Blogs on After-School Learning

As we glide through the month of May, I know that many teachers and students are steadily dreaming of how to spend their summer vacations. Some will be off to sleep-away camp, some will travel to faraway places, and many others are still trying to figure it out. But for many families, the summer will also bring a level of anxiety. In the age of budget cuts, the opportunities for quality programs and government subsidized summer jobs will be few and far between. According to the National Summer Learning Association, many low-income and underserved students will face two to three months' summer learning loss in reading and math, while affluent and better resourced students may show slight gains in reading over the summer because of their access to summer enrichment.

What does this mean?

A core goal of education is to create lifelong learners. Success in the workplace requires an ability to pick up new high-quality knowledge. The foundation for these learning skills is the study habits that are acquired from early in school. After all, most learning in life takes place outside of the classroom.

Innovative teaching and student engagement happens when prepared students meet opportunity at the crossroads of education. I saw an example of this powerful intersection when my students -- the Crenshaw High School Digital Media Team -- got the opportunity to teach digital photography and podcasting to adults 50+ at Cal State Dominguez Hills' Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI).

Editor's Note: Our guest blogger today is Karen Brown, the creative director for the Center for Ecoliteracy in Berkeley, CA.

"Sometimes creativity goes a little bit with what we call 'misbehavior.'"