Help youth build the Five Cs: Competence, confidence, connection, character and compassion
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EmailVolunteers can take these simple steps to help youth build the Five Cs.
Michigan 4-H works to ensure that youth are engaged in positive youth development and prepared to be beyond ready for life. A core part of this approach is helping youth build strong, supportive relationships. Young people grow and succeed when their families, friends, schools, neighbors, businesses and other community members support them in a variety of ways.
Positive relationships with volunteers provide young people with chances to learn life skills such as goal setting, problem-solving and communicating. Volunteers can help young people move through the developmental stages and address difficulties along the way. One important way volunteers can help youth thrive is to help them build their five Cs. According to Liberty: Thriving and civic engagement among America’s youth by Richard Lerner, the Five Cs are competence, confidence, connection, character and compassion.
The Five Cs aren’t tangible things you can give to young people. These are skills and characteristics young people develop through their experiences and relationships. According to Zarrett and Lerner, young people who are able to display stronger evidence of having the Five Cs are considered to be thriving and more likely to be developmentally on target than those who do not. Volunteers have the potential to assist young people in building the Five Cs by creating relationships and situations that allow them to be beyond ready for wherever life takes them.
Michigan State University Extension recommends the following ideas to help Michigan 4-H and other MSU Extension volunteers support youth in building the Five Cs.
- Help youth learn new concepts for projects or activities in which they are participating.
- Know youth names and address them by their preferred names and pronouns.
- Have youth find their spark by trying something new.
- Help youth navigate obstacles that they encounter.
- Help youth work through the tough side of giving away a project (i.e., selling an animal, giving away a project they worked hard on).
- Help youth record progress, no matter how small; each completed task is a job well done (i.e., maintain a “Done It List”).
- Identify values or ethical standards a youth lives by. Do this with them. Write a non-negotiables list showing beliefs the youth will not alter. This helps alleviate peer pressure breakdowns.
- Define confidence, competence, connection, character and compassion. Define one of these terms during a group meeting and discuss ways we show it. Align the term with the 4-H pledge and have youth brainstorm ways (or goals) to show these traits in the new 4-H year. Put those ideas on paper by having youth draw or write those ideas.
- Use simple ice breaker activities in pairs or small groups to help young people talk through or work on a common activity or topic. Have them share out loud to the larger group about their shared connection or how they worked together to achieve a common goal (building competence and confidence, building connections).
- Focus on building relationships with the youth involved by really getting to know them (their hobbies, interests, events in school or family) and inquire about them with a genuine interest.
- Recognize specific positive behaviors or accomplishments in competence, confidence or character of youth in the club/group.
- Be compassionate in one’s interactions with youth (and others) and serve as a role model in that behavior.
To learn more about the 4-H Beyond Ready Framework and for additional helpful volunteer training content, check out the MSU Extension Michigan 4-H Volunteer Webinar Series webpage.
MSU Extension and Michigan 4-H Youth Development help to prepare young people for successful futures. To find out how to get involved as a youth participant or an adult volunteer, contact your county MSU Extension office.
