7:30 p.m.the same day. To learn more about 4-H Helping Hands Day, register and selectthe project you’d like to work on, visit www.ndsu.edu/4h.
Registration deadline is Friday, Oct. 7. Projects for the volunteers includecleaning up the state fairgrounds, setting up the ‘Coats for Kids Program’at the Salvation Army, stocking and running the Our Lady of Grace FoodPantry, and preparing and serving a meal at First Lutheran Church. Theprojects can use the skills of 8-year-olds to adults. Project sites andbuses will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Those who can’t goto Minot can be distance volunteers. For example, youth could volunteer tobaby-sit for an evening and donate the money they earn to the flood cleanupeffort. Or you could collect coats for the Coats for Kids program in Minot;collect pet food, toys, blankets and other items for the animal shelter; orarrange with a local eatery for a certain amount of money to go to charityfor every pizza sold.
During the National 4H month, The Extra will be running a series ofarticles about local 4H clubs and the area youth participating in theprograms locally. Check back weekly to hear the stories and learn more aboutthis century-long organization which has helped build the characters of manyof our countries leaders, entrepreneurs, farmers and business-people.
(If you would like to share your 4-H experience, please contact Ley Bouchard atleybou@gmail.com or call the FM Extra office at (218) 284.1288).