Middle School Leadership Seminar

A middle school leadership seminar was offered to 4-H leadership participants and gifted/talented students. The goal of this seminar was to strengthen the leadership abilities of youth and to help them develop the skills needed to be responsible community members. 

Research states: The fewer assets young people have, the more likely they are to engage in negative behaviors (Benson, 1997; Eccles & Gootman, 2002).  The more assets that are provided to youth, the more likely they are to exhibit positive behaviors. Strong leadership and decision-making skills are essential assets in helping shape a 4-H member into a responsible adult (Jones, n.d.). 

The Cooperative Extension and the school's gifted and talented coordinator sponsored the day-long seminar. Youth participated in identifying their personal leadership qualities, learning to work together as a team, and focusing on personal communication skills. Over 75% of the participants noted they had a fear of public speaking. One of the activities the youth completed was a “String Talk” activity that required students to take a large piece of string, knowing what task they needed the string for. Upon getting their string, they were instructed to stand up in front of the group and talk about themselves and their goals while wrapping the string around their finger. Once the string ran out they were done, over 90% of the youth had a feeling a complete terror. Upon completing the activity, 98% said they enjoyed it the most. One student stated, “it made me tackle my fear of public speaking, I didn’t have time to freak out, I had to complete the task. I know I have room to improve, but I am getting there.”