With over seven million active young people, 4-H is the largest positive youth development and youth mentoring organization in the United States. In fact, 4-H is the official youth development program of the United States Cooperative Extension System and the United States Department of Agriculture. Through partnerships with 110 universities, 4-H reaches young people by means of clubs, camps, and after-school and school enrichment programs. 4-H has the power to influence young people and teach them leadership, citizenship, and life skills. Simply said, 4-H provides many benefits to society and can thus implement societal change on a large-scale basis through its youth members, leaders, volunteers, and staff. Throughout this essay, the …show more content…
The youth no longer wanted to work on farms as they were much more interested in the industrial workforce. Thus, out of concern about the future of agriculture in the United States of America, 4-H was formed to stress the importance of the industry, and to teach the youth essential farming skills (4-H, n.d.). Originally founded with an agricultural focus, 4-H has now expanded its programs and encompasses a much larger spectrum. Today, youth enrolled in the 4-H program can choose to participate in any of the following programs: science, citizenship, healthy living, and mentoring. In the United States, membership begins at 8 years old and goes until a member turns 18. However, there are “Cloverbud” programs that begin as early as 5 years old. Once of age, youth can join a club of interest and from that point on, the possibilities are endless. For example, a 9-year old boy can join a 4-H Horse Club, led by adult volunteers, to learn about horses and even be allotted the opportunity to show his own horse at 4-H Horse Shows. That same member would also be able to attend camps, workshops, and conferences about horses, leadership, citizenship, and life skills – because all those opportunities are given to 4-H members, regardless of their …show more content…
Department of Agriculture, the National 4-H Council, and the National Association of Extension 4-H Agents. In addition, 4-H has a Council Leadership Team and Board of Trustees that oversee the entirety of the program. To make 4-H more effective, the leadership teams must be addressed. After all, considering the Baldrige Award Criteria, it is inferred that leadership is considered to be one of the most important factors in determining an organization’s success. Social responsibility, one of the two subcategories of leadership, is one of 4-H’s strongpoints. The other subcategory of leadership, organizational leadership, is an area 4-H can improve (Summary of the Baldrige Criteria Abstract, n.d.). In the end, organizations are only as effective as their leaders. Leaders need to enable their organization to reach its fullest potential by creating a sense of morale, establishing a brand, and through continuous skill reinforcement of all those involved. In doing such, leaders should strive to follow the guidelines outlined by the Baldrige Award Criteria. As a result, 4-H would be able to increase the organization’s human capital by having educated, respected, and knowledgeable cohorts. This is because the Baldrige Award Criteria increases organizational effectiveness through by working with all personals involved with the
“When schools, parents, families, and communities work together to support learning, students tend to earn higher grades, attend school more regularly, stay in school longer, and enroll in higher level programs.” (Van Roeckel, 2008, p. 1) Deer Valley High School in Glendale, AZ is the first high school built in the Deer Valley Unified Scholl District, and with a population around 1800 students, the high school is one of the bigger schools in the state. It has a tradition of family on its’ campus, where there are still teachers teaching that were there when the school opened in 1980. A number of former students have become new teachers on campus and just about all the teachers’ children have attended and graduated from the campus. With a school like ours, there are many connections to the community around it and it is demonstrated by the programs that bring in parent and community to help with the development of our students. There are numerous booster clubs run on our campus to help support student achievement on the sports fields, a school to work programs to teach the students necessary skills in different areas of either nursing, sports medicine classes, and in the culinary arts classrooms, and funding to our school to help ensure all students graduate on time. There are many programs on our campus, but I will discuss four of the programs: baseball booster club, C2G program, “school-to-work”, and the special education program sponsored by Arrowhead Hospital. These programs are designed to improve the relationships between the campus and the people in the community, and give all students on campus every opportunity to succeed in their future.
Public /Private Ventures. (1995b) Morrow, Kristine and Melanie Styles. Building Relationships with Youth in Program Settings. May 1995. Philadelphia.
I began by tutoring at the Boys and Girls Club (BGC) and eventually became a teacher at the boys and girls club. The focus of my continued volunteer work was to enrich the children’s after school experience whether they needed help with homework or busy work. During my volunteer work the issue that stuck out in my mid continuously was social class or classism. The BGC emphasizes many different issues and points such as “creating aspirations for the future,” “Helping youth become responsible, caring citizens and acquire skills for participating in the democratic process is the main thrust of these programs and also to develop leadership skills and provide opportunities for planning, decision-making.” BGC encourages kids to engage in healthy and positive behavior as well as to help the youth build and discover creativity in the arts “Club programs help develop fitness, a positive use of leisure time, reduction of stress, appreciation for the environment and social and interpersonal skills.” (bgca.org)
... Reestablishing community goals and encouraging youths to engage in extracurricular activities will greatly improve outlooks on life and help them make the right choices for a better tomorrow.
