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 views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any other agency, organization, employer, or company. Enjoy the brain food.

The BOOST Breakfast Club Blog is Brain Food for In and Out-of-School Time Leaders!

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How To Bring A Student’s “Security Mindset” Into Focus

A certain theory holds that people who succeed in cybersecurity, like the rich, are different from you and me. They see things from a different slant, finding patterns and connections in seemingly mundane or familiar environments that other people cannot see. Security guru Bruce Schneier describes it this way: “Security requires a particular mindset. Security professionals – at least the good ones – see the world differently. They can’t walk into a store without noticing how they mig...Read More

Poetry As A Tool For Teaching Social Emotional Development

Our students wrote original poetry for “Real Talk,” a social-emotional learning (SEL) class. Each month our students engage in and learn about different concepts relating to social-emotional development. We have created a book with all of our student’s poems, which I enjoyed reading. After reading several of our student’s work, the verse that stuck out for me was “Depressed.” The first line caught my attention because of its wit and honesty. Depressed When a tomato ...Read More

Shine On!

In the Expanded Learning field, we prioritize building personal connections and creating a sense of belonging. We all have a why or purpose for what we do, and, while it is often altruistic, we’re all human and seek some level of recognition and appreciation. When we are at our best, we shine full of hope and with an energy that keeps us motivated to push ahead. The goal of this blog is to share my perspective on why it is important to work collectively and shine together, especially when in a p...Read More

Bullying Prevention Starts With Me

This blog was originally posted on The Leadership Program’s website on Thursday, October 3, 2019. It has been reposted with permission from Breakfast Club Blogger, Erika Petrelli. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ October is Bullying Awareness and Prevention Month. This is a really important topic for me—it stirs the deepest depths of my heart—and so I was asking the kids at dinner the other night about ways tha...Read More

What is Bullying?

I believe that the word “bully” evokes different emotions and attitudes in each person because of the extensive variations of its effects on children. After reading several varying definitions of “bullying,” I have chosen the stopbullying.gov definition because of its inclusive description of “bullying.” “Bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior among school-aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance. The behavior is repeated, or has the potential to...Read More

Leaders Who Inspire Us: Jabez LeBret

Editor’s Note: Continuing with our Leaders Who Inspire Us campaign, check out today’s featured leader Jabez LeBret! Keep an eye out for more inspirational people in our field who are change-makers. If you want to recommend someone, please send a note to [email protected]. Jabez LeBret has been homeless, is a high school dropout, and was on a path to nowhere. After getting his GED, Jabez studied finance and marketing at Gonzaga University. He went on to become a financial analy...Read More

Showing The Broken Places PT 1

This blog was originally posted on https://www.tlpnyc.com/blog/the-broken-places on Friday, September 13, 2019, and has been reposted with permission from Breakfast Club Blogger Erika Petrelli. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ I’ve come to understand something in the last few months that is in direct opposition to everything I’ve decided that I “knew” for as many years as I can remember. This realization is both shoc...Read More

Generosity In Afterschool

In August of this year, the staff I am a part of had three days of professional development and planning for the upcoming school year. During this time together, we participated in an activity called My One Word. Each individual picked one word that would help guide his or her personal and professional life for the 2019-2020 school year. The word I chose for this year is “Intentional.” Great word and a great idea, right? Well, I am now only two months into being intentional about all I do and I ...Read More

Use Micro-Moments To Set Inclusive Tone

“Welcome.” “I’m so glad you’re here!” “Hey, I like the dog on your shirt.” “It’s great to see you today.”   What are your favorite ways to establish an inclusive and welcoming tone from the moment a child or teen walks into your program? It only takes a few seconds, yet making a point to greet each young person as they enter helps them start feeling comfortable from the start. The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL)’s new SEL 3 Signature Practices Playbook tal...Read More

Fostering The Idea Of Opportunity

This blog was first published on the MCUVO!CE website and appears with permission by the author, first-time Breakfast Club Blogger Marcus Strother. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________ As an educator, I have been able to work with a multitude of students. As a professional, I have been able to learn from a number of great mentors. I have allowed both of these opportunities to guide me on my journey as a youth advocate. I ...Read More

A Holistic Approach To Helping Traumatized Kids, Adults, and Communities

I’m a voracious consumer of news. Each morning or lunch break, I set aside time to read headlines, scan news tickers, and flag the day’s trending developments on social media. Later in the day, I pick a few headlines or bookmarked videos, and dig into the details. When I have time, I read across news sources – traditional pieces, independent sources, and opinion bloggers – to provide more nuance to my understanding and sort out the general zeitgeist on the news of the day. Honestly, I think the ...Read More

A Short Story of Optimism and Generosity

I recently had the opportunity to spend time with some students from our after school program on a field trip and they truly impressed me with their generosity. We were walking to our bus in San Francisco’s financial district – where we had just finished our visit to one of our corporate partners. On the way to the bus, I learned that the students in our group had arranged among themselves to all bring a little cash to buy snacks at one of the shops along the way – something I would ...Read More