Megan Burda – York/Polk Extension Educator
Citizenship Leads to Leadership
Today’s youth are the future of the United States and our world! That is a pretty strong and impactful statement, but is the truth. By providing youth with opportunities to connect to their communities and adult leaders through 4-H programs, youth gain a clear understanding of their role in civic affairs and are able to build their decision-making ability. Citizenship is having the knowledge, skills, attitudes and motivation that give youth the capacity to move beyond one’s individual self-interest and to be committed to the well-being of some larger group. It is important to instill citizenship in youth so they are aware and involved when it comes to engaging in any type of governing body. A great way to help youth grasp this concept is through 4-H clubs, councils and community service projects. By youth engaging in clubs, councils or community service projects they gain the skills, experience and confidence they need to emerge as effective leaders and contributing members of society. Youth who engage in citizenship & leadership projects as well as being a member of their local 4-H club and/or 4-H council exposes them to important issues and helps them learn how to effectively make decisions.
Voting is such an important part of any government and one of the easiest ways to have your voice heard, hold elected officials accountable for their decisions and to have a say on important issues that affect your community. People may not vote because they are uncomfortable with the voting process or are not up to date on the current candidate opinions on issues. One of the ways to help people feel more comfortable with the voting process is by being exposed to it. If youth are involved in 4-H projects or are members on a board or club they have a chance to listen to both side of an issue and make an informed decision and vote. By becoming familiar with the way a meeting runs and how important it is to make an informed decision to vote youth maybe more likely to vote or voice their own opinion in the future.Â
The 4-H curriculum has over 150 projects available for youth to engage in, this is proof that everyone is different and have different areas of interest and strengths. Having so many different types of people in this world is a good thing because it takes all kinds of people to make the country and the world work. Every person has a unique mixture of strengths, some are good at math or science and others are good at music or art but we need all types of people and their strengths to make a difference. Sometimes when in a group setting people tend to only want to be around those that are similar to how they are, however it is truly better to have all different types of people with different personalities, qualities and strengths in a group. This way in any club, board or other governing body there is a lot of different perspectives and all are important to hear ask questions before moving forward with any decision.
By being a part of a club, council or service project youth gain skills that they will use throughout their entire life such as problem solving and decision making, how to manage resources, how to work in a group and how to communicate and relate to others. By having the understanding, confidence and drive to want to be a leader our youth will be able to become good leaders of their peers. Today’s youth are the next great leaders for our country and our worlds. 4-H, club leaders, volunteers and parents let’s continue to help today’s youth as they are the future of the United States and our world!
This article come from a series of resources developed by Nebraska Extension, 4-H Youth Development Professionals. Learn more about 4-H at 4h.unl.edu, follow us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/Nebraska4H or on Twitter at http://twitter.com/Nebraska4H.
Source: Debra Walnofer (dwalnofer2@unl.edu), Extension Assistant in Holt/Boyd Counties
