If we all practiced 4-H protocol, the world would be a better place.
Carla Nemecek, longtime area Extension agent, recently wrote of what the club’s four “Hs” stand for.
Combined, keeping your head, heart, hands and health under control will make for a well-disciplined, polite and healthy person.
4-H kids are easy to spot. They say “ma’am” and “sir.” They keep themselves busy with a wide variety of projects that cross stereotypical barriers. Boys are as likely to enter cooking competitions as girls.
They learn how to play group games and sing songs together. They learn the importance of education.
Grown-up 4-H’ers know Roberts Rules of Order and are natural leaders because they learn from an early age how to take responsibility.
4-H’ers ARE THE DREAM of teachers, coaches and employers because they know these youths have been taught important social skills such as respect, courtesy and self-confidence.
Today’s teachers and employers are required to spend too much time disciplining their charges because somewhere along the way they missed out on learning those important skills.
The 4-H model continues to work well because it incorporates strong leadership, peer pressure, and a curriculum that has kept up with the times. For more than 100 years 4-H has kept to its principles of developing tomorrow’s leaders. Today, 4-H is just as relevant to a city slicker as to those raised on a farm, thanks to projects that range from digital photography to nutrition.
With the Allen County Fair coming next month, it’s a good time to recognize the contributions 4-H brings to our area.
Go see the youths’ entries. Watch them compete and admire the long hours they have put into their projects.
And think how good it would be if we all practiced the 4-H’s.
— Susan Lynn
