How Does Afterschool Support the School Day?

It is incredibly important that your program supports the good work that the school day is doing.  Teachers work each day to provide the “first, best teaching” for students and anything that we can do in after-school to support that work is a value-add to the student’s’ educational experience.  So what can you do to…

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Advocating For Expanded Learning

I think people get advocacy confused with lobbying.  To my mind, there is a huge difference.  Advocacy is about educating people so they can make an informed choice between options.  Certainly you are passionate about what you are advocating for, certainly you will share the information in the best possible light, surely your will encourage…

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Nostalgia

When I was a child I visited the boardwalk in Santa Cruz.  There was a Fun House that had some amazing things for you to do.  There was a wave machine—not like the ones you might see today, but a “walk” that you could go on that had pieces moving up and down while you…

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Thinking and Communicating with Clarity and Precision

Lack of communication is one of the biggest complaints we have both personally and professionally.  Individuals, small enterprises and large businesses all face challenges with communication.  Part of this is because communication is hard work and is so much more than simply speaking or writing something for others to hear or read. When we want…

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Apply Past Knowledge to New Situations

What would our lives be like if we, like Drew Barrymore in 50 First Dates, had to begin all over every day?  Can you imagine how many blisters you would have if you had to learn about the concept of “hot” every 24 hours?  And how would we know how to read, speak, write, cook…

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Gather Data Through All Your Senses

We use our senses—sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell—to experience the world.  These senses are what grounds us and allows us to observe and understand the world around us.  In our world today we rely heavily on sight and sound, yet the other three senses can add depth to our understanding.  Think about someone like…

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Creating, Imagining, Innovating

Creating, imagining, and innovating are supported when we foster divergent thinking.  Divergent thinking is the ability to think “outside the box”.  It means that we value it when youth think for themselves instead of operating on the “lemming principle.”  There is a movie that came out in the 1989, Dead Poet’s Society.  In this movie…

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Wonderment and Awe

When did you experience your most recent “WOW” moment?  You know, when you were absolutely blown away by what was happening.  In fact, you were so pleasantly surprised it nearly took your breath away.  I can tell you when it was for me.  During the winter school break I was flicking through the channels—looking for…

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Responsible Risk

Responsible risk—the phrase almost seems like an oxymoron.  How is it possible to be both responsible and still take a risk?  Because this seems like “a disconnect” to us our behavior tends to fall in one of two categories:  “at risk” or “safe”.  Some of us are so “risk adverse” that even when opportunity is…

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Finding Humor

Why is it that shows like The Big Bang Theory and Mike and Molly are so funny to us?  I think it is because Chuck Lorre has found the humor in things that are “normal” and we all understand.  We all know a Sheldon or a Leonard.  We can empathize with a Mike and Molly…

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