Youths get hands-on leadership lessons

BOONE, Iowa — Sixteen local middle school youths took a leadership development journey this month, participating in “Ricochet 2: The Adventure Continues.”

“I think that these young people will be more likely to be leaders in their communities as they continue to grow,” said Annette Brown, a Ricochet facilitator and Boone County 4-H youth development specialist for the Iowa State University Extension.

Eighth-grade students from Boone Middle School, Sacred Heart School and Home Assist home school discovered and strengthened their leadership skills through a variety of adventure-based activities.

Leadership information, leadership attitudes, communication skills, decision-making skills and stress management were emphasized in the program, developed by ISU Extension 4-H youth development specialists. Five of the students also participated in “Ricochet 1: An Extreme Leadership Adventure” in May.

Leadership, defined as the ability to influence and support others in a positive manner for a common goal, is a set of skills and attitudes that can be learned and developed that will help the leader influence the actions of others.

A ball that bounces in unpredictable directions was used to introduce the Ricochet program. The unpredictability of the ball was used to demonstrate situations in middle school when youths are trying out many different roles while finding their place in the world.

The ball also represented how leadership opportunities come at unpredictable times.

The program participants learned how to identify such opportunities and how they must be ready to accept the challenges as they are presented.

Ricochet helped the students identify characteristics of transactional (task-oriented) and transformational (capacity-building) leadership skills. While taking part in a hands-on group project known as the “labyrinth,” the students discovered how groups typically go through stages as they learn to work together.

“This really focused more on working together as a team to accomplish a common goal,” Brown said.

Through “See Ya! Talent Search,” “Stump Jumping” and “Teamplay Tubes” activities, the students got to know one another to better enhance their team-building skills.

Other activities required participants to enhance their nonverbal, verbal and written communication skills. When trying to create a “shelter” out of foam swimming pool noodles, the participants pretended they were stranded on an island of people who spoke a different language.

The island people had the shelter-building supplies, and the participants had to determine how to communicate with the natives to obtain the supplies.

That project allowed the students to understand how differences can be overcome and that communicating with others different from themselves is possible but sometimes challenging.

Decision-making activities required participants to come to a consensus on how to collectively conquer challenges. They learned about the importance of planning and scheduling that is necessary to carry out citizenship projects as well as the importance of stress management in being effective leaders. Writing in journals helped them reflect on what they learned.

« Community

Share