At the beginning of Akrosec School’s first ever 4-H meeting, the club
president stood in front of a small gathering of students in the dining hall
and pounded a rock on the table to call the meeting to order. With shaking
hands, but courageous voices, the seven club officers delivered their opening
ceremony parts and guided the meeting through the carefully planned order of
business. After the meeting had been adjourned, I ask the officers to gather
around. I looked at their very focused and serious faces and simply said, “I am
proud of you.” Immediately, all seven faces broke into huge smiles.
Helping my school establish a brand new 4-H club has been a favorite part
of my job this year. I work closely with the seven high school students who
were elected as club officers this term. Since 4-H is new to all of the
students and teachers here, I met with the officers multiple times before the
first club meeting, in order to explain the basics of 4-H and prepare them for
their first student-led meeting. It did not take me long to discover that I was
working with seven exceptional students; they were eager to learn about 4-H,
optimistic about the future of their club, and determined to make the first
club meeting a success.
After that first meeting, I realized that many of these students live in
a world where punishment for failure is given out far more often than praise for
hard work. Every week I spend with students, I witness the powerful effect you
can have on a young person just by encouraging them and telling them you believe
in their future. Fortunately, that is what this year is all about and I look forward
to seeing many more smiles on student faces in the future!