4-H Is Growing True Leaders

Smith County 4-H News
By Trent Jones
Smith County Extension Agent
America is facing a leadership crisis. Many young people today aren’t being given the opportunity to learn the tenacity, strategic-thinking and people skills that they’ll need to lead – now and in the future.
For me, leadership started at home on our farm. I was the youngest child of two, with an older brother who set a great example of leadership and hard work. Both of us had our own responsibilities on the farm, and we were expected to take care of them, and to ask for help only when we needed it.
I also had parents that set an example of how to give each day your complete effort. My father worked as a contractor and brick mason for 40+ years, while farming in his “free time” and my mother was a teacher for 42 years, while volunteering as a 4-H leader in three counties. My parents were my first mentors, and they saw the unique potential in me and my brother and helped us cultivate it. Caring adults like my parents and others stepped up and gave me the opportunities I needed to grow essential life skills.
But recent research conducted by 4-H suggests that today’s youth aren’t getting the leadership opportunities they want and need. In the 2016 4-H National Youth Survey on Leadership, two-thirds of respondents said they don’t have the tangible skills they needed to lead. Half of high school students said they don’t feel prepared to lead in college or a future career.
That’s a discouraging statistic. But even more discouraging is that, as adults, we’re not stepping up to help young people get the leadership opportunities they need. When a National 4-H Council survey asked youth why they hadn’t taken opportunities to learn leadership skills, the number one reason they gave was that no one had asked them.
4-H wants to change that. This spring, the National 4-H Council launched the Grow True Leaders Campaign to highlight the experiences offered to young people that grow leadership skills. Through self-chosen projects, kids will be paired with mentors and given opportunities to lead. These projects will bring out their potential, their passions and their drive to help others, as we empower them to become true leaders.
In 4-H, we believe that every child has the potential to be a leader, and in order to fulfill that potential they need caring adult mentors, chances to develop practical skills, and opportunities to take on leadership roles. As America’s largest youth development organization, we know this approach works and our results are second to none.
If we’re going to fill the coming leadership void, adults must play a larger role in encouraging kids and offering them the hands-on experiences that will help them build confidence and grow skills.
4-H’s Grow True Leaders Campaign highlights those experiences. We’re asking young people to tell us which problems facing the world need stronger leaders, or which problems they themselves would like to lead the way in solving. Then they’ll have the opportunity to develop innovative solutions to these problems.
We’re also asking adults to champion the positive work that today’s youth are doing by recognizing young leaders in their own communities through a Shout Out and by helping us provide more opportunities for youth to gain the skills they need to lead. You can give a Shout Out and recognize youth that are making a difference in their communities by tagging them on social media with the hashtags #TrueLeaders and #4HGrowsHere.
We’re supporting our youth, and we’re asking adults across the country to do the same. Let’s rally the nation to grow a generation of true leaders.
To become more involved and to help make a difference with the youth of your county and community, give our office a call at 615-735-2900 to apply to become a 4-H Volunteer and Mentor.
UT Extension Smith County is an extension of the University of Tennessee working in Smith County to provide Real Life Solutions in agriculture, family & consumer sciences, and 4-H youth development. We work with youth, families, and land owners to provide education and solve everyday problems.