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2001 Volunteer Leader Training Guide
Pillars of Character – Caring

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Introduction

Caring is a word that implies action. Caring people love, help, give and are kind. They are caretakers of people, pets, plants, possessions and even the planet. Caring people show their concern for others in an active way.

Genuine concern for others is a sign of growing up. A big part of growing up is the ability to think and care about someone besides you. The Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," is a guideline accepted around the world that helps people do more good and less harm to others. Caring people:

• Show compassion and kindness for others.

• Live by the Golden Rule.

• Are thankful and express gratitude for what people do for you.

• Forgive others for their shortcomings.

• Help people in need.

(Adapted from Show-Me Character, University of Missouri, and CHARACTER COUNTS! – The Six Pillars of Character, Josephson Institute of Ethics.)

Target Audience

This guide provides 4-H leaders, EHC leaders and teens with information and an activity to teach lessons on character to youth 9 to 12 years old.

Objective

Participants will reinforce concepts of caring by participating in an experiential process of learning.

Teaching Recommendation

Experiential learning takes place when a person is involved in an activity, looks back at it critically, determines what was useful or important to remember and uses this information to perform another activity. In the past few years, research in the area of experiential learning has strengthened this approach by adding several key processing steps beyond simply doing the activity or experience. These steps include:

• having the participant(s) experience the activity – perform or do it;

• having the participant(s) share the experience by describing what happened;

• asking participant(s) to process the experience to identify common themes;

• having participant(s) generalize from the experience to form principles or guidelines that can be used in real-life situations, e.g., life skills;

• asking participant(s) to apply what was learned to another situation.

Providing an experience alone does not create "experiential learning." The activity comes first. The learning comes from the thoughts and ideas as a result of the experience. This is a "learn by doing" or experiential process (Do–Reflect–Apply). Addressing each step in the process assures a purposeful plan to obtain a specific goal.

Activity

The group can discuss strategies for figuring out and remembering the correct pattern, and for deciding who goes first, second, etc. Once activity begins, participants cannot talk or communicate in any lay with each other. The choices for correct route will always be forward, diagonally forward or sideways.

Each participant must have a turn before someone can go again. The leader will "buzz" a participant if they step on an incorrect square. Then they have to go back to the beginning and someone else may try. You may want to set a time limit for the group. The object is to get the whole team across the board using correct squares, but only one person can be on the grid at a time.

Discussion Questions/Processing

There is a critical moment in preparing to solve a problem when no amount of additional planning will produce any better quality result. Sooner or later, you just need to give it a try and see what happens. Trial-and-error problem solving techniques keep the group focused on the active participant.

• What was frustrating about the rules and why?

• What was good about the rules and why?

• Was it hard to show compassion and kindness for teammates if they make a mistake?

• Were you able to help each other prior to and during the activity? How?

• Are you able to forgive people for their shortcomings?

• Is it hard to live by rules?

• What type of things did you discuss during your planning time?

• What were the penalties associated with a wrong choice, and are there penalties in real life for wrong choices?

• If you could do this again, would you change anything?

• What is important about choosing the right strategy?

• How else could you relate what you learned to real-life problems?

(Adapted from Teamwork and Teamplay, Jim Cain and Barry Jolliff, by Mike Klumpp, Youth Development Specialist.)

Additional Resources

• "Exercising Character" curriculum available through the county Extension office has activity-based lesson plans to help teens and other teachers to work with kids on issues of developing and strengthening personal character.
   

• "Building Assets Together: 135 Group Activities for Helping Youth Succeed" is a collection of group activities and worksheets that help young people explore assets that strengthen their lives, sources of support and areas for growth. Available through the county Extension office or from the Search Institute (800-888-7828).
   

• Character Education Websites:

Character Counts!

Character Education/Utah State Office of Education

Beverly Hines, 4-H Specialist/Section Leader - 4-H Program, and
Mike Klumpp, Youth Development Specialist

Back to 2001 Leader Training Guide