4-H (Head, Heart, Hands, and Health)

자료: Wikipedia, http://encyclopedia.thefreedictionary.com/4-h

4-H in the United States is a youth organization administered by the Cooperative Extension System of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) with the mission of "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development."[1] The four "H"'s stand for Head, Heart, Hands, and Health. The organization serves over 9 million members in the United States from ages 5 to 21 in almost 100,000 clubs[2]. 4-H clubs and related organizations now exist in many other countries as well; the organization and administration varies from country to country.

The goal of 4-H is to develop citizenship, leadership, and life skills of youth through mostly experiential learning programs. Though typically thought of as an agriculturally focused organization as a result of its history, 4-H today encourages members to learn about many topics, such as youth leadership, youth-adult partnership, geographic information systems, and public speaking.

History

The foundations of 4-H began around the start of the twentieth century, with the work of several people in different parts of the United States. The focal point of 4-H has been the idea of practical and "hands-on" learning, which came from the desire to make public school education more connected to rural life. Early programs tied both public and private resources together to benefit rural youth.

During this time, researchers at experiment stations of the land-grant universities and USDA saw that adults in the farming community did not readily accept new agricultural discoveries. But, educators found that youth would "experiment" with these new ideas and then share their experiences and successes with the adults. So rural youth programs became a way to introduce new agriculture technology to the adults.

A. B. Graham started one such youth program in Clark County, Ohio in 1902, which is considered the birth of the 4-H program in the United States. When Congress created the Cooperative Extension Service of the USDA by passage of the Smith-Lever Act of 1914, it included within the CES charter the work of various boys' and girls' clubs involved with agriculture, home economics and related subjects. By 1924 these clubs became organized as "4-H" clubs and the clover emblem was adopted.[3]

Superintendent of schools, G. C. Adams began a boys corn club in Newton County, Georgia, in 1904.

4-H membership hit an all-time high in 1974, as a result of its popular educational program about nutrition, Mulligan Stew, shown in schools and on television across the country.

The 4-H motto is "To make the best better," while its creed is "Learn by doing."

Pledge

The 4-H pledge is as follows:

"I pledge my head to clearer thinking,

my heart to greater loyalty,

my hands to larger service

and my health to better living,

for my club, my community, my country, and my world." (생략)