4-H Curriculum Resources

Leadership & Personal Development

Leadership Personal     Development

Leadership and personal development are closely tied together. Leadership, as defined, is the "position, function, or guidance of a leader; ability to lead." Personal development, for 4-H purposes, is the development of ethical behaviors needed to enable the development of sound character and skills for leadership. In the process of gaining independence and the establishment of a Democracy, the basis upon which the Founding Fathers operated was one of an informed and educated public - where leadership and decision-making is to be shared among the masses. Thus, leadership abilities and those skills needed for participatory decision-making is mandatory in a functioning Democracy and for strong communities in the 21st Century. Far too many children and youth are not learning or practicing basic standards of good character in America. Unacceptably high numbers of young people steal, lie, and cheat on the job, in school, and in personal relationships. For too many youth, there is a disturbing willingness to resolve conflict with violence. Throughout its existence, Virginia's 4-H program has been teaching youth important elements of good character and promoting ethical behavior. Indeed, character development is central to the 4-H program in the Commonwealth. Virginia's 4-H program in collaboration with more than 400 other organizations and groups of the CHARACTER COUNTS!sm Coalition, is actively involved in helping youth, and adults who work with youth, to become advocates of good character. 4-H is focusing on helping youth and adults exercise the SIX PILLARS OF CHARACTER in their actions, words, and associations with others. Those Pillars are Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring and Citizenship.

Project Books Virginia 4-H Project Publication Title Formats Available Suggested Ages 50005 - Leadership 388-030 4-H Leadership Record - Planning Guide Print1 12-13 National 4-H Project Publication Title Formats Available Suggested Grades 50007 - Leadership   My Leadership Workbook Print1 3-5 50007 - Leadership   My Leadership Journal Print1 6-8 50007 - Leadership   My Leadership Portfolio Print1 9-12 Leaders Guides   Title Formats Available Suggested Ages     Leadership Mentor Guide I Print1 K-5     Leadership Mentor Guide II Print1 6-12 Additional Resources 4-H Club Leadership forms Additional publications that are designed to assist youth and adult 4-H Club leaders are available at the General 4-H Programs Support Materials page. Virginia 4-H Leadership Project Curriculum This Leadership Curriculum and Leaders Guide was developed by the 4-H Program at Kansas State University and has been adopted and adapted for use by Virginia 4-H. The Virginia 4-H Leadership Project lessons are designed to be conducted as a club or group activity. Members do not have a Leadership project book. Instead, The Curriculum provides members with handouts which: outline the skills to be learned; help members set personal learning goals; describes possible leadership events and activities; and provides a year-end project summary record. Each Unit Extension office should have one copy of the Leadership Curriculum. GROUP DYNAMITE (Group Only) A leadership development program for senior 4-H youth designed to help youth work effectively in groups and experience skills in group interaction. Contact your local Virginia Cooperative Extension office for availability. CREATING YOUTH-ADULT PARTNERSHIPS This program recognizes the capacity of young people to be involved in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of programs and projects relevant to their needs and issues; and provides a powerful set of experiential training activities designed to enhance the abilities of youth and adults to work effectively in partnerships. Contact your local Virginia Cooperative Extension office for availability.

Personal Development

Your first contact for more information is: Your local Virginia Cooperative Extension office. For additional information, contact: Beth Massey, Extension Agent, 4-H; Phone: (540) 745-9308; dmassey@vt.edu.

Leaders Guides Virginia 4-H Project Publication Title Formats Available Suggested Ages 51001 - Personal Development 384-616 Make Up Your Own Mind Leaders Guide Print1 14-19 51002 - Talking with TJ   Talking with TJ Print1 5-8 51003 - Character Counts!   Character Counts! Print1 5-19 School Enrichment (Teachers guides with lessons, suggested activities and student worksheets) Virginia 4-H Project   Title Formats Available Suggested Ages 51003 - CHARACTER COUNTS!   Character Counts! Print5 Grades K-12 Additional Resources CHARACTER COUNTS (Group Only) Character Counts is a national partnership of organizations and individuals involved in the education, training, or care of youth, joined together in a collaborative effort to improve the character of America's young people based on six core ethical values, the "Six Pillars of Character": Trustworthiness, Respect, Responsibility, Fairness, Caring, and Citizenship. Support Materials: Each unit office has teaching kits for ages 5 through teens. "Character Counts Good Ideas Book" Websites: http://www.ext.vt.edu/resources/4h/character/character.html http://www.ext.vt.edu/resources/4h/leadership.html District Coordinators: Central: Laura McClenny lmcclenn@vt.edu Northwest: Tonya Taylor totaylor@vt.edu Northeast: Karen Lucas kllucas@vt.edu Northern: Sharon Race srace@pwcgov.org Southern: Billie Jean Elmer bjelmer@vt.edu Southwest: Donna Hamm dhamm@vt.edu Character Education in 4-H Livestock Projects Cutting corners to win is not the right way. Everyone involved in youth livestock projects (members, parents, leaders, agents) should be aware of the damage that can be done to these programs by unethical behavior. "Showing Character" is a series of activity based lesson plans developed by LSU 4-H stressing character development in young people and adults working together in the livestock industry. One copy was sent to each extension office in 2002. Videos: A Question of Ethics (20 minutes) A Step Beyond a Question of Ethics (23 minutes) The Line in the Sand (16 minutes) Facilitator Guides and videos can be borrowed from Dr. Mark Wahlberg (wahlberg@vt.edu). MAKE UP YOUR OWN MIND Opportunities to select a subject, not necessarily included in a 4-H project, and develop a plan to pursue it in your special way. It may serve as a career exploratory type program, involve interviews, work with special people, and develop a positive attitude toward "making up your own mind." AGE 14-19. Talking With TJ (Cloverbud) Talking With TJ is an educational program designed to improve the teamwork and conflict resolution skills of second- through fourth-graders. Through the program, children learn important skills of planning, cooperating, and appreciating differences, as well as to resolve conflicts with peers without using violence. The program encourages children to work and play together in more caring and cooperative ways, a very important goal in today's culturally diverse society. A limited number of refill kits are available by calling Billie Cline (540-231-6086) or email (bcline@vt.edu). A refill kit has enough handouts for a group or 20. Both Program Kits and refill kits are available for purchase from the National 4-H Supply Catalogue.

¹Available from your local Virginia Cooperative Extension office.
²Payment required.
³Documents in PDF format require the Adobe Acrobat Reader to open. If you do not already have the Reader installed on your computer, you can download a free copy from Adobe.
⁴Available from other states.