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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All You Need Is Love

A couple of years ago I bought a new car. It came with a 6-month free trial for a satellite radio service. I don’t typically listen to the radio. I actually enjoy the moments of peace and quiet I can have when I’m driving. It’s an opportunity to think. But when my son Oliver is in the car with me, he always insists on having something to listen to. He is 11 years old, so his first choice is hip hop, but the language is a bit uncomfortable for me, so we tried the comedy channel, which was worse. ...Read More

The Practice of Love and Forgiveness in the Lives of Youth

Editor’s Note: This blog was first published in 2002 in the EduCare’s Educator Institute Handbook and EduCare Foundation’s website.  _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The hearts of our children often ache from the hurts and hardships that they keep so hidden and secretive. We quietly hope that they can nonetheless move through life with a resilient spirit that can overcome the troubles they ...Read More

Raising Kind Kids through Social-Emotional Learning (Webinar #4)

In 2018, Indiana Philanthropy Alliance (IPA) and the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy partnered to host a free 4-part webinar series designed to support next-gen leadership and giving.  The fourth webinar, “Raising Kind Kids through Social-Emotional Learning,” explores research that points to a decline in empathy, as well as how we can work to foster empathy and kindness in youth. Background In 2014, IPA became involved in social-emotional learning by developing a curriculu...Read More

Delivering On Mission – How To Determine Whether Your Organization Measures Up

It seems like nearly every conversation and strategy session that I am part of lately includes discussions about diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI.) As I listen, read, and watch organizations grapple to embrace these values, I am compelled to look deeper and measure the impact of efforts on youth programs. When asked, most leaders point to policies that have been adopted but few share the difference that policy alone makes. At TGR Foundation – A Tiger Woods Charity, our staff meetings have tu...Read More

Who Do We Need To Become For Our Children’s Sake?

How often do we take the time to focus on ourselves? Focus on our dreams, visions, and desires… Unless we are intentional about creating the life we want, we will not take the time to develop our emotional intelligence to match our personal passions in life. Not minding your own emotional intelligence can create havoc and upset with the people closest to you, especially with your children. Our role in the youth development world is to develop our children’s social and emotional capac...Read More

Youth Development Showdown: Nature vs. Technology

Take a moment to reflect on the last time you went on a hike, a camping trip, or any other type of outdoor experience. What was your mindset? How would you compare your attitude and outlook to your typical 9-to-5 self? I would bet there’s a stark difference. I experience this consistently with my two girls. The last time around was a Spring Break trip to Mammoth Lakes, a mountain town nestled in the Eastern Sierras. As much as my family loves the outdoors, my kids are not immune to their own 9-t...Read More

Modeling Social-Emotional Skills To Support Kids’ Growth

Over the past year, I have talked with dozens of educators and community leaders about their goals for social-emotional learning (SEL), which I define as identifying what is going on in our heads and in our hearts so we can use our hands to build up, rather than tear down. What I hear most often is the need to build adults’ capacity for SEL. Having worked in education and community programs for two decades, I have seen the pendulum swing from the focus on SEL (previously referred to as character...Read More

Funding Youth Philanthropy (Webinar #3)

In 2018, Indiana Philanthropy Alliance (IPA) and the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy partnered to host a free 4-part webinar series designed to support next-gen leadership and giving.                      The third webinar, “Funding Youth Philanthropy,” explored recent findings on how funders choose to support youth philanthropy programming. Featured speakers included research faculty and students from the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, as well as Foundation Cente...Read More

Apologies

When you ask a young person to apologize, they often scowl at you with an attitude. They may glare at you and roughly say,” Why should I apologize, I didn’t do anything wrong.” We all know that owning our mistakes is not only a challenge for children but for adults as well. Apprehension to apologizing relates to our fear of permanently ruining our public self-image. Surprisingly, avoiding owning our slip-ups can backfire on us. We all make mistakes, but it is crucial to teach children how to res...Read More

Helping Students Learn by Giving (Webinar #2)

In 2018, Indiana Philanthropy Alliance and Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy partnered to host a free 4-part webinar series designed to support next-gen leadership and giving. Sessions featured national experts and IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy faculty and students sharing research, resources, and examples of classroom-based grantmaking programs.              The second webinar, “Helping Students Learn by Giving,” addressed the need for informed, skil...Read More

Engage, Ask, And Listen

If I were sitting in person with you right now, I could ask either: Do you like open-ended questions? OR What power do open-ended questions have in the classroom? Which would guide us towards a more meaningful conversation? You guessed it 😊–  the second one! Ok, so that was easy! Knowing the difference between a closed or open-ended question is the simple part but the intentionality and practice can be more complex. I have personally seen the power of open-ended questions with my four-year...Read More

The Student and The Teacher

For the past year and half, our team has been working to transform the organizational culture of large educational systems. Though deep and profound as a sentence, we have found that this transformation essentially begins with oneself.  Simple to say and write.  A lifetime to do and practice.  And yet many times we are often asked, “This is great stuff…. But when are we going to get to the real work?”  The Personal Mastery needed to lead and transform large educational systems (especially instit...Read More