| |
If
4-H conjures up images of cleancut farm kids and county fairs, it's
time for an update.
"We still have youth who raise cows
and we're very proud of those young people," said Pat BoyEs, 4-H program
director for Washington State University Cooperative Extension, "but
we also have youth who have built a helicopter that flies and a statewide
4-H computer club whose members rehab old computers as community service
projects."
As the state has become more urbanized,
so has 4-H. Just nine percent of the state's 84,000 4-H'ers were farm
kids in 1999, while 23 percent lived in cities of 50,000 and larger,
mirroring national membership trends.
The Doyle family of Bellevue typifies
the urban 4-H experience. "Neither my husband nor I had a 4-H background,"
said Liz Doyle. The nearest they came were visits to the Southwest
Washington Fair in Chehalis, near husband Bill's Centralia hometown.
"The girls all of a sudden one day said,
'Mom, let's get some rabbits.' I said, O.K., if you want bunnies,
you're going to join 4-H."
Sixteen bunnies, assorted other 4-H
projects and about 13 years later, daughters Shawna, Lindsey and Tamara
have all graduated from college (two from WSU) and begun their careers.
What did they get out of it?
"I think 4-H helped teach us responsibility
at a young age," said Lindsey. "A lot of families don't let their
kids have pets, let alone raise rabbits as we did."
"I know it helped them in school," Liz
said. "Most of the kids in 4-H do public presentations. They talk
about topics related to one of their projects before other people
in competition. The experience gave them a lot of confidence."
4-H also benefits leaders. "It's an
education for the volunteers, not just the kids," said Bill, who teaches
poster design workshops for 4-Her's and volunteers. "There is a lot
of interest on the part of leaders to learn more, and hence, grow
in their own lives."
The
changing face of 4-H |
|
|
Liz
and Bill Doyle of Bellevue
are longtime 4-H volunteers. |
4-H
emerged as a concept at the end of the 19th century as means for improving
life in rural America. Rural was synonymous with poor. For most people
in rural America, education was only available through the eighth
grade.
"It became obvious that if you truly wanted to change people's lives,
the sooner you worked with them, the more lasting and profound a change
you made," BoyEs said.
In local clubs scattered around the
country, boys learned how to grow corn and girls learned how to preserve
food. "While the roles were very stereotypical," BoyEs said, "the
kids learned practical life skills, critical for their success in
their life and times, plus they had the nurturing of adult mentors
who worked with them."
The link to land-grant colleges was
forged early as some visionaries saw these clubs as an avenue for
passing information to farmers. When Congress created Cooperative
Extension in 1914, 4-H was incorporated as a program and became a
formal part of the mission of each land- grant university.
"4-H is just as relevant today as 100
years ago because the life skills of communications, decision making,
evaluation, cooperation and teamwork we teach today are essential
for young people today," BoyEs said.
While their daughters are no longer
involved in 4-H, Liz and Bill still are. "It's hard to give up," said
Liz, a volunteer for about 15 years. "I think it has helped a lot
of kids and will continue to do so. There are kids at risk out there
that have been helped and even more that need it."
 |
|
