Over 100 middle school students from three New Hampshire school districts begin participation this month in a unique experiment aimed at reducing bullying and meanness in New Hampshire schools.  

The Courage to Care Program was developed by a collaborative team from UNH, spearheaded by UNH Cooperative Extension specialist, Dr. Malcolm Smith and Youth Development Extension Educator, Dr. Rick Alleva.

With staff from Extension, UNH Browne Center, and the Department of Social Work, the team designed a curriculum to be taught to students over a nine-week period that emphasizes empathy, caring for others, understanding power, courage, and being respectful in cyberspace.  The team based the program on current research on how middle school students learn social skills.

“This is the most promising program I have been part of in my 30-year career of working with young people,” said Smith, “It gets at the heart and soul of teaching students how to get along.” 

Selected Schools

In December, teachers and counselors from Kingswood Middle School in Wolfeboro, Gorham Middle High School and all three middle schools in the Fall Mountain School Administrative Unit attended a comprehensive program on how to use the curriculum as part of their classes.  These educators will receive ongoing support from the University team as they teach the program to their students.

All students in the participating middle schools were asked to participate in a pre-test that indicates both their social and emotional skill levels while measuring their perceptions of bullying behavior in their school. 

While most students took the pre-test, only half of each district’s seventh graders will participate in the program at first, and the other half will serve as a control group to compare the effects of the curriculum on the students.  The tests are being conducted by Dr. Patrick Shannon, a professor of social work at UNH.

Lessons

Each lesson in this unique curriculum starts with a “Video Jolt” or a short video scenario that sets up a real-life dilemma faced by middle school students.  “The ‘jolts’ hook the kids into the lesson,” said Smith, “Then we have a short discussion.” 

That discussion is followed by a unique activity or game that serves as a metaphor for the lesson’s goals.  In the Cyber Space lesson, for example, the students experience an activity called “Faceback,” during which students attach pieces of paper to their backs and others write positive comments about them literally behind their back.

The final part of the lessons are the teaching of Courage Concepts or social and emotional goals to follow.  Students are each then given a “Courage Book” that provides the week’s homework lesson and gives the students a chance to practice the skills they are learning to be better citizens.

“We used to teach citizenship in our schools,” said Smith, “and we used to focus more on teaching kids how to get along.  As our pace of society has increased, our parental time decreased, and our school time has become more academic achievement oriented, we have forgotten the importance of teaching kids how to be nice to one another.  This program gets back to that type of social and emotional learning.”

Educators and youth leaders from across New Hampshire will have a chance to be trained in using the Courage to Care curriculum this summer, at a series of trainings at UNH’s Browne Center.  For more information contact Smith or call 603-862-7008.

It’s getting easier to sit at your own kitchen table and learn more about how to better manage your finances.

With the objective of expanding the use of technology-based learning tools as one of seven new goals for UNH Cooperative Extension, program delivery will become more efficient and provide greater access to Extension programs for more New Hampshire residents.

Using Technology

Starting in January, Extension’s Family and Consumer Resources educators began using computer and Internet technology to offer financial management education through a six-week webinar called Making Money Work for You.

Program participants not only are from New Hampshire, but from the greater New England area as part of the More Than Wheels partnership with Extension.  The webinar is also available to the public-at-large.

The Making Money program is frequently presented as an “in person” class around the state, and some people continue to prefer that opportunity.  Accessing the program through a webinar program, however, allows many learners to attend who might not otherwise be able to, due to distance, transportation issues, or family responsibilities.

Logistics

The logistics sound simple but can present difficulties. Educators learned new teaching techniques and mastered technical challenges. For participants there are some basic hardware requirements, and not everyone has a personal computer that meets those requirements.

Faye Cragin, Extension’s Web and Media specialist, is helping with those challenges. Ultimately, educators present the educational material while using PowerPoint slides on a computer over the Internet; learners are able to access the program at the same time through their computer, using a web conferencing tool called GoToMeeting.

