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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The Practice of Love and Forgiveness in the Lives of Youth

Editor’s Note: This blog was first published in 2002 in the EduCare’s Educator Institute Handbook and EduCare Foundation’s website.  _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The hearts of our children often ache from the hurts and hardships that they keep so hidden and secretive. We quietly hope that they can nonetheless move through life with a resilient spirit that can overcome the troubles they ...Read More

#ButterflyEffectChallenge

but·ter·fly ef·fect noun (with reference to chaos theory) the phenomenon whereby a minute localized change in a complex system can have large effects elsewhere As an experiential educator and group facilitator working in the realm of social-emotional learning and leadership development, I am used to helping people “get out of their comfort zones.”  As educators, it is not only our duty to encourage people to go beyond where they are comfortable and into this place called “learning” but to model ...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

My Why: Curly’s Law – A Bearer of Hope

I love the scene in the movie City Slickers where Billy Crystal’s character, Mitch, is riding alone with Curly, played by Jack Palance. Curly gives Mitch some advice about life. Curly: You know what the secret of life is? Mitch: No. What? Curly: [holds up one finger] This. Mitch: Your finger? Curly: One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and everything else don’t mean s**t. Mitch: That’s great, but what’s the one thing? Curly: That’s what you gotta figure out....Read More

My Why: Purpose

It’s really hard to pinpoint one purpose, cause, or belief that inspires me to do what I do. After thinking about this question, I realized that I have a different approach and reason for working on each project I am involved in, both professionally and personally. But, if I had to sum it up in one word, I would say the reason why I do what I do is “impact.” Professionally, as a researcher, this is particularly important to me because I spend most of my days on my computer anal...Read More