...duate studies, I was able to use the Leadership Matrix to determine the leadership style of Brantwood. Therefore in conclusion, the Brantwood Children’s home has more of a task oriented external leadership style with is very realistic within Brantwood. Although they remain grounded to their mission they also depend highly on outside resources such as the Alabama Department of Human Resources (DHR). Not only that, Brantwood also receives a lot of outside funding from federal, state, and local grants. However, with the task oriented external leadership style being more prominent the other three styles were equally rated.
Leadership & Direction. (1997, May 11). Retrieved April 6, 2011, from Big Dog & Little Dog's
A form of guidance in necessary to illustrate the direction that an organization, community, or society desires to move toward, therefore the approach of leadership becomes very important. In order to strive, define and achieve goals leadership inspires a sense of purpose and passion to the effort that the association undertakes (Russell Consulting, Inc., 2011). If a solid foundation of leadership is not applied the objectives, goals, customer service, quality, and, productivity will be lost and result in inadequacy for the corporation. An effective organization relies on leadership to serve and to communicate goals, strategies, organize, and motivate others to arrive at a collaborative result (Understanding Society, 2008). Challenges being faced include cultivating strength in leadership, building team environments to accomplish goals, having clear mission, vision, and values, and reducing employee turnover while improving workforce morale (The Ken Blanchard Companies, 2011).
Yukl, G. (2002). Leadership in organizations. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. p. 1-19. Retrieved from http://www.blackdiamond.dk/HDO/Organisation_Gary_Yukl_Leadership_in_Organizations.pdf
Kim, in the United States, grades are not the only factor in evaluating school applicants and job candidates. From Rhodes Scholar selections to college applications, excellence in other areas such as leadership, volunteer activities, sports and arts is equally important (p82-90). In American schools, students are encouraged to do volunteer work. So much so that many schools have guidelines for how much time students are expected to spend serving in the community. Children learn the value of giving from an early age. Volunteer activities is one way Americans feel a part of things and share the goal of serving and contributing to build their communities. From neighborhood watch programs to environmental issues, Americans do not wait for the government to initiate action: they take action to bring about the changes they desire. Therefore, Americans view volunteer work as a way to teach children and young adults values such as cooperation and teamwork, dedication and work ethics, equality and social justice, leadership, generosity and compassion for
Research has shown that youth programs impart many benefits to Hispanic youth involved in positive youth development programs, including increased self-confidence and higher graduation rates from high school. Research also shows that youth involved in these programs are less likely to engage in destructive or risky behaviors, such alcohol and drug use. Because minority youth are less likely than other youth to participate in youth programs; a need exists to understand factors that influence Hispanic involvement in youth programs (Haines, 2010). A majority of professionals positively reported that there are benefits for youth of color and youth with disabilities in 4-H youth programs. Respondents indicated that the lack of information about 4-H youth programs was the biggest barrier to diversity-inclusive 4-H programs. As demographic populations shift, 4-H programs must continue to implement inclusive programs and assess current programs to ensure that historically marginalized groups are being encouraged to join (LaVergne,
The recent decline in young people’s participation in political and civic activities has resulted in a revival within the field of civic education. Formal education institutions are not the only ones concerned about youth engagement, however. A number of community agencies and nonprofits are active at the local level throughout the country. They are working to engage young people through a variety of methods, few of which have been researched to determine their effectiveness. One such community e...
Northouse, P. (2010). Leadership: Theory and practice (5th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
A big question asked amongst people sometimes is “Can a teenager make a difference, and if they do is it positive?” a lot of people just brush it off sometimes and think that because they’re young and don’t have the same experience as some older people, they are bound to make mistakes. This is not always the case, as some teens can make a difference, whether it be in large scale that affects the world or in a smaller scale affecting the community or society. There are a couple kids that have make a difference, although some of the things they have done might be greater compared to others, they still have made a difference in where they live and the people in their communities.
A study titled, “A Qualitative Outcome Study of Boys and Girls Club Program Leaders, Club Members, and Parents” aims to identify this relationship. This study differs from the others because it offers a wide range of participants like staff, leaders, adolescents and parents. The researchers collected data by observing the program and it’s facilities as well as conducting interviews with parents and leaders. The results of this research show that even though the staff was suppose to plan activities that centered around self-development, most of the time the purpose of the activity strayed and took on a very general and casual approach. However, this did not fully hinder the benefits that participants received.
Lussier, R.N. & Achua, C.F. (2010). Leadership: Theory, application, skill development (5th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western.