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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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
Gamifying SEL with the Mood Meter
Social and emotional learning is a set of teachable competencies or skills considered fundamental to school and life success. The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) defines SEL as the process of how children “acquire and apply the knowledge, skills, and attitudes to develop healthy identities, manage emotions and achieve personal and collective goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, and make responsible and caring...Read More
Creating a Culture of Vulnerability and Fostering Creativity in Education
For the most part, education is designed to meet academic demands, which does not always support the development of emotional intelligence of our children. When we as educators and parents put too much emphasis on academic abilities, we may create a culture of shame. Frequent comments about children’s academic performance and measuring their worth in grades often leads to shaming and making them feel that they are not good enough. So how do we motivate our children to learn without creating a cu...Read More
Intentional Self-Awareness In Leadership
“If you think you are leading and turn around to see no one following, then you are just taking a walk.” Benjamin Hooks I’ve always loved this quote, because for me it cuts straight to the core of true leadership—which has absolutely nothing to do with the title on your business card. True leadership, to me, is about impact. How much of an impact do you have on those around you? And how willing are they to follow you, wherever you may lead? This kind of leadership is not measured by daily tasks ...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
An Invitation to Unplug: 4 Nature-Based Activities
This month, Healthier Generation is celebrating Park and Recreation Month and the essential role greenspace plays in making our lives better. For example, did you know that trees can reduce anxiety and taking a walk outside can provide grounding and self-awareness when conflict arises? Today, I want to invite you to unplug and take a mindfulness break with me. We’re going to use Healthier Generation’s new Nature-Based BINGO Card. It’s a resource you can share with families, but for today, I want...Read More
The Beginning Of Wisdom: Part One
Editor’s Note: This blog was first posted on Tuesday, January 14, 2020, and is being reposted with permission from The Leadership Program. As we are in the middle of another January, many of us are also already likely facing a reckoning of the status of our new year’s resolutions. Already, they may be sputtering; they may even still be stuck at the start. Resolutions are tricky because they are so often tied up in an accounting of our perception of our success or failure, basically as huma...Read More
3 Questions for Confused Students
Existentialism. I’m fascinated by that topic. I’m a big picture guy who talking about the details is like being attacked by a soul-stealing dragon. But get me on the big picture, and there’s light in my eyes and passion that keeps me going for hours. A lot of us are like that. I’d even argue that all of us are big picture at our core. The most detailed people have to resurface to get their bearings again. I am truly blessed to be able to speak to about 150,000 Middle and ...Read More
What Drives your After-School Program?
This new year of 2014 marks eight years of working in out-of-school (OST) time programs for me. While my passion for youth work has not changed over the course of that time, my approach to youth work has been profoundly shaped. I started my work in OST programs in a vulnerable neighborhood outside Philadelphia. I was a young college student looking for academic credit by putting in my time with at-risk youth. I loved this program and I loved the people I worked with. All of us had a passion and ...Read More