Is it More Important to be Interested or Interesting?

Paul G. Young, Ph.D.

President & CEO

National AfterSchool Association

Interestingly, the question is debatable from both angles.

I suggest that it's more important to be interested than interesting. Do you agree? I think that philosophy impacts my approach to education and leadership. Here's why.

We are all teachers. We are all leaders. Leaders have influence. Leaders must be knowledgeable and competent. You can't reach high levels of competence without being inquisitive, eager to learn, and constantly seeking new ways to do what you do better. That's being interested. Those who are interested are engaged in a continuous quest to learn.

As a result, those who are always interested become interesting while engaged in their quest for knowledge. They become magnets from which others seek knowledge, wisdom, and new learning insights. The true leaders of any profession are those who are most interested in learning all they can and, as a result, become the most interesting and most influential.

But let's face it. We are exposed daily to interesting celebrities and public officials who have somehow captured the attention of the masses because of their interesting contributions to society, or perhaps more so, because of good looks and entertaining characteristics. The question we must ask ourselves is whether or not they really know what they need to know and be able to do to be truly interesting.

There are many "experts" in education who have acquired interesting characteristics so that they can entertain others in order to keep attention. That's a problem. Yet, it's a reality. Our kids, even those of us who were ‘once upon a time’ kids, have shortened attention spans. If a teacher or presenter isn't entertaining, they soon aren't interesting enough to keep our attention, no matter how much interest they have.

Still, we must elevate our personal and professional levels of interest.  As we go about our personal quest for knowledge, innovation, and competence, we must also acquire the skills necessary to become interesting. It does us little good to be interested if we are unable to use that influence in interesting ways.

Come to Dallas where we have dozens of workshops and plenary sessions led by experts in our field who have demonstrated the highest levels of interest and who will deliver content in interesting ways.

I look forward to seeing you soon.

Never Underestimate Your Influence

Dr. Paul G. Young
President & CEO
National AfterSchool Association

Can you remember the name of your first grade teacher?  Most people can. I loved Mrs. Bateson, and as a result, I still remember playing school as a child. My younger sister was my obedient “student.”  Effective first grade teachers turn kids onto learning; those who are not so good at what they do leave devastating effects from which some kids never recover.

What about your fifth grade teacher?  Or your seventh grade science teacher? How many teachers can you remember? Most every individual has fond memories of at least one special teacher (maybe one of the toughest) who had a positive influence on their life. Our best teachers wielded tremendous influence because they were always able to find ingenious ways to motivate their students to learn.  Many of us grew up wanting to be just like that special teacher.

    

You can never underestimate the influence of a good teacher. Likewise, you can never underestimate the power and influence that afterschool professionals have in the lives of their students.

We’ve all worked with difficult kids. And each of us strives to meet their needs in different ways. As challenging as it may to develop trust and share a relationship with some kids, they are the ones we likely influence more than we ever know.  Going above and beyond when no one else will often leads to fond recognition, pride, and a lasting influence that extends beyond the imagination.

I encourage you to contact those favorite teachers and afterschool professionals from your past. Let them know how you appreciated them and the lessons they taught you. Those lessons likely aren’t about math or science, but more about how to dream, live, and achieve. The most influential teach life lessons.

So tomorrow, when Johnny or Susie are pressing your buttons, I encourage you to take a deep breath, step back, look into his or her eyes, and see the future. I hope you’ll see your reflection and the positive influence you will have.  Sometimes, it’s tough to see it. But it’s there.

Never underestimate your influence and what you are doing for kids.

And by the way, on their behalf - thank you!

Afterschool Innovators

Afterschool professionals need an innovation delivery system. Every profession does. Business, management, and leadership books abound on the topic. President Obama has called upon us to become the innovation nation. Pressure mounts on schools and afterschool programs to prepare children and youth with sharper skills that will prepare them to win in the global workforce. Those who will succeed will have acquired a multitude of skills that enable them to outthink, outsmart, and out-innovate the competition, whoever that might be.

