September 2024 Newsletter Blog Posts
Cultural Capital and Out-of-School Time: Unlocking Potential and Expanding Horizons
Imagine your mind as a big, shiny toolbox. What’s inside? Knowledge, skills, experiences — all the stuff you’ve learned in and out of school. This, in essence, is your cultural capital. It’s what helps you navigate different situations, whether it’s impressing your friends with street smarts or knowing when to clap at a concert. Each person’s toolbox is different, because our life experiences shape what’s inside. Every day is an opportunity for your out-of-school time program to help students add something new that can help them succeed in school and beyond.
Cultural Capital and Academic Achievement
For example, when we think of someone who’s a “good reader,” we often picture someone who’s good at decoding words and can breeze through complex texts. But there’s more to it! Part of being a good reader is having a rich well of cultural capital to draw from — knowing about places (Where’s Zimbabwe?), people (Who’s Galileo?), and ideas (What does zeitgeist mean?) quickens understanding and makes text come to life. As students build their understanding of the world and how it works — thanks to exposure to new experiences — their educational performance improves, as illustrated in a study in the British Journal of Sociology. Why? Because new knowledge builds on what they already know, helping them make connections, understand context, and deepen their understanding of what they’re learning.
Why OST Programs Are the Perfect Place to Build Cultural Capital
OST program activity plans are like secret treasure maps to cultural capital. Field trips, guest speakers, and hands-on activities open up new worlds, spark interests, and might even point the way to future careers or hobbies. But here's the trick — building cultural capital isn’t just about giving students the tools they lack; it’s also about helping them recognize, value, and use the knowledge, skills, and abilities that are already in their toolbox.
Celebrating What’s Already in the Toolbox
Many students may not realize the value of their own cultural capital. Maybe they speak a second language at home; have deep knowledge of music, the arts, or certain traditions; or are pros at navigating their local communities. These are powerful assets! OST programs can shine a light on these assets by taking a strengths-based approach. Recognizing and honoring the cultural capital each student brings to the table — and finding ways to weave it into the program — helps them feel seen and valued, boosting their confidence and engagement.
Expanding Horizons
Thoughtful OST programming can create environments where each students’ cultural capital is honored and expanded. As you build bridges between the familiar and the new, you’re empowering students to thrive. After all, every new experience is a chance to unlock potential and expand horizons!
September 2024 Newsletter Blog Posts
Add These Three C’s to September
Congratulations! Every student who registered for your program showed up on the first day. You’re off to a great start. Now that they’re physically present, you can focus on engaging their minds and hearts. That’s what will keep them coming back, day after day. Try awakening the three C’s — curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking — to ease the transition from summer to fall and bring their minds, bodies, and hearts back to school and back to your OST program.
Curiosity
Without curiosity, learning can feel dull and uninspiring. In fact, people are simply better at learning when they’re curious, as curiosity prepares the brain for learning and makes it more enjoyable and rewarding, according to research described in an article from NPR. Creating some healthy “uncertainty” through curiosity can spark a need for resolution in your students, thus keeping them engaged! Try these tips and activities:
- Predictions: During a reading, listening, or viewing activity, ask students to predict what will happen next, based on the title, topic, photos, or illustrations. Try asking them to draw or write their prediction.
- Riddles: Thought-provoking questions or statements that need to be solved do wonders for keeping students curious and engaged. Many riddles include puns or plays on words, so they’re great for exploring language, too. Try a once-a-day riddle session, using brain teasers like “What has to be broken before you can use it?” or “What five-letter word becomes shorter if you add two letters to it?”
- Project-Based Learning: Projects honor students’ natural desire to find “eureka” moments because it allows students to follow an idea to its conclusion. It also encourages collaboration, which can foster trust, respect, and empathy — traits everyone should cultivate!
Creativity
Did you know that the inventor of the modern helicopter was inspired by a Jules Verne book, Clipper of the Clouds, which he read as a young child? This just goes to show that students can go on to achieve magical things if shown a little magic — or creativity — in their youth. To make some magic:
- Set up innovation stations or makerspaces: Set up stations with various crafting materials, recycled items, or building blocks where students can invent and build their own projects. Provide prompts or themes to spark ideas, but allow them freedom to explore.
