National 4-H Conference

Apr 15, 2018
5 min read

Day 1- Pre- Conference Training

On the first day that we arrived, training immediately began. Due to some facilitators never being at the National 4-H Conference Center, we took time to do a scavenger hunt of the various locations. We then went over emergency procedures.

Next on the agenda was skit preparations for the first night. We ended up deciding that we wanted to run into the auditorium to music and then introduce ourselves. We then wrapped up for the evening!

Day 2- Pre-Conference Training

On Friday, we met with our liaisons. Mine, unfortunately, was unable to attend. Therefore, I spent time with the Youth Leadership Team member that is shadowing me. We then worked to get our technology for the roundtables up and running. Next, was off to teambuilding activities followed by a presentation about how to form roundtable groups. We discussed Tuckman’s model and the various stages (forming, storming, norming, and performing). Then, nominal groups/facilitation strategies were shared. We then worked on our lesson plans, practiced our skit, did additional team building, and set up our rooms. We also had more time to meet with those that are shadowing us throughout the week. We then learned about engaging with generation z and a discussion of what generation we, as facilitators, fit into and how to relate to those in other generations.

Roundtable 1:

What a great session! I created a flower with the use of hands that were cut out of colorful paper. To start off our first session, I had delegates write their name, state, and a fun fact on each hand. They then went around and shared what they had wrote, in addition to their pronouns. We then took time to brainstorm about our challenge question. We broke this into three sections to make it simpler. These included the following questions, and their main points that were discussed:

How can students take the initiative in challenging school culture so that there is a decrease in bullying and harassment and an increase in learning through productive civil dialogue?
Equality
Sharing personal stories and give insight about culture
Emphasize community through groups and activities
Create a tri-community between families/students/friends, teachers, and mental health professionals
Create a course/program/presentation

i.Civil discourse/communication

Provide specific examples of actions.
Workshop/camp/club
Movement/social media campaign
Everyone’s culture must change, not just youth

i.There should be use of programs/materials already in existence and implement them differently

Provide drafts of any resources needed to support these actions.
Student education/awareness of federal laws and their rights
“How To” guide to facilitate civil dialogue

To conclude this roundtable session I had every delegate write a fun questions, a question about the roundtable, or a question about the Conference. I then asked that they crinkle up their question and have a snowball fight. Then each delegate picked up a “snow ball” and sat back down in their chair. I asked them to do their best to flatten it. Obviously they were unable to return it to its original form. We then compared this to how when someone says hurtful words to another, they cannot be taken back. While they can do everything to help, they will never be able to 100% fix it. This shows the power of one’s words and how important it is before acting and speaking. After answering all of the questions on the pieces of paper, they through away their insecurities and we emphasized how the roundtable is a safe place and one that they should be comfortable to speak up and share their opinions, stories, and questions.

Roundtable 2:

This roundtable was a little interesting… I had recognized that the answer to the challenge question was very surface thinking and so somehow I needed to have them brainstorm again and think a little deeper. I wasn’t exactly sure how to do that… I then spoke with the lead facilitator and she offered the suggestion of playing a team building game that would make them think, and then go into a brainstorming session. That is exactly what we did.

I decided to have them play “speed of light.” This is a game with limited instructions. It starts where the ball is tossed from one person to another and then they must have the ball be touched by everyone in the same order. The goal is to do this in the fastest time possible.

We then headed inside and we discussed how communication was difficult, the lack of guidance, and listening. This was then translated into our roundtable. We began by having a brainstorming session and the idea that the Department of Education has so much curriculum and so many programs, that adding yet another one would be difficult to implement and unlikely. It was then suggested that 4-H offers all of the following parts to the challenge questions, so in turn, 4-H is the answer! The Department of Education could support 4-H in their efforts of creating civil dialogue through supporting and creating programs/projects and signing a memorandum of understanding to furtherlegitimize our efforts.

The delegates ran with this idea and were beyond excited to start next session!

Roundtable 3:

This was a working roundtable and everyone buckled down to finish their portion due to the limited time available.

Roundtable 4:

We began to practice our presentation and pull it together in this roundtable. We had our rehearsal scheduled during this time so we were able to prepare for our presentation and then practice it in front of an audience. We received a lot of constructive criticism that was then implemented into our final project.

In the evening, I then offered an optional social time for the delegates to get to know each other better and to mesh. I liked seeing them get to know each other as well as form personal relationships with each of them. They are a strong group of leaders that will one day make great change in the world.

Roundtable 5:

This was the final gathering all together before our final briefing with the federal agency. Their rehearsal went beautifully. It was show time!

Briefing:

I could not be more proud of them… They blew me away with their professionalism, poise, and abilities. They represented the best of the best in 4-H. They answered questions beautifully about the program, shared personal stories, and encouraged them to assist them in their action plan of a relationship between the Department of Education and 4-H. The Department of Education was on board with this idea and so when I met with the President and CEO of National 4-H, Jennifer Sirangelo, later that week, I mentioned it to her. She seemed excited about this partnership as well.

You can view their final presentation and deliverables here (script, presentation, handout): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1_O5ygxUDSQn35Ms0C7_duijaljkNyUJ_

You can also view the briefing, that was recorded live at: https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10101399336565411&id=31002158

I then had the delegates complete an online survey to critique my facilitation techniques for next time. I will be implementing these at the next available time!