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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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
Remember to THINK
This post originally appeared on the Breakfast Club Blog on November 22, 2013. This year, I had an opportunity to help my sister set up her sixth grade classroom. Outside the door, she had the following poster: T: Is it True? H: Is it Helpful? I: Is it Inspiring? N: Is it Necessary? K: Is it Kind? Although educators, whether they work during in or out-of-school time hours, have many of these mantras in their classrooms, this one struck me as special. It not only encourages students to THINK, but...Read More
Processing Social Issues Through Art-Making
This piece originally appeared on the Breakfast Club Blog on January 23, 2015. The news is often overwhelming with images of violence, objectification, and families left stunned and mourning over great loss. The need for social justice is not new. But to high school students who are just coming to understand the repetitive nature of the news…and just how nasty things in this world can be…it is new. It seems that at this tender age, high school students are beginning to identify what ...Read More
Their Lives Changed Overnight… How Youth Responded
Almost overnight, the lives of high school students all over the country, along with their teachers, mentors, and group facilitators, were completely disrupted. At a time where spring break, prom, and graduation was on the mind of many students, suddenly they found themselves wondering if they would return to school at all, or whether the abrupt ‘goodbyes’ were the last memory they would carry with them. Later in the spring, when racial tensions increased nationwide, students found themselves ag...Read More
Dream, Baby, Dream
As you may know, I am privileged to do school assemblies across the country speaking to all kinds of students. Even when I start driving onto the school campus I begin to feel those “dad emotions” coming up in me. I want to hug every person. I want to spend hours with each of them individually just to hear their story. They’re all–every one of them–amazing kids. We all do what we do because we believe in young adults. They are packed with potential and need someone they respect...Read More
10 Tips to Include Expanded Learning in Program Planning
This is a shout out to School and District Leaders, and everyone doing the work planning for a safe return to school in the Fall. The following list of 10 promising practices reflects what I have learned and experienced over the past 15+ years working in an ASES Expanded Learning Program, as we are classically known to be an afterthought. Just as you School and District Leaders are, we, your local Expanded Learning Program, are proactively planning for a successful student-centered school year. ...Read More
Taking a Pause for Equity
Slow down to move fast. Sounds counterintuitive, right? But knowing when to press pause is a critical decision that all leaders face. Here are some thoughts on why taking a break is the right thing for all leaders right now. As leaders in expanded learning, we often evaluate our practices against a set of criteria, perhaps aligned with a specific grant, or internal goals and objectives. What if instead, we took a step back and really looked at how our efforts and decisions impact the very commun...Read More
Focusing on the Three Rs this Summer
In a recent principal training, a participant raised his hand and asked a question I have heard too often: “How can I afford to invest in SEL (social-emotional learning) when my students have fallen so far behind?” I struggled to maintain my composure. This principal had been in at least three brain development workshops that unpacked the connections across the social, emotional, and cognitive functions of our limbic system. According to our biology, learning is a social and emotional process – ...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
Getting Your Students to Fall in Love with Physical Activity
Love is in the air! Valentine’s Day celebrates love, and it doesn’t always have to be romantic. Love boils down to a passion for something (or someone!), and so we can celebrate the holiday by sharing the love for physical activity with students in your expanded learning program. When you feel passionate about something, it shows. Your enthusiasm, energy, and enjoyment are palpable, visible as the expression on your face, gestures with your hands, and the sound of your voice. When you talk about...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
Poetry As A Tool For Teaching Social Emotional Development
Our students wrote original poetry for “Real Talk,” a social-emotional learning (SEL) class. Each month our students engage in and learn about different concepts relating to social-emotional development. We have created a book with all of our student’s poems, which I enjoyed reading. After reading several of our student’s work, the verse that stuck out for me was “Depressed.” The first line caught my attention because of its wit and honesty. Depressed When a tomato ...Read More