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Articles by Kathy Hook Fischer
MSU Extension 4-H Club Development
As a 4-H volunteer, you play a powerful role in helping youth grow and thrive. In the 4-H Essential Elements for Positive Youth Development, engagement is a key element to helping youth thrive and be beyond ready for what is next. When members feel connected, interested and included, they are more likely to learn, build confidence and stay in 4-H long-term. So how do you create an engaging 4-H club? The good news is, it’s not about having perfect plans or being the most energetic leader.
From clover to confidence: Your 4-H club’s path to beyond ready youth
When youth participate in 4-H, they don’t just learn; they grow into confident, capable individuals who are beyond ready for whatever comes next. That’s the power of a 4-H club rooted in Positive Youth Development (PYD) practices. In previous articles, we explored how to ignite sparks—those passions and interests that motivate youth— and how you can be a spark champion. We also highlighted how building strong relationships within your club is essential to youth thriving.
How to build relationships in your 4-H club
Building strong relationships within your 4-H club is essential to creating a fun, welcoming and productive environment. As adults who support 4-H members, our job is to be a champion for youth, provide positive energy, and build associated skills. Through 4-H, we watch sparks grow, create joy and lead to a purpose and direction in life. Relationships have the power to be life-changing, and yet not every relationship reaches this level.
How to build sparks in your 4-H club
A spark is a passion for a self-identified interest or skill, or something that metaphorically lights a fire in a young person’s life, providing energy, joy and purpose. In 4-H, we can think of this as the seeds of 4-H success, something that gives youth a passion and drives them forward. Youth sparks are an essential ingredient of thriving. Having a spark or sparks gives a young person a sense of direction and encourages goal setting.
MSU Extension 4-H Volunteering & Mentoring
Being a spark champion for youth is a powerful way to make a difference in the lives of young people. Spark champions play a critical role in helping youth discover what excites them, believe in themselves and ultimately thrive. A quote from E. E. Cummings confirms the idea of spark champions is not new, “We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us something is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch.
Book review: “Sparks: How Parents Can Help Ignite the Hidden Strengths of Teenagers” by Petter Benson, Ph.D.
Peter Benson authored the book “Sparks: How Parents Can Help Ignite the Hidden Strengths of Teenagers,” which was published in 2008. Peter Benson was a psychologist with the Search Institute and leading authority on children and teenagers and the processes that help them flourish. Although this book was written with the intended audience of parents, the research and ideas shared here can be used by anyone working with young people, especially those in the youth development field.
Melissa Harris-Perry - Women's Center's 50th!
Women’s Center 50th Anniversary Celebration with Melissa Harris Perry Professor Melissa Harris-Perry is the Maya Angelou Presidential Chair at Wake Forest University where she teaches courses on American politics and elections at the intersections of race, place, and gender. She is the founder and President of the Anna Julia Cooper Center, an independent organization with a mission to advance justice and alleviate harm for women and girls of color in American higher education.
Feeding the Spirit of a Community
Malia MountMarch 4, 2019 Feeding the Spirit of a Community2019-02-27T13:20:20+00:00 Ozarks Roots The history of Appleton City, Mo. Something has happened at the grocery store in Appleton City, Mo., that has the whole town buzzing – and it’s not the price of milk.
Letter: Bring cruel treatment of horses to an end
Kathy Fischer Friday Feb 15, 2019 at 7:11 PM I am very pleased that a bill, HR-693, Prevent All Soring Tactics (PAST), has been re-introduced into Congress and would end the cruel practice of horse soring. This bill had overwhelming bipartisan support in the last Congress, but it did not pass. I am hopeful that it will be successful this time.
Letter: Farm Bill amendment a threat to states' rights
Kathy Fischer Since I wrote my last letter to this newspaper, my fears have come to fruition. Iowa Rep. Steven King’s bill, HR 4879, is now out of the House Agriculture Committee and has been added as an amendment to the omnibus Farm Bill.This amendment, with a seemingly innocuous title (the “Protect Interstate Commerce Act”), would actually constitute a major threat to states’ rights.
My fears have come to fruition
Since I wrote my last letter to this newspaper, my fears have come to fruition. Iowa Representative Steven King’s Bill, HR 4879, is now out of the House Agriculture Committee and has been added as an amendment to the omnibus Farm Bill. This amendment, with a seemingly innocuous title (the “Protect Interstate Commerce Act”), would actually constitute a major threat to states’ rights.
Letter: In defense of local agriculture
Kathy Fischer As a retired registered nurse and health sciences professor, I am very concerned about an overreaching federal bill, HR 3599, that has been introduced by Congressman Steve King of Iowa. If passed, this federal bill would nullify hundreds of state and local laws that protect food safety, animal welfare, labor standards, the environment, and the promotion of local agriculture.In other words, it would undermine traditional areas of state control.
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