P a g e 1b - S p e cial td itio n • M orrow County t-air and K o d e o • H eppner tiazette-1 imes, W ednesday, Ju ly ¿ 0 , Z01U
Morrow County 4-H helps build
character
Raising children to
become decent and responsible
adults is a complex and chal
lenging job that is becoming
increasingly difficult in our
society. To be a person of good
character, youth must develop
strengths of the 4 “H’s”: head
- they must know what is good;
heart - they must desire to do
the good; hands - they must be
willing to do good; and health
- they must develop a lifestyle
that supports the desire and
willingness to do good. The
Morrow County 4-H program
strives to develop good char
acter in 4-H members.
4-H participant gets her lamb ready to show
Tillamook Cheese
Tastes better because it's made better
Voted World’s Best
Medium Cheddar Cheese
at the
2010 World Championship
Cheese Contest®.
Proudly made in Tillamook and
Boardman, Oregon.
Qualities that define
good character have been de
bated by various groups but in
1992, the Josephson Institute
of Ethics with the help of
scholars, parents, youth work
ers, and others published the
“Aspen Declaration ”, This
declaration has become the
cornerstone for the character
development education pro
grams in the United States.
The Aspen Declaration states:
1. The next generation will
be the stewards of the world.
2. The well being of soci
ety needs citizens with good
character.
3. People do not automati
cally develop good moral
character. Children must be
taught so that they develop the
values and abilities necessary
for moral decision making
and conduct.
4. Character education is
based on core ethical values
- pillars of character devel
opment - trustworthiness,
respect for others, responsi
bility, fairness, caring, and
citizenship.
5. These core values tran
scend cultural, religious, and
socio-economic differences.
6. Although character educa
tion is first and foremost an
obligation of faith communi
ties, the community in gen
eral, schools, and youth and
family serving organizations
are also responsible.
7. Youth have a better chance
of learning moral values if all
groups work together to teach
and reinforce moral values.
8. Every adult must take
responsibility to model and
teach the pillars of character
development.
You can see that al
though this declaration was
only developed in 1992, 4-H,
as the youth program of the
land-grant Universities (Or
egon State University), has
been using similar guidelines
for the past 98 years.