- Facilitate storytelling challenges: Host storytelling competitions or collaborative storytelling sessions where students create and share their own stories, whether through writing, acting, music, or digital formats. This encourages them to use their imagination and develop narrative skills.
- Conduct hands-on activities that spark higher-level thinking: Conducting hands-on experiments lets students explore concepts in a fun and imaginative way. Encourage them to come up with their own hypotheses and test their ideas through experimentation. Or up the ante with challenges that require creative solutions, like designing an escape room.
Critical Thinking
In the dynamic environment of OST programs, nurturing critical thinking is essential for helping students develop problem-solving skills and become independent learners. Unlike traditional classroom settings, your program can offer a unique opportunity to engage students in creative and practical ways. Let’s explore:
- Facilitate age-appropriate debates and discussions. Have students present and defend their viewpoints. This encourages them to conduct research, consider different perspectives, and articulate their thoughts. This can be even more interesting if students vote on the topic, and if the topic is relevant to their experience (e.g., “Are video games a sport?” or “Is technology making us smarter or dumber?”).
- Encourage — and practice — healthy questioning. When students ask questions, they engage with the material and begin to think critically about their world. Pose open-ended questions that have multiple answers and stimulate discussion. For example, instead of asking, “What’s the capital of France?” try, “Why do you think different cities in a country might have different roles or significance?” Our partners at Foundations, Inc. recently hosted a webinar on asking questions that promote higher order thinking.
When students are encouraged to be curious and creative, and to think critically, that’s where the magic happens — they’re interested, engaged, and ready to learn! So remember the three C’s and “seize the day” as students return to your OST program this fall.
September 2024 Newsletter Blog Posts
Get to Know Dr. Candace Ferguson
What first brought you into the field of education (and out-of-school time, in particular)?
I’ve worked in and around education for most of my career, which all began in OST. I was a site coordinator for a nonprofit organization, and it was such a great job to have while I worked my way through college. The schedule worked perfectly with my school schedule, but most of all, I loved working with the kids, especially after school or during breaks because they seemed so much more at ease (most of the time). I loved their smiles, their personalities, their trust, and their resilience. Some of my favorite moments were when they would come to the program and just give me the biggest hugs! After I graduated, I went to work for a juvenile probation department, which brought me into schools in a different way, and it was there that I truly learned the value of education and how OST programs can offer opportunities for relationship building that could serve as prevention measures to deter students from entering the juvenile justice system.
Can you recall a moment that made you feel like you were on the right path?
When I went from serving as a juvenile probation/parole officer to overseeing 21st CCLC programs at the State level, I got to go back to the same community where I worked with youth offenders, and I just saw a different side of not only the community but of the youth and the caring professionals who were supporting them in 21st CCLC programs! I was so inspired and had such a change in perspective, so having the opportunity to serve as the project director for the 21st CCLC NTAC, where I now get to help build the capacity of 21st CCLC professionals across the country as they seek to improve 21st CCLC programs, is such a full-circle moment. I know it’s truly where I’m supposed to be! When I introduce myself and my role, I say I am the proud project director of the 21st CCLC NTAC, because it is absolutely true!
What role did mentors play in your journey, and what did you learn from them?
Mentors have played a key role in my journey, both personally and professionally. The biggest lesson I learned from my mentors has been how important it is to give back and share your knowledge and experiences with others. And not to shy away from sharing your challenges or failures, because they are often what shapes us — if we’re able to grow and learn from them!
What do you see as the greatest challenges and opportunities for OST leaders today?
Honestly, there are many challenges OST professionals face today, but I think one of the challenges is information overload! There is so much information and research, and there are so many resources out there, but OST leaders have very little time to go over them all to determine if or how to use them. So, one of the things we try to do at the 21st CCLC NTAC is review all the great work and resources and make them easily consumable, and relevant to the busy professionals who are running OST programs.
What message would you like to make sure every 21st CCLC professional hears?
We are here for YOU, we are a Technical Assistance Center dedicated to YOU, and we want to help make your jobs easier so that you can do the work of shaping the lives of students, their families, and their futures.