Using a headset with microphone helps participants to talk and listen without the cost of a long distance call or cellphone minutes. Class participants can sit at their kitchen tables in Nashua or New London, while the educator is teaching in Goffstown.

Participants see the materials the educator presents. While educators teach, Cragin assists as “the producer” behind the scenes to help learners and educators with any technical issues.

Completing Your Homework

Completion of homework assignments is required by noon the day of the next class, emailed to the instructor. To “attend” these classes, some participants get creative. One attends the webinar by using a computer at the local library in her New Hampshire town.

Family and Consumer Resources Educator Sharon Cowen is teaching the first Making Money Work for You webinar. Cowen worked with Program Leader Charlene Baxter and Cragin to anticipate how the class will work in this new format. Extension also sought the advice from experienced webinar leaders at More Than Wheels.

Cowen is excited about the opportunities presented by webinar technology. She admits, however, it hasn’t been altogether easy to make the transition. “I enjoy teaching and interacting with program participants. Sitting in my office facing a computer instead of a class is very different. We’ve had to plan different teaching techniques."

"But, this is a great tool for UNH Cooperative Extension to expand what we are able to do and reach more people who can benefit from our programs," she added. Cowen is confident that both she and the webinar participants will adapt quickly.

Extension educators Gail Kennedy and Marilyn Sullivan are working on another webinar for More Than Wheels that will start within the next few months. For more information on this and other educational opportunities, contact your county Extension office.

More information on the benefits of webinar delivery can be found at the links below:

Benefits of a webinar

Benefits of a webinar for attendees

Benefits of the webinar format

For more information about managing your finances:

Managing Money in Tough Times

Maximizing Your Personal Financial Resources

UNH Cooperative Extension is launching a web survey through the N.H. Broadband Mapping and Planning Program (NHBMPP) to identify the broadband technology needs of small businesses, including farms and other food-related enterprises, with respect to communication, data management, marketing and training.

Results from the survey will be used to identify small businesses’ technology needs, with the goal of developing training and applications to address those needs.

Taking the Survey

If you are a small business owner, manager, or employee, we invite you to share your technology-related priorities and needs by taking a short, web-based survey.

According to Charlie French, Extension associate professor, Community & Economic Development, "Your input will help us to design and direct broadband technical assistance and training efforts throughout New Hampshire."

Why the Survey

The assessment is being conducted by NHBMPP, which seeks to identify where broadband is currently available in New Hampshire, how it can be made more available, and encourage increased levels of adoption and usage by small businesses and communities.

Related to this project is the UNH-led NetworkNHnow project that is underway to establish middle-mile and last-mile fiber networks, as well as a public safety microwave network across the state.

These projects pose significant opportunities for small businesses, French noted.

NHBMPP is a University of New Hampshire-led project in collaboration with the Department of Resources and Economic Development, Regional Planning Commissions, NH Office of Energy and Planning, and the Northern Community Investment Corporation (NCIC). Learn more about the project.

If you have questions, or would like a hard copy of the survey, contact French at Charlie.french@unh.edu or by calling 603-862-0316. 

When the temp drops below 30 – again – and you're shoveling your driveway for the third time this week, what do you do? Fight back and take a break!

Bundle up the family and head for the 2012 New Hampshire Farm & Forest Exposition. Dubbed "New Hampshire's Greatest Winter Fair" since 1984, the Expo showcases the diversity and importance of the state's farms and forestlands.

This year's Expo takes place Friday and Saturday, February 3 and 4, at the Radisson Hotel/Center of New Hampshire in Manchester. Admission is $7; children under 15 get in free both days.

Exposition
The giant Expo features dozens of equipment and product vendors, as well as booths that showcase the work of many forestry, agricultural, and environmental organizations, including many from UNH Cooperative Extension.

Workshops
Visitors can choose from among dozens of educational workshops that include buying local lumber, exotic plants and wildlife, and a question and answer session about the Master Gardener program.

