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!
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An Open Letter to Pandemic Educators
For educators in a pandemic, our greatest priority is not academic progress, but social and emotional well-being. You have likely spent the last year under intense pressure trying to do anything you can to make a difference. Have your efforts closed the achievement gap? Should they be expected to? No, of course not. In everything you do, you have shown kids that they belong, that someone cares for them, that they are worth all your effort, and that you want them to be safe. That is the primary m...Read More
Activities That Inspire Impact- Showing Up for Students, Families, and Communities
Did you know that BOOST has been offering trainings, workshops, and learning communities online over the past year? Many of our past sessions are available for rewatch on our YouTube page, with new videos added regularly. We currently have over 100 free educational videos for you to enjoy! On June 15, 2020, a group of BOOSTers gathered on Zoom to learn about Activities That Inspire Impact- Showing Up for Students, Families, and Communities. This 90-minute training highlights programs providing s...Read More
ExScaredEd: Fear & Excitement of the Unknown
This post originally appeared on the Breakfast Club Blog on September 5, 2017. My son Dylan just started first grade a few weeks ago. In the weeks leading up to it, he coined a new word to describe how he was feeling: ExScaredEd. A combination of excited and scared, he said that was the best way to express how he was approaching this new year. I love it. I love, love, love it. Since then, he added “ExNerveEd” to describe being excited and nervous, and “ExSKYted” to express being extra-excited. W...Read More
Forty
I am turning forty in July. A tingly sensation creeps into my thoughts as I embrace entering a new phase in my life. A couple of months ago, my sister and I were chatting in my car on our way to the grocery store. We laughed as we remembered the times when we would have sibling talks of the future. We all agreed that Quinten would have a baby first because he was a lover boy; my sister was too shy and reserved–we thought she would never have kids; and everyone thought I would have children...Read More
For when you feel lazy or unmotivated…
3 quotes I use to spark motivation when I feel lazy, unmotivated, or hopeless Lazy isn’t permanent Let’s get something straight: no one feels enthusiastic, motivated, and productive all the time. Even if it seems like it from the outside. I know because I’ve been called a motivated, disciplined, and courageous person since I left a great job to become an entrepreneur. But I’m not like that all the time – not even close. There are plenty of times when, even though I absolutely love my life ...Read More
Our Kids Are Stressed Out – 5 Ways to Empower Youth To Find Their CALMM
Focus, Pay Attention, Sit Still, Listen, Follow Directions… Just a few phrases youth are bombarded with on a daily basis whether it’s coming from their parents, teachers or other adults in their lives. As adults it can seem as if our words go in one ear and out the other and that children lack attention, motivation and behavior is something they have immediate control over or is an intentional response. Our kids Are Stressed Out – Empowering Youth the find their CALMM In my years as an education...Read More
Love in Your Voice
It’s not always easy to be yourself. Maybe you can relate to this. I’m in a café with a cup of tea. It’s funny actually. There’s a trendy wooden table beside me. As I sit to write the first words of this blog project, in my head I hear the voices of writers I’m reading and speaker types famous for dumb one-liners. They are a crowded group in a room somewhere in my brain, an indecipherable rumble. “No Chad. Be you. Find your voice. Don’t write like them.&...Read More
A Call to Action – Let’s not forget our Older Youth
This morning I had coffee and a celery-green apple-turmeric smoothie (my wife is trying to keep us healthy) for breakfast. Perhaps it did not provide the proper amount of sweetness to boost my mood, but perhaps it was just the kind of medicine I needed to say the following. We need to think about our priorities. We need to focus on older youth. The field of education, after school, and beyond is currently focused on getting young students, TK through 2nd graders, back to in-person learning ASAP....Read More
Building SEL in Communities Online
Did you know that BOOST has been offering trainings, workshops, and learning communities online over the past year? Many of our past sessions are available for rewatch on our YouTube page, with new videos added regularly. We currently have over 100 free educational videos for you to enjoy! On October 16, 2020, our friend (and BOOST Ambassador) Nathan Houston, Founder of IAMIMPACT in Sacramento, CA, presented a training on Building SEL in Communities Online. In this 45-minute training, Nat...Read More
Putting the “Happy” in “Happy New Year”
Happy New Year! It’s what most of us say this time of the year, isn’t it? If you asked, “What do I mean when I say that?” what might your answer be? It’s easy to fall in step with using these common phrases without the deliberate thought behind the words. What really got me thinking about this were the reactions to a recent post of mine on Facebook: I choose to see 2020 not as the year of canceled plans, but as the year where the world stood still long enough for us to see the things we need to ...Read More
2020 – A year of opportunity. Now what?
An unprecedented year. How many times have we heard that phrase? A reflective sentiment for a global pandemic but also cause to acknowledge our diversity, ensure equity and to seek inclusivity individually and collectively. An unprecedented year, no doubt about it. TGR Foundation learned a lot about itself in 2020, as I am sure your organization did as well. This learning didn’t come about in a deliberate manner, rather as a result of realizing that the status quo is not an option. Youth are str...Read More
When we listen to young people, the future is bright
Yesterday was Inauguration Day. And while the beginning of a new administration sits differently with individuals across the political spectrum, this year, in 2021, the change means so much to so many people. For those of us who work in education, out-of-school time, and youth development, seeing our first national youth poet laureate, Amanda Gorman, recite her poem “The Hill We Climb” during the inauguration ceremony was thrilling. A colleague texted me shortly after the performance saying, ...Read More