I had to come out of lurkdom to respond to the comments about 4-H.  I
have been a 4-H project leader for several years, in two different
states, and I have a distinct feeling that this one judge was just
voicing his personal opinion.  If we have all the facts correct, the
judge's public berating of a 9-year-old girl for a public speaking
presentation on bf was uncalled-for.  4-H is an organization that does
wonderful things for kids in many subjects, and is not limited to the
traditional agriculture, canning, and bread baking that were prevalent
when 4-H started years ago.  One of the main concepts is to help kids
become competent public speakers, and offer *positive* criticism for any
efforts the kids make.

As I wrote privately to the original poster, it is probably a situation
in which the judge was acting inappropriately, and contacting the county
4-H officials will most likely get an apology for the girl involved.  If
this doesn't help, the state 4-H coordinator should be contacted.

In any case, 4-H is a terrific program for the entire family (not just
the kids), and it does not deserve the strongly unkind comments some
people have made.  There are going to be uninformed people everywhere you
go (and the judge was most likely a school teacher or someone else from
outside 4-H, anyway).  Overgeneralizing because of one local judge is in
no way fair for a national organization that accomplishes so much good.

Please keep us current on future developments in this situation.  The
judge may deserve all the criticism he gets.  I am hoping the county
officials will try to correct the situation by apologizing to the girl,
making a public statement on bf as a health issue (the four H's are:
Head, Heart, Hands, HEALTH), and most importantly, *not inviting that
judge back in the future*.  Whether the presentation was appropriate or
not, the girl should *not* have been publicly criticized.

(Now, I wonder how he would have handled a presentation on AIDS?)

Diana Hatch, MS, LLLL
Medela breastpump rental station
Denton, Texas
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