Breakfast Club Blog
The BOOST Breakfast Club Blog is a curated space where bloggers from around the world contribute content on a continual basis about a variety of topics relevant to in and out-of-school time. The BOOST Breakfast Club blog is at the heart of an ongoing dialogue where expanded learning and education professionals share their personal thoughts and stories from the in and out-of-school time field. They also tell us what they ate for breakfast!
The BOOST Breakfast Club Blog is Brain Food for In and Out-of-School Time Leaders!
Interested in becoming a blogger? Email [email protected]
Click here to Register for a free account or click here to Login to your existing account.
Libraries Rock!
Let me preface this by saying I do NOT work for a library. I did however have a Work-Study job at Tufts University in the microfiche and periodicals area – yes, yes, I am dating myself – severely dating myself! That said, I loved that job – it was so fun, it brought together all of my favorite interests – learning new things and then organizing said things. Did you know that there is a magazine for everything?? I mean EVERYTHING – Emu Today – that’s EMUsing &#...Read More
The Year without Hugs
2020 began with a shock for me. I learned that Mary Jo Ginty had died in her sleep December 29, 2019. A month later, I was among the friends and family who gathered in Long Beach to celebrate her life. I was grateful to be in a room with others who loved her. We shared our grief, our treasured memories, and a lot of hugs. My friend Michael Funk shared a story about how Mary Jo was not a hugger. She doled out hugs frugally. You had to earn them. I never got one, but I know she loved me as much as...Read More
Making Sense with Stories
Let’s face it. None of us expected to be living in a sci-fi thriller during 2020: COVID pandemic, civil unrest, election disputes, distance learning, economic struggles, and the list goes on. How do we make sense out of the chaos? Stories. Bruno Bettleheim studied fairy tales, and he asserts that these fantastical stories offer children “ideas on how to bring their inner house into order.” Think of Hansel and Gretel, Jack and the Beanstalk, The Ugly Duckling. These tales paint a picture of good ...Read More
Hi Miss Tiaaaana
Recently, I posted a picture of myself on Instagram, and to my surprise, I received likes from folks I have not seen in quite a while. One of them, a young lady who attended the middle and high school after-school program I managed five years ago, commented on the picture by saying, “Hi Miss Tiaaaana.” She shared photos of her daughter with me, and in one of our messages, told me that some other girls who attended 20 West wanted to reunite to catch up. Hearing that my old students wa...Read More
Redefining Student Interaction and Connection in a COVID-19 Environment
Throughout my time educating young people of all ages, from preschool to college, whether as an employee or employer, teacher or mother, I have spent the last 20 plus years utilizing a secret formula that my staff and I have come to label “Kid Whispering.” What is “Kid Whispering” you ask? Well, it’s the ability to communicate with, relate to, teach, inspire, and empower kids, to do and be their best. This is done through many means, both emotionally and physically, and on both the micro and mac...Read More
Ubuntu: A person is a person through other people
There are many times in my life that I can think back to and attribute success solely to what I have done by myself, for myself, or for someone else, but accomplished just by me, alone. These are excellent moments for self-reflection and acknowledgment of individual accomplishment, and although individuals create many great things by themselves, we do not, for the most part, live as hermits, isolated from the rest of humanity. We live in families and in societies comprised of cities and towns, a...Read More
Going Inside: Lessons from Lockdown
This post originally appeared on LinkedIn on April 12, 2020. The past several weeks have unfolded like few of us could have imagined. While the COVID-19 pandemic is a collective global experience and stark reminder of our inextricable ties across humanity, I have also noticed us splintering into our own sources of stress and circumstance. The ways in which we come together and pull apart as a society is heightened now, leaving us much to learn and carry forth into the other side of this crisis. ...Read More
Connection: The Intangible Quality of OST
The first entry in Webster’s Dictionary under the word “Intangible” is “not tangible”. That isn’t really very helpful, is it? The definition under the second entry is in two parts. The first part is “an asset (such as goodwill) that is not corporeal.” (You’re going to have to look up “corporeal” on your own, I’m not going to do all the work for you!) The second part of the second entry is where we’ll focus. Here is our working definition of the word intangible: “an abstract quality or attribute....Read More
Do You Believe In The Power Of Music?
“Do you believe in the power of music?” is a question continually asked on the band BER’s Facebook page. Who is BER? What…you aren’t familiar with the world of Teen Titans GO!? Well, a quick backstory for you. BER is a little-known studio band that charted atop the Billboard Hot Rock with “The Night Begins to Shine,” an 80’s-style song that was sitting in a music library until it will be plucked up, used in an episode of the cartoon, and then kept growing into its own 4-part cartoon special abou...Read More
What’s Driving Your Work?
I recently had the honor of participating in an executive transition for the California School-Age Consortium (CalSAC). It was my first executive transition, so admittedly I don’t have anything to compare it to, however, I was inspired by how we, both board and staff, continued to keep values at the center of the process. Every step of the way we asked ourselves, does this align with the values of the organization? In the end, that resulted in an authentic interview process and a new exec...Read More
Turning Crickets Into Stories: Objects and Metaphors For Effective Processing and Reflection
Ahhhh! It is springtime in New England, which means summer is just around the corner. I live in a city and even though my summer days and nights are filled with the sounds of the city, I often will tune out those noises and tune in to the sounds of nature in my backyard; the sound of the wind rustling through the leaves on the trees, birds chirping, the cicadas whirring, and the rhythmic sound of the crickets, who play reggae in my town neighborhood. While I love to get lost in the sounds of t...Read More
- 1
- 2