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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For when you feel lazy or unmotivated…

3 quotes I use to spark motivation when I feel lazy, unmotivated, or hopeless Lazy isn’t permanent Let’s get something straight: no one feels enthusiastic, motivated, and productive all the time. Even if it seems like it from the outside. I know because I’ve been called a motivated, disciplined, and courageous person since I left a great job to become an entrepreneur. But I’m not like that all the time – not even close. There are plenty of times when, even though I absolutely love my life ...Read More

Mindset: An After-School Legacy from Kobe Bryant

Kobe “Bean” Bryant was one of the youngest players to enter the National Basketball Association (NBA), at 18 years of age. He played 20 years for one of the greatest sports franchises in the history of professional sports, the Los Angeles Lakers. He was a five-time NBA World Champion, two-time Men’s Basketball Gold Medalist, twice the Most Valuable Player of the NBA Finals. He was voted the NBA’s Most Valuable Player in 2008. He became one of Nike’s greatest ambassadors, next only to...Read More

Redefining Failure: Event vs. Identity

This blog was first published on the MCUVO!CE website and is being republished with permission from Breakfast Club Blogger Marcus Strother. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ “I’ve failed over and over and over in my life… And that is why I succeed.” -Michael Jordan The statement offers a power that most of us miss. The greatest painter, singer, basketball player, educator, etc. has failed multiple times and yet in our sc...Read More

Mindfulness Practices For Afterschool Program Staff, Students And Parents

Why take the time to pause and introduce mindfulness as a practice that enriches the lives of our students, parents, and program staff? How might mindfulness also benefit us as educators? Soon after the presidential election in November 2016, many Latino and Muslim students and families in our partnering Los Angeles schools were experiencing a lot of anxiety and fear. In addition to obtaining information about community resources, the students, parents, and staff in our afterschool programs were...Read More

Social-Emotional Fitness: Neophobia vs. Neuroplasticity

“What were you thinking?!” “I can’t believe you did that!” These are just some of the favorite phrases of “disbelief” we like to use as adults when we come face to face with mistakes made by youth. I know this personally and professionally.  I have two daughters ages 7 and 11, and I will admit that these words have been a part of my “go-to” statements when trying to figure out what led to them messing up. When you understand the mental and emotional state of adolescence, the question referenced ...Read More

People Aren’t Flies: How Youth Can Listen Without Needing to Be Heard

We have all experienced a time when we believed we had a genuine connection with a person, only to find out that they had a specific agenda in mind. We have all experienced someone that has tried to proselytize or preach at us, to use us to get ahead, or to gain access to our friends or family members. For many people, what starts out as a genuine connection dissolves almost instantly as soon as the sirens of topics such as politics or religion are sounded. We know how difficult it can be to hav...Read More

Growing Grit: G = MC3

You may have heard of Albert Einstein’s famous equation on his theory of relativity… E = MC2. Our slightly less-famous equation on our theory of grittiness is… G stands for Grit I first learned about “grit” from John Wayne (True Grit – 1969 Western), but it took educational research rock star Angela Lee Duckworth (author of Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance) to make “grit” a buzzword in education, and a fundamental targeted outcome for our own afterschool programs. Duckwort...Read More