4-H Teens as Teachers

[Music]

Hi, my name is Michael Gomez-Veza. I am 16 years old. My name is Karissa, and I'm 14 years old. Hola, my name is Lopez. My name is Audrey Nelson, and I am 17 years old. Hi, my name is Jessie, and I'm 18 years old.

I joined the 4-H Teen Teachers Corps because I was really looking to develop and better my leadership and teaching skills as well as gain experience in the job field. The reason I joined 4-H Teen Teachers Corps is because I wanted to give back to the community. I joined 4-H Teen Teachers because I wanted to grow my leadership skills and work with students. It's not every day that we find opportunities to have hands-on teaching experience at such a young age. I thought to myself how could somebody my age be a teen teacher. I am very shy, but when I joined the team teachers, they helped me to be confident and speak up for myself. If I didn't take this training, I would probably still be the shy person not knowing if I was right or always doubting myself. And now I'm teaching third and fourth graders about nutrition and being safe in the kitchen. In April, I will be doing my first class and teach them proper hand washing. I can teach little kids how to plant and grow their own organic food and make food and nutrition fun for children.

During this time, 4-H Teen Teacher Corps is a paid opportunity for high school students exploring teaching as a career. They engage their students in hands-on learning and they become an expert in a topic area they choose. Teen teachers first go through a six-week training and become an expert in one of these three topic areas: gardening and plant science, cooking and nutrition, or entrepreneurship and community engagement. Once they become an expert and confident in one of these three areas, they deliver hands-on activities in both virtual and in-person platforms as allowed.

This program has impacted me because it has taught me multiple skills how to teach children and also about nutrition and safety in the kitchen. I've been teaching some migrant education students in Spanish and in English. I'm currently teaching middle school students in Migrant Ed on how to create and manage their own food cards using Oregon-grown foods. Now I'm teaching a class for middle school students through the Migrant Education Program is teaching them how to create their own business and everything to think about before starting it. Now more than ever, youth voice and action are needed in our communities and teens are so good at engaging their near peers in creating innovative solutions.

[Music] I am Valeria and I am putting my part in my community. I'm Monica and I enjoy making an impact in education and in my community. My name is Michael Lopez Salvador and I am making a difference in my community.