Clare is a fixture at national and regional 4-H conferences. She has listened hard to other experiences. And, in turn, Clare and her teamhave tried a number of strategies tocounter the trend, taking pages from the playbooks of other states. The school solution was at the top of the list. For the last two years she and her teamhave been walking the halls of schools. Again, and again, they have been received politely, but told there is simply no room in school curriculum. Even when principals canbe attracted, teachers have rebelledat being asked to do more. Faced with teacher rebellion, principals withdraw. In the Elm Street Elementary School in Banksville, one of the smaller towns, in an impoverished neighborhood with 20% unemployment, the principal, Violet Blanks (no relation to the town’s founder), took the proverbial bull by the horns. Convinced of the 4-H value proposition for her students, she simply insisted. 4-H is now deeply embedded in that elementary school. A recent evaluation by the Sociology Department of the LGU, however, showed that, while 4-H programming did increase student knowledge about STEM projects, the chaos in their family lives that led to significant attendance problems school-wide meant that 4- H’s reachwas episodic and required associated social services expertise that 4-H did not have. The Department questioned the long-term effects. The regionalmiddle school principal has expressedno interest, andhence 4-H dies after 5 th grade. The larger problems of middle schoolers and teenagers ina town with few youth programs remain unresolved.
Who Cares?
Clare and her teammeet monthly to discuss the situation. There is deep disagreement in the group.
One faction, led by Al Anderson, born and bred in the community and a product of 4-H and the LGU as well as six sons and daughters who have been 4-Hers and are LGU grads, holds firmly to tradition. 4-H, Al continues to emphasize, is about positive youth development and that means clubs, volunteers, and very close relationships between those adults and the young people. This is face-to-face business, he says. There is no substitute. Plus, what ISPYD? Well, it is learning to be responsible and to think about and achieve goals. That means it is about commitment and sacrifice. You come toclub meetings. You listen. You do the projects. You succeedby completing those projects and participating in the competitions. You put in the time. Your parents put in the time. It is about the hard learning of how to growup. No short cuts. No compromises. No excuses. The other faction, led by T’Resure Smith, 30 years old and a transplant to the state from her hometown of Chicagowhen her husband was laid off and found a new job at the local farm implement plant, sees it differently. PYD, she pushes back, is not about rules. It is not about time. It is about supporting youth where they arewith what they want to do. It is about being part of their culture, not forcing their culture into yours. 4-H does not need to own the whole process. It canbe part of a process with lots of other community organizations. 4-H can be a partner to other youth-serving organizations. PYD does not come FROM 4-H, it comes from lots of people and organizations pulling together for young people. We are part of that, but only a part. And, T’Resure regularly adds, nothing happens in the long -termunless we are part of that process beyond elementary school, even into high school. This is a long process; we
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