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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Reflections on Inclusion from 21st CCLC Site Directors
I recently presented a workshop on inclusion at the 21st Century Community Learning Center Summer Institute in July. In preparing for the workshop I spoke with two local 21st CCLC site directors about how they included students with special needs. As the local evaluator I knew that these programs had successfully included students with various disabilities in their programs. Here are some best practices that I want to share with you: Port Norris School, small school in rural New Jersey 75 kids i...Read More
STEM Anyone? Everyone?
STEM isn’t one of my areas of expertise. As a consultant, I’ve spent time with hundreds of programs. I’m clear that there really are fifth graders who know much more than I do about robotics, coding and engineering design and are better at algebra than I ever will be. I love my time with high school students who are excited about 3-D printers – especially when they make cases for my iPhone. But I really have no idea how this works. I’m probably in the top 10% of folks my ...Read More
Cheers to You, Youth Workers
Making your way in the world today takes everything you’ve got. Taking a break from all your worries, sure would help a lot. Wouldn’t you like to get away? Sometimes you want to go Where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came. Where Everybody Knows Your Name Lyrics by Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart Angelo As someone who grew up in the ’80s, these lyrics had a special meaning for me – they meant it was time to go to bed. But this summer, that meaning...Read More
Parent Education
My son Oliver celebrated his seventh birthday on Monday. He has reached a stage in his development where he equates the value of his own opinions with those of his parents. Our word is no longer accepted as absolute truth. Every statement of fact is met with skepticism. Every directive requires supporting rationale. It’s pretty annoying. But something happened yesterday that made me wonder if he isn’t occasionally wise to question my authority. One of the gifts he received was a Poké...Read More
3 Lessons on Growth Through After School Programs
Being that this is my first blog as a BOOST Breakfast Club Blogger, I am excited to share my passion for afterschool programs. When I began in the year 2000, there were more questions than answers. It was the age of discovery and exploration. It was before the After School Education and Safety (ASES) programs existed and 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) programs were the only thing we knew. I was hired as a part-time Site Coordinator for an after school program and part-time Campus...Read More
Just Love
I’m sitting here at my computer, with my four-year old son Dylan sitting at the table across from me. He’s on the other computer, playing Peppa Pig games. I’m supposed to be staring at my computer thinking about blog topics for the day, but instead I’m staring at him and thinking about how unbelievable he is. How smart (as he navigates the laptop like a professional, even with his tiny little fingers), how funny, how mischievous, how cunning, how playful, how joyful. I...Read More
Can You Alter Unconscious Bias? Changing the Conversation.
On Saturday morning… the City of Cleveland and its surrounding suburbs anxiously awaited the verdict reading of the Michael Brelo case, a white American police officer who stood on the hood of a car and shot fifteen rounds into the bodies of two black Americans who sat in the front seat of the car. There is nothing right about this situation and there is nothing right about the verdict, which cleared him on all accounts. However, the most difficult lesson in this story, and many similar st...Read More
The GUILTY Pleasure and How to Kick It
Guilt. You’ve used it. You’ve felt it. You’ve given it. There are many things that I have learned in my lifestyle as a youth worker, but one that stands out is how I have used guilt as a tool to succeed and also to fail. As a young supervisor, I learned to lead by guilt. It was disguised under the umbrella of relationship building, but it was still good ol’ guilt. Perhaps it was my up bringing or society or my mentors, regardless, I knew using guilt was a tactic definitel...Read More
Strengthening the Oaks
I have three nephews who are the lights of my life. At six, three and one years old, they are going through the beautiful stages of discovering the world, imaginative play and pepperings of endless questions. Their energy, giggles and pretends are all gifts that I cherish each and every day. My one year old nephew is pretty much happy to climb inside his mom’s tomato pots, dirt notwithstanding; my three year old nephew is already expressively pragmatic, wanting to know how things work and ...Read More
Preparation
A combination of layovers and a tight schedule recently led me to be on four planes in 24 hours. It is spring, and it is the Midwest, so weather is frequently a factor, and I was fascinated to experience two of the pilots handle a similar situation in completely different ways. Pilot One, en route to Detroit from Indianapolis, checked in when we were about 25 minutes from landing, as pilots often do. He said hello, gave us a brief update on the goings-on in Detroit, and then before he signed off...Read More
Where Hope Grows – A Conversation with Chris Dowling
BOOST Breakfast Club Blogger Kristin Stayer had the pleasure of interviewing Chris Dowling, Writer/Director for the movie Where Hope Grows, which comes out in theatres on May 15. The Synopsis Calvin Campbell is a former professional baseball player sent to an early retirement due to his panic attacks at the plate. Even though he had all the talent for the big leagues, he struggles with the curveballs life has thrown him. Today, he mindlessly sleepwalks through his days and the challenge of raisi...Read More
Hip-Hop(e): Engaging Youth with Social & Emotional Learning
Some community leaders and I were in shock when teens in our after school hip-hop leadership program came in and told us that they felt like absolute failures at school. The disillusionment came about because these were the same youth who were presenting at regional conferences with Congress members, and opening up for international hip-hop acts. These young people, primarily young men of color, were telling us that they were treated like they were stupid at school, and constantly singled out an...Read More