Seminars
In-depth seminars include some very interesting topics, from “Powerlines, Beaver Meadows and Other Shrubby Places: Critical Habitats for NH Wildlife,” to alternative models for saving historic farm properties, “Women in Agriculture,” the backyard hog and more. There are sessions on backyard maple sugaring and grant programs for agricultural and small business operations.

Teenagers from across the country who are living with military families are coming to New Hampshire this month to experience the great outdoors, whether it’s learning how to ski or skate, journey through the woods on the back of a dog sled, or tubing down snow-covered mountains.

UNH Cooperative Extension’s 4-H Youth Development program is holding its 2012 White Mountain Winter Adventure Camps for teens living in military families.

“Connecting geographically dispersed military teens is important to foster their ability to support one another. These camps let us take advantage of New Hampshire’s abundant natural resources for winter outdoor recreation,” says Charlotte Cross of UNH Cooperative Extension, director of UNH’s Operation Military Kids program. “We are also very excited to partner with UNH’s Northeast Passage to serve military families who have teens with special needs.”

Camping sessions will take youth, ages 14 to 18, to the Appalachian Mountain Club’s Highland Center in Bretton Woods. The camps will be virtually identical in their offerings, allowing all teens, disabled or not, to share the same range of activities, customized to allow for maximum participation and enjoyment.

Funding

Grant funding for Military Teen Adventure Camps comes from a partnership between the Department of Defense, Office of Military Community and Family Policy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture/National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

There is a $20 fee to cover the cost of a camp memento (in this case a fleece hat and neck gater), but all the rest, food, lodging, lift tickets, equipment rentals and lessons, are covered by the grant. Transportation assistance is also available, including limited airfare funding for January sessions. All camps are open to military teens from throughout the United States.

“We are very excited to be one of 11 states chosen to offer these teen adventure camps across the nation,” said, the UNH Extension specialist heading the project. “We plan to take advantage of the natural resources available in New Hampshire for winter outdoor recreation- similar to previous sentence. These camps also provide a perfect avenue through which we can partner with Northeast Passage, a component of the UNH Recreation Management and Policy department, to serve military families who have teens with special needs.”

Northeast Passage

Northeast Passage is a nationally and internationally recognized therapeutic recreation therapy and adapted sports program. With over 100 years combined program experience, all Northeast Passage program staff are licensed Certified Recreation Therapists (CTRS/L), offering a wealth of knowledge and comprehensive planning experience.

Camp Features

The overnight camps will give military youth the chance to work together, socialize, play and experience new winter activities. The camps will feature sports, including Nordic and alpine skiing, dog sledding, ice skating, sled hockey, and tubing. Connecting geographically dispersed military teens is important to foster their ability to support one another.

Teens with special needs will have many opportunities in the January sessions to have fun and experience new activities. Personal care attendants are eligible to attend, as well, and limited travel funds are available.

Whether they have developmental and cognitive disabilities (i.e. autism spectrum, pervasive developmental disorder, Down syndrome) or physical disabilities (i.e. visual or orthopedic impairment, spinal cord injury, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, amputation, traumatic brain injury), military teens will enjoy adaptive sports with extensively trained professionals and get the chance to connect with their peers.

Operation Hat Trick

All youth attending these camps will receive a ball cap courtesy of Operation Hat Trick, a special project created by the Athletics Department at the University of New Hampshire in response to a radio segment heard in early 2008 that reported "the thing most wanted by those members of the military who have received head injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan is a baseball cap to cover their wounds, dressings and scars."

The camp week running from Jan. 20-23 is designed for teens with developmental or cognitive disabilities. The last two camps, Feb. 19-22 and 26-29, will target military family teens without disabilities. These camps take place during February school vacation weeks. All will give campers exclusive access winter sports and understanding staff and peers.

Visit www.nhomk.com for more information.

(The above photos were taken at the first winter camp, held earlier this month.)