The 4 S Test

At Cairn, we feel that it is imperative to create guidelines for young people to make wise decisions, decisions they could make on their own without too many rules to remember.  Because of this, Cairn developed the 4 S’s–a test by which any activity at all could be rendered appropriate to the community or not.

A person must answer “yes” to all 4 S questions before doing any kind of activity (large or small). If they cannot answer “yes” to all 4, it does not help to build community and, therefore, cannot be done. This is an excellent way to empower your young people to make decisions on their own and to make them feel safe and wanted in the community we are building with them.

The 4 S’s – Safety, Stewardship, Servanthood, Self-Esteem

• Safety – is it physically and emotionally safe?
• Stewardship – are you being a good steward of the earth?
• Servanthood – are you serving other people and the community?
• Self-Esteem – are you building someone’s self-esteem?