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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Mic Drop! Celebrating Creative Youth Development
One of my favorite parts of youth development and out-of-school time programs is when we provide spaces for students to CREATE. If anything, this past year and a half has unearthed the importance of providing healing spaces and room for self-expression. As youth development professionals, we can’t turn away from the fact that our students (and us!) have individually and collectively faced grief, turmoil, anger, confusion, depression, anxiety, and loneliness. Take that in for a minute. It’s heavy...Read More
Why Every Student Needs Entrepreneurship
Photo by Clark Tibbs on Unsplash “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” -Peter Drucker Ever since high school, I knew I wanted to be an entrepreneur. But traditional education rewards a college degree into a stable job. If you want to be an entrepreneur, you do it on your own time and take a huge risk to start a company. So that’s what I did. I completed the traditional core high school curriculum, got a finance degree and became an analyst in commercial banking. After three years...Read More
Creative Youth Development: What it Means and The Power of Youth Voice & Beliefs
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 August 5, 2020, Jeff Poulin of Creative Generation and Khalil Bleux of Agency 515 joined youth leaders from Arts Amplifying Youth to share the principles and practices of Creative Youth Development. Watch t...Read More
How Youth Development Programs Have Responded to COVID-19: Creativity, Innovation, and Doing What’s Brave and What’s Right
Defined by lockdowns, face masks, and video conferences, the COVID-19 global pandemic caused the world to shift to an era of physical distancing, at-home and on-line learning, shuttered community organizations, and the possibility of stifled creation for young people around the world. Recently a colleague shared an essay, “A Message of Hope,” by English author Neil Gaiman, in which he describes the unusual moment of panic, disruption, grief, and pause we are collectively experiencing as the COVI...Read More
Supporting Young Creatives in a Time of Global Crisis
We have all shared this experience of navigating the impacts of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Tough decisions were made to close schools and community facilities. Parents and educators are learning to operate in a new virtual space. Layoffs have been made. There is new federal and state legislation to help communities cope. Through this all, our communities have seen tremendous creation from young artists, theatre-makers, musicians, and dancers. Spoken word performances on social media and virtu...Read More
20 Resources that Create Cultural Exchanges in the Garden
Community gardens serve as a place-based tool for connection, empowerment, and cultural identity. Today, more gardens are popping up in school yards, in vacant lots, nonprofits, and housing developments. Educators are using gardens as creative and holistic tools for teaching beyond the walls of the classroom. In 2014, I wrote the piece, Using Gardens as Classrooms and shared how educators can use garden-based learning in formal and informal education settings with resources related to academic e...Read More
Teaching Artists: Consistency – Care – Commitment
At the end of one of BuildaBridge’s Discovery Out-of-School time classes, this exchange happened between Ty (student) & Seth (Teaching Artist). Ty: “You guys make some sacrifices.” Seth: “Oh, so you mean you appreciate what we do?” Ty: ” Yes…actually I’m just gonna come out and say it. I love this place, and I love you guys. The art and the music.” I would gather our Teaching Artists do not see time they choose to spend enthusiastically &...Read More
Building Positive Self-Image and Community Through the Arts
Included in this post is a basic outline for a four-session Dance/Visual Arts and Poetry workshop. The following session series is created around the poem, “Phenomenal Woman” by Maya Angelou. I have used the following experiences as a part of a curriculum for teenage girls who identified challenges with positive self-image and bullying within their peer group. As you read through the outline keep in mind the age of the children or young people you work with. Also, think about the theme or messag...Read More