DATE: August 27, 2008

CONTACT: Pam Bryant, 803-553-7705
pbryant@clemson.edu

WRITER: Chris Copeland, 803-397-0597
ccopela@clemson.edu

Character education for teens will benefit schools and communities

PICKENS — A select group of South Carolina teenagers spent part of their summers preparing to become leaders in their schools and communities. Eighty-four students from high schools across the state participated in the Teen LEAD (Leaders Evolving and Devel—oping) program at Clemson University’s Youth Learning Institute (YLI).

A U.S. Department of Education grant funds Teen LEAD, a partnership initiative with the S.C. Department of Education that helps rising 10th-graders — nominated by their schools — develop untapped leadership potential through character development and leadership training throughout the school year.

Student leadership groups and their faculty mentors begin the program each year during one of two Teen LEAD summer sessions at the YLI Education Center in Pickens.

During the first two-week summer session, students from Andrew Jackson High, Branchville High, Broome High, Colleton High, Edisto High, Gilbert High, Liberty High, Scott’s Branch High and Sumter High schools attended. Participants for the second session included students from C.A. Johnson High, C.E. Murray High, Crestwood High, Daniel High, Lake Marion High, Lake Wood High and Wren High schools.

Pam Ardern, YLI director for curriculum development, designs and conducts the summer training.

“Helping young people realize their leadership potential, develop work skills and character assets is what Teen LEAD is all about,” said Ardern. “YLI is proud to work with the S.C. Department of Education to help empower students early to make a difference to benefit their own lives, their schools and communities.”

Teams are given equipment and grant funding support and charged with forming a student character cadre to implement youth-led character initiatives in their schools and communities. Adult mentors accompany the students during the second week.

The first week of each section focuses on leadership development, with classroom and outdoor activities designed to conquer individual fears, promote self-esteem and self-confidence; and group initiatives that foster team-building skills and teach the value of teamwork. Activities during the second week develop character through leadership and service learning.

“I enjoyed doing a lot of activities I wouldn’t expect to do,” said Dionté Nathaniel of Crestwood High School in Sumter. “When I look back on the entire experience, I know it’s something I could actually write a novel about.”

His mother, Helen McGill, said she has always known “he has ability to lead” and is proud of him for wanting to learn about leadership.

Twenty-eight percent of Nathaniel’s 10th-grade peers in South Carolina do not pass the statewide exit exam, and many will enter the work force immediately after high school. With these factors in mind, Joan Dickinson, project director for Teen LEAD, says she was prompted to write the grant that now funds the program.

“We want these students to reflect high moral standards and values, strong work ethics and a sense of their role in contributing to the larger community. By participating in the summer sessions at YLI, we want them to gain a sense of purpose outside of their roles as students, to see themselves as citizens,” said Dickinson.

She hopes Teen LEAD will “arm them with good decision-making skills, encourage them to stay in school and complete their education as well as help them transition to the next stage of life.”

Activities during the two-week experience included high-challenge courses such as a 375-foot zip line and the Postman’s Walk, a group initiative called A-Frame, creative pursuits such as pottery-making and musical presentations, a field trip to the Clemson University campus and a camping trip to Lake Jocassee and Twin Falls. Service-learning projects included yard cleanup and landscaping for families who need assistance, creating storybooks for children of teen mothers in a residential home and making flags with personalized messages to send to S.C. National Guard troops headed to Iraq. Teens discovered what they can do when faced with new challenges and opportunities to grow.

One camp counselor, Javan Frinks, was so impressed with the progress of the leaders-in-training, he was inspired to write a poem about their experience:

"In the past 12 days we have gone on a journey. We began as strangers thrown in groups with unknowns, many wishing they were back at home. We roamed from class to fields of grass through challenges that tested us all.

"In 388 hours we challenged you to find new powers, like how to get 24 people through three showers in under an hour. We tried to teach you teamwork, then showed you it takes two to paddle a canoe, and how to walk an A-Frame. Teachers and counselors found those who don’t have much to say, know how to speak when it’s time to talk.

"In 23,280 minutes, I saw fear fall and trust rise, witnessed cooperation and compromise. I watched competition become a mission to only end with winners. Twelve days ago, kids came to camp. Today, young men and women leave as leaders with skill and iron will, heading into a world they will make better."

For more information about Teen LEAD, contact Marlene Fields at mefields@ed.sc.gov or 803-734-5487, or Joan Dickinson at jdickins@ed.sc.gov or 803-734-4807. For more information about Clemson’s Youth Learning Institute, contact Pam Bryant at pbryant@clemson.edu or 803-553-7705, or visit the website at www.clemson.edu/yli.

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