It has been said many times in different places that kids are hard to motivate.
And it must be admitted that in our age of endless screens and apps, it has probably become even harder to get kids off the couch and out into the real world (Pokemon Go notwithstanding). However, there is an organization that has consistently motivated youngsters to learn to do by doing for over 100 years, and that's the 4-H Club.
To be clear, I'm no authority on 4-H or its activities. Like most non-members, my closest encounter with the club happens once a year at the B.C. Northern Exhibition where I go to see the fruit of the members' labour in the form of prize winning poultry and farm animals. What is plainly observable, even in that brief annual interaction, is that the club's membership is committed, growing, and full of young people - three assets that many nonprofits would trade all their gaming grants for.
The success of 4-H is more profound than first meets the eye, as its longevity and actual activities can attest. While people, especially children, live in a world that is becoming ever more dissociated from reality and the work of human hands, 4-H gives children fundamental, hands on learning that they can see develop right before their eyes in the form of community projects or raising livestock. At 4-H you can hatch and name a prize-winning turkey - beat that, Pokemon.
Not only is hands on learning becoming ever rarer in our digital world, but the values promoted at 4-H, as exhibited in the pledge that defines the "H's", are part of the club's success and retention as well.
The pledge reads: I pledge my head to clearer thinking, my heart to greater loyalty, my hands to larger service, my health to better living, for my club, my community and my country. Clearly, these values improve the lives of members and in turn improve the club.
And perhaps that's the real secret to the success of 4-H. As people in our world grow exponentially more entitled while simultaneously feeling less in control, 4-H club presents a different way of life, particularly to children. By following the pledge and being diligent, one can achieve success at a self-appointed or group task, regardless of one's background. And that achievement is real and tangible - it may even be alive and kicking.
We'd do well to emulate more of this hands on learning and engagement in our schools and homes, whether that be through class gardens or simply buying Lego for Christmas and skipping the console.
The point is that our world needs more "do'ers" and builders, people with dreams and the methods to achieve them.
But that requires we put down the screens and get back to the real world.
