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Welcome
back to the Corner. I hope your summer is going well. Spend some time
with your family during the holiday and remember our men and women who
are serving this great county of ours. Also, honor those who have given
their lives to protect the freedoms we have in America. Even with high
gas prices and rising cost of living, we are blessed with a great way of
life!
4-H
has been very busy and next month I will send a few pictures to show
where we have been. I want to put a plug in for Jim and Grace on their
"Time Well Spent" TV program. If you have not yet watched a
show, you need to find your local station and time and plan to watch.
They have done a wonderful job of showing youth involved with farming
and agriculture.
I
want to continue this month talking about youth, leadership and how
important it is!
With
the 2008 political season fully underway, I have been thinking about the
most important skill we seek to develop in 4-H youth: leadership. Any
adult who wants to be a great leader could be well-served by listening
to 4-H young people, a group which scorns hypocrisy and is wary of
leaders who place personal or political gain ahead of duty. And just as
young people value their own achievements, they judge leaders based on
what they achieve for the public they serve.
As
we look to build youth leadership, it is important for us to consider
the characteristics of a true leader.
The
exceptional leader is visionary, thinking ahead to avoid problems before
they arise. What are the social, economic and diplomatic challenges our
country will face a decade from now? What future issues will be
determining Alabama’s greatness in a globalized world? Those are the
issues that intrigue today’s young people.
The
generation now in 4-H knows the importance of flexibility and
adaptability. Like a great sports coach or a great general, a great
leader can adjust to new challenges and opportunities. Nostalgia is
great for high school homecoming, but it won’t take you far when
dealing with issues like energy and technology.
People
often recognize the communications skills we seek to build through 4-H.
We know a great leader like Abraham Lincoln was a powerful speaker. His
Gettysburg Address is the model of simple, persuasive clarity. We may
not remember what a great listener he was. The stories of his cabinet
meetings are legendary for how much he listened, respectfully and
confidently weighing diverse perspectives.
It
must also be noted Lincoln was referred to as "Honest Abe."
Honesty and integrity are certainly characteristics we seek to develop
through 4-H. Those are as crucial to a young person participating in a
4-H livestock project as they are to a president developing national
policy. Unfortunately, young people notice too many adults who are not
willing to play by the rules.
Although
building the respect and confidence of young leaders can sometimes seem
to be a challenging task, their enthusiasm cannot be restrained. When
4-H members are motivated and excited about their projects or
activities, others are more inclined to follow. Whether it is a 4-H club
president, a state senator or a corporate CEO, the amount of their
enthusiasm is directly connected to their success.
Great
leaders are resourceful, well-organized and welcome change. They
delegate authority to others instead of controlling the details
themselves. Just as we seek to provide mastery through 4-H, the true
leader understands knowledge is power and he or she constantly seeks to
obtain all the information needed to make informed decisions.
Bill Gates’
High School Address
Bill
Gates once gave a speech at a high school about 11 things they did not
and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good,
politically-correct teachings created a generation of kids with no
concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the
real world.
Rule
1: Life is not
fair . . . get used to it!
Rule
2: The world won’t
care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish
something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.
Rule
3: You will NOT
make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won’t be a
vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.
Rule
4: If you think
your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.
Rule
5: Flipping
burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different
word for burger-flipping . . . they called it opportunity.
Rule
6: If you mess
up, it’s not your parents’ fault. So, don’t whine about your
mistakes, learn from them.
Rule
7: Before you
were born, your parents weren’t as boring as they are now. They got
that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to
you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the
rain forest from the parasites of your parent’s generation, try
delousing the closet in your own room.
Rule
8: Your school
may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some
schools they have abolished failing grades and they’ll give you as
MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn’t bear the
slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.
Rule
9: Life is not divided into semesters, you don’t get summers off
and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do
that on your own time.
Rule
10: Television is
NOT real life. In real life, people actually have to leave the coffee
shop and go to jobs.
Rule
11: Be nice to
nerds. Chances are you’ll end up working for one.
Until
next time, God Bless!
James
Shropshire is the Alabama 4-H Regional Extension Agent for the Central
Alabama Region. E-mail him at shropja@aces.edu. |
