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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What the COVID-19 Crisis Has Taught Us
I just finished my spinach smoothie for breakfast and am reflecting on how we all work hard these days to stay healthy and sane. My wife makes me spinach smoothies to start the day, and I drink them, though I don’t like them, because they are promising—hopeful for good health and energy. We need both, especially in these trying times of global pandemic, social distancing, and online learning. Friday, March 13, 2020 (yep, Friday the 13th) will be remembered by many folks in the education world fo...Read More
An empty basketball court…
Prior to this spring, I had all of these ideas rolling around in my head about this next blog post. Would it be about standardized testing (a normal spring occurrence) or preparing your English Learner (EL) for summer? Would it be a post about connecting EL families to school and making them feel welcome? Then, around mid-March, we all began talking about something else… Did you see that they closed Italy? Did you see that there are COVID-19 cases in Washington State? Did you see they held that ...Read More
Healing the World Begins with Me!
Right now, it seems that the world is a pressure cooker of challenges from which no one can escape. The COVID-19 pandemic and unprecedented job losses have created incredible stress and uncertainty. Police violence toward African Americans—and centuries-long institutional racism—have sparked outrage and demonstrations across the nation. In New York City, we saw a spike in gun violence over the July 4th holiday. Child abuse and domestic violence are on the rise—and we know actual rates are higher...Read More
In this Time of Crisis, Afterschool Gives Me Hope
California, and the nation as a whole, are in the midst of multiple and intersecting crises—the public health crisis of COVID-19, the resulting economic crisis, and a long-standing crisis of injustice and systemic oppression of Black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC). When I think of the children and communities who are suffering the most as a result of these crises, I get consumed with questions. What will happen to kids this summer? When will they be able to come back to school? How wil...Read More
Power of the Break – Reflections on the pandemic
Last winter I flew across the country to attend a health equity training with colleagues and, as I sometimes do when I travel, I carried a stone in my pocket that symbolizes for me balance, regulation, and interconnection – a reminder of seeking to join my head and heart space. The stone fit perfectly in the palm of my hand and felt smooth and solid there. After two full days of intense learning, reflecting, storytelling, and connecting, I debriefed and discussed with colleagues over dinne...Read More
Coping When COVID-19 Comes Home
In February, I started following the news coverage of the wide-spreading coronavirus. Blown away by images of people in China, wearing surgical masks, I did not think this could happen to us, here, in America. I was in denial. And I let denial shield me from my fear of this fatal virus traveling to the US and impacting our lives. As much as I wanted to live in denial, deep in my subconscious, I knew it was only a matter of time before the universe said, “Tag, you’re it.” Now th...Read More
Leading with Heart
I come from a family of immigrants, a fact that I will always take pride in. When my mom first immigrated to the US from the Philippines in 1978, she came as a nurse and settled in Chicago before ending up in Los Angeles. She spent over 30 years in the healthcare field as an RN here in LA at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and absolutely loved her job — it was her calling — until she retired a few years ago. It was her cousin, my Uncle Vic’s calling too. He followed the same pattern, ending up on th...Read More
Going Inside: Lessons from Lockdown
This post originally appeared on LinkedIn on April 12, 2020. The past several weeks have unfolded like few of us could have imagined. While the COVID-19 pandemic is a collective global experience and stark reminder of our inextricable ties across humanity, I have also noticed us splintering into our own sources of stress and circumstance. The ways in which we come together and pull apart as a society is heightened now, leaving us much to learn and carry forth into the other side of this crisis. ...Read More
Leadership in Times of Crisis
Leadership in times of crisis reminds us how challenging it is to manage your own stress while supporting others. While much of the world is sheltering in place or physically distancing themselves from others to prevent the spread of COVID-19, many people are finding themselves unemployed or facing incredible uncertainty. How we lead in moments like this can significantly impact the lives of others. How do we manage our own stress and anxiety with the weight of this responsibility? Here are a fe...Read More
Shift: From Helplessness to Hope & the Power of Humanity
Amidst the news of a virus that feels eerily apocalyptic, I feel the need for us to take a collective breath. While it is important to stay calm, it is also important to use good judgment in realizing that we each have the power as individuals to slow the spread and be socially responsible for the potential impact. Through a phrase that is quickly being elevated in response to COVID-19, “social distancing” from others will help slow the spread of the virus that could negatively impact those we l...Read More
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