Some afterschool professionals have told me that they think to become an innovator, they have to be able to invent something or create a new idea. There's certainly nothing wrong with that, but to think about innovation in ways that help the masses, strategies must be developed that can be applied in practical ways. Most good ideas are "borrowed or stolen" from someone else. Most of us are just looking for ideas that we can replicate in order to increase our performance, move our programs forward, and advance our careers. We search for evidenced-based practices from other afterschool programs or professions that can be transferred and deployed in our programs at scale.

But here's the issue. Sometimes that works, but more often than not it doesn't. Too many innovative ideas from early adopters become passing fads in the hands of the general population. Innovations that get deployed on a massive scale are the exception.

But that shouldn't deter our innovative afterschool professionals from sharing and learning. In Dallas, April 2-4, you will have the opportunity to meet and learn from more than 200 innovative leaders from all parts of the country. As our expert workshop presenters share their many innovations, the most successful outcome would be that attendees effectively apply what is shared and taught back home. But here's the perpetual dilemma. Innovations and practical good ideas transfer best when the receiver has a similar set of strengths and desires as the originator who created the idea in the first place. What might be an exciting, effective, and authentic idea or practice when implemented by one person often becomes a forced, fake, and inauthentic practice in the hands of another who lacks prerequisite skills and strengths.

NAA will unveil a set of nationally recognized Core Knowledge and Competencies that have been designed to help all afterschool professional attain the skills and strengths needed to grow, advance, and innovate. As our convention attendees listen and learn from the experts, I hope they will focus on the strengths of the presenter as much as the message they share. Only when we can assure matching passion and commitment levels will new ideas succeed when conventioneers return home. To further help, effective presenters must unabashedly share the ways of thinking, time, and energy, and personal strengths they deploy to  drive their innovations.

I hope that every convention attendee is introduced to dozens of practical innovations that, when you hear them, you realize that you, too, could have thought of them, but you simply haven't yet. I hope you'll listen, learn, adapt, and build on innovations to further revitalize your program and others back home. I hope you take home ideas that feel good, that you can implement in authentic ways immediately to accelerate your creativity. I hope you have many matches of ideas with your strengths.

Let's adopt the practices of turtles. Don't be afraid to stick your neck out.  We succeed when the innovations we share become part of our daily practice. And like bees, we can get a lot done when we work together.

I look forward to seeing you on Dallas. It's my goal that you discover the NAA Convention to be the premiere innovation delivery system in the field.

Paul G. Young, Ph. D.
President & CEO
National AfterSchool Association

Let's Get StARTed

As a principal, I often asked my students what they liked most about our school.  As might be expected, many of them cited recess, but another consistently popular response was ART. They didn't care what kind of ART. All genres seemed to fit their liking.

I remember one young boy, “Jimmy”, a sixth grader, who was very small for his age. He was often bullied, yet he could give it back to the bigger kids with a very filthy mouth. He lived in a very impoverished, broken, and dysfunctional home. His grades were mostly failing. His lack of academic progress was often a topic of discussion in Intervention Assistance Team (IAT) meetings. My staff and I were very worried about his past, present, and future school progress.

Then one day while he and his classmates were standing in the hallway waiting to switch classrooms, I noticed he was carrying a pencil drawing of the Mona Lisa.  When I asked Jimmy where he got it, he replied. "I drew it." I doubted that, so I said, "You must mean you traced it from some art book." “No,” he said, “I looked at a picture from a book in our library, but I didn't trace anything. I drew it."

If you could have seen what I saw, you'd better be able to appreciate what I'd discovered. This pencil drawing was of very high quality, I couldn't believe my eyes.  I certainly thought Jimmy was pulling my leg. I just couldn’t understand how.

So, I asked his teacher to allow Jimmy to accompany me back to my office. Jimmy was quite familiar with my office. His inappropriate behavior ensured that he and I had frequent visits. When we reached my office, Jimmy took his customary seat and readied himself for another of my inquisitions.

After several minutes of questioning, I began to realize that he wasn't lying. I had grown used to knowing what signals to observe him when he did. But not this time. I realized was talking with a budding natural artist, and I was also looking at other works (yes, he had numerous other drawings in his bookbag such as the US Capitol, Mt. Rushmore, and more) that were way beyond what a  typical sixth grader could produce.

