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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Managing Our Moves: Reflections on Phases of Discovery and Recommitment
On a hot day this summer I visited an outdoor swimming spot and after dangling my toes off the pier for a bit was inspired to challenge myself. It felt like decades since I last dove into the water headfirst, but as I curled my toes over the edge, extended my arms in front of me with one hand piled atop the other, the familiarity of that posture felt reassuring and exhilarating from the inside out. A moment later my ears were tucked into upper arms upside down, and I spotted my feet suspended f...Read More
From a Learning Disability to a Ph.D.: A Life-Changing Journey
As I opened an email titled “Congratulations! Your dissertation is approved.” I felt tears of happiness slowly running down my cheeks. I smiled, closed my eyes, and took a long, deep breath. It had been a long and difficult journey, but somehow, I felt that it was only a beginning – of a new era, the one where I officially had no reason to doubt myself. “I am a doctor now,” I thought to myself. “I did it, I proved them all wrong.” For as long as I can remember I was told that I wasn’t good enoug...Read More
Are You Listening? Leading with Care
They’re not listening to me! It’s a common complaint, especially when working with kids (though it’s said about adults, too!). I’m always fascinated by it. When the person is asking for help with the “problem,” I first ask, “Are you telling them what to do?” The response varies from “Well, yeah!” to “What do you mean by that?” What do I mean? I recently had the opportunity to return to a site for a few weeks—from beginning to end of the school day—and it has me thinking about what it means to le...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
Seeing Clearly in the Fog: Reflections on the Core Value of Connection
The other morning I went to the beach and was startled by the fog. From the boardwalk where I jogged, I could barely see the waves surface upon the sand. People emerged before me from the damp greyness only as I got close, and even the high-rise buildings off to the side disappeared as I gazed up. There was mystery in the distance, and what laid ahead remained hidden. And so, I focused on my breath, my pace, my thoughts, the people before me, and the here and now feeling of it all. While our wor...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
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
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 executive d...Read More
Three Simple Solutions to Get Kids to Quiet Down
The new school year is about to begin. Kids are excited and staff is reenergized to start the year off on the right foot. Unfortunately, trying to calm kids down and organize them in a physically active environment proves to be extremely frustrating. What staff tends to do is start yelling louder and then find they are losing their voice AND losing their battle of getting everyone to quiet down. The solution is to have some simple and fun techniques that will immediately get their attention and ...Read More
How Improv Makes Me Better At My Job
If you are a child of the 90’s, like me, you may remember the British version and first iteration of “Whose Line Is It Anyway” with Clive Anderson. I had a huge crush on Ryan Stiles when I was in 5th and 6th grade. I used to rush home to watch episodes of the show. I loved it! The participants were so quick, they were so witty, and they always made each other look good! Three skills that I now try to use in my everyday life. I have also done research on Improv (even took classes) and one of my f...Read More
Traveling, Speaking And Collaborating For Future Education Equity: A Report From The Road
This blog is being republished with permission from TGR Foundation. It was originally posted on November 1st, 2018. —————————————————————————————————————————————————– October presented me with multi...Read More