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WHAT IS 4-H???

Youth who participate in 4-H clubs say they develop skills in leadership, public speaking, self-esteem, communication, and planning as a result of improved understanding of children’s physical development, and the vast majority also gained understandings of social and intellectual development, concerns for special needs children, and how diversity affects children. Other improvements reported included disciplinary and conflict issues, how to encourage reading, and assisting with homework.

A 4-H Club is an informal, educational youth opportunity, serving as a “hands-on” laboratory, benefiting today’s youth by doing the following:

Spending quality time with their parents and enjoying it
Interacting with positive adult role models
Setting priorities and managing time wisely
Exploring job opportunities and careers
Developing team and leadership skills
Developing an awareness and involvement in their surrounding communities
Developing self-confidence
Learning and using practical skills
Improving communication skills
Learning positive socialization
Developing a skill for lifelong learning
Learning to make thoughtful decisions

• Volunteer leaders develop positive, close, personal relationships over long periods of time that have the potential of positive impact on youth development.

• If children develop positive experiences along their developmental paths then that will lead to a caring adulthood. An important component of this developmental process is strengthening the family or the extended family.

• 4-H provides useful life skills and increased self-esteem to help them develop their full potential and the ability to contribute in a positive way to the world around them.

• 4-H provides the positive intergenerational experiences that youth need to create positive impact in their future.

• Benefits of the 4-H club leader:

Personal leadership skills increase
New friendships with fellow volunteers
Satisfaction is achieved from helping youth reach their full potential
Access to educational resources through Cornell Cooperative Extension

4-H Youth Development Goals
4-H exists to help young people become mature, competent adults. 4-H enables youth to develop life skills by acquiring new knowledge and technological skills useful in practical situations.

The goal of 4-H is and will continue to be achieved by creating the healthy environments that stimulate the development of life skills. These life skills may be categorized as three types: Competency (developing skills and knowledge); coping (dealing with stress); contributory (increasing sharing skills which allow others to overcome situational personal barriers).

4-H Youth Development Curriculum
Boys and girls embody the foundation of 4-H curriculum in the practical application of land-grant university knowledge. This knowledge base provides 4-H’ers with an opportunity to “learn by doing” in real situations. Because 4-H is experience-centered, members enjoy creating their own meaningful curriculum with guidance from parents and leaders.

The 4-H curriculum enhances development of the individual child. Emphasis on experience-centered education allows positive behavioral changes to occur. It also motivates the child to discover new knowledge, skills and attitude—no other youth-serving program has the same connection with a university system. No other youth-serving program is in a better position to model how effective, appropriately scaled, and sustainable youth programs can be informed by, and in turn can inform, research on youth development.

The link between 4-H and the university system is the key reason why 4-H can be a model for other youth-serving organizations, showing how program design, delivery, and evaluation may promote the chances for a better life for our nation’s youth.

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