What I learned next was even more surprising. Jimmy, the boy we thought couldn't read on grade level, who had an IEP, began telling me facts about Leonardo DaVinci that I didn't even know. I asked, "How did you learn all this information?" Jimmy relied, "From books in our library!”

All this, right under our noses!

One reason for sharing this story is to confess how my staff and I missed this young boy's potential. Another is to show how that day changed how we worked with Jimmy. He happily went on to middle school to a great art teacher and began enjoying his first positive experiences in school.  Best of all, Jimmy and I never had the same kind of office inquisitions. He never got in serious trouble after the "discovery".  We began to share a relationship. He began to blossom when we stARTed talking ART.

The same can happen for you. You might have an artist (or many) right under your nose in your afterschool program, just like Jimmy. Just create the right conditions. Set aside some space and develop an art gallery area in your program. Connect with the school. Let kids draw. ART will become the showcase of your program.  Everyone will take delight in it, especially your little “Jimmys”.

Let's get stARTed finding arts experiences for all kids. Let’s commit to developing them, encouraging, nurturing, and changing lives through the ARTS. All it takes is paper and pencil. You may find the next Picasso. Let everyone know when you do!

Paul G. Young, Ph.D.

President & CEO

National AfterSchool Association

What, How, and Why



 Paul G. Young, Ph.D.
President & CEO
National AfterSchool Association

                                                  
Please contemplate how you would answer these questions:

WHAT do you do?

HOW do you do what you do?

WHY do you do what you do?

When you are asked about why you choose to work in an after school program, how do you answer? Do you focus on WHAT you do, HOW you do it, or WHY?

Studies show that most people start with the WHAT. But that might not be the right place to start. If you really go deep with people in many diverse lines of work - afterschool among them - they really aren't very clear why their organization exists. Many are really far off the mark. In his leadership book, Start with Why, author Simon Sinek (Penguin Group, 2009) suggests we would better respond to the question about why we choose to work in afterschool by starting with the WHY? Why does your afterschool program exist?

It is particularly important to have contemplated and analyze our responses to these questions before we attempt to build relationships with principals and gain their support. Rehearse your responses. You are well advised to start with the WHY. Principals aren’t so concerned with WHAT you do or HOW you do it. But the WHY you do what you do will catch their attention, especially when the WHY your program exists closely aligns with WHAT they and their school need.

What might those needs be? They will most likely center around more time for kids to learn. Yes, they might think it’s nice that kids are safe and fed and given time to play. But if they can't see how kids will get expanded learning time, they might be less likely to get on board and support your WHY.  Principals know there simply isn't enough time for many kids to learn everything they need to know and be able to do during the school day. They want more time for kids to learn - but they don't want a longer school day.

So, start with WHY. Make sure everyone is clear about WHY your afterschool program exists and can speak the mission with clarity and brevity. A good WHY will influence HOW things are done in the program. WHAT you and others do is clearly driven by a solid understanding of the WHY and HOW questions.

A good WHY is narrowly focused. You can't be everything to everybody. You likely won't be in business long if you don't know WHY you exist. A good WHY may be stated as simply as ‘to teach.”

If your WHY and that of the school's are similar, it becomes an easier task to align the learning day. But if your WHYs are at different ends of a continuum, or if principals and others can’t or won’t buy-in to your unique WHY, you will likely be on a bumpy road working with principals.

Start with WHY.

Avoid Getting Branded and Stranded

Like leaders in many professions, it easy to get caught up and consumed by the daily grind. We spend hours behind a computer working in isolation on multiple job-related tasks, and in doing so, we often fail to attend to the people who need us most. Then, when we must exercise our authority, we sometimes get labeled as being difficult. Unless we are able to change, find ways to re-engage, and focus on the needs of others, people will turn their backs on us. When that happens, we get left behind. The development of our leadership capacity and our programs becomes stagnant.

To become effective leaders, we must commit to a continuous self improvement plan. We must also dedicate ourselves to serve and develop other leaders. When we allow ourselves to selfishly focus only on what's on our plate, demand obedience, compliance, and respect because of a positional title, and fail to engage with others, we get branded as loners. If we don't assertively commit to learn and improve our work, we become isolated, mediocre, and left behind. No one wants to work with an afterschool leader who doesn't get it, or worse, doesn't care to.

People matter most in an afterschool program. Obviously, that means kids, parents, and staff. But the people within the profession in positions of leadership matter, too. They are important for advancing the profession – and reliant upon each other. It is essential that we commit to learn together, grow, build relationships, and allow ourselves to be pushed and continuously move forward. Complacency and adherence to the status quo are brands associated with leaders who only want to focus on administrative and technical tasks, not the needs of people. Acknowledging others needs and acquiring the influence necessary to lead is the essence of leadership.

We can't gain influence without pressing the flesh. We can't lead without influence, which can only be acknowledged by others. Effective afterschool leaders know that they must regularly be amidst their staff, students, parents, and active within their community. They know they to gain influence, they must earn the respect of the people who are their stakeholders. And among those stakeholders are countless other afterschool leaders that do the same kind of work they do.

As you reflect, if you can't confidently be assured that other afterschool professionals in your city or region know you, recognize the quality of your work, and respect you for how you support the work of others, you may be branded as a loner and stranded in your program. You'll go nowhere. Neither will your program.

But you can commit to change. You can resolve to learn, work more closely with others in your profession, and move ahead in your development as a leader.

There is no better place to begin your branding transformation than at the 24^th Annual NAA Convention. Get involved with us. Form relationships. Let’s commit to learn together and from each other.

See you in Dallas on April.

Paul G. Young, Ph.D.

President & CEO

National AfterSchool Association

Optimists and Pessimists

Stories are powerful. They are universal and cross the boundaries of language, culture, and age. They define who we are and portray the world in vivid, narrative terms. They build emotional connections. I think we learn best and make decisions that result in change from hearing stories. We would all do well to master the art of storytelling. After all, in our afterschool programs, we are surrounded by a rich and ready source of content.

Recently, my pastor began his sermon with a story about the power of being positive in any situation! I’ll share it here…

A family had twin boys whose only resemblance to each other was their looks. If one felt it was too hot, the other thought it was too cold. If one said the TV was too loud, the other claimed the volume needed to be turned up. Opposite in every way, one was an eternal optimist, the other a doom and gloom pessimist.

Just to see what would happen on the twins' birthday, their father loaded the pessimist's room with every imaginable toy and game. The optimist's room he loaded with horse manure.

That night the father passed by the pessimist's room and found him sitting amid his new gifts crying bitterly.

"Why are you crying?" the father asked.

"Because my friends will be jealous, I'll have to read all these instructions before I can do anything with this stuff, I'll constantly need batteries, and my toys will eventually get broken." answered the pessimist twin.

Passing the optimist twin's room, the father found him dancing for joy in the pile of manure. "What are you so happy about?" he asked.

To which his optimist twin replied, "There's got to be a pony in here somewhere!"

We have both optimists and pessimists in our profession. But I believe we are a majority of optimists.  My belief is based on conversations with and observations of numerous professionals performing their work in a positive manner.  Afterschool professionals maintain an attitude of positive expectations, for themselves and others.

Yet, there are some that would argue that optimists are simple Pollyannas looking at the world through rose colored glasses and living in a fantasy. No doubt, each of us, from time to time, succumbs to negative thoughts. We worry about all the things that could go wrong. Some suggest that thinking the worst is a sound strategy for coping in an erratic world.

There is probably a place for both optimism and pessimism. But for my afterschool professional friends, who likely identify with the optimist twin in the story, being optimistic supports the pursuit of goals in a positive way, leading toward bigger and better dreams.

We each get to choose what we wear each day. We are also free to select an attitude to take to work.  There may be times when pessimism serves us well, but to cope in our complex and unpredictable world, I choose to hunt for the pony!

Paul G. Young, Ph.D.

President & CEO

National AfterSchool Association

Free or Fee

If you contemplate both words, you’ll notice that free is similar to fee except with a letter R inserted. As an afterschool leader worried about long-term sustainability, I often agonize over what we offer in programs for free and what should be offered with a fee. Even within a membership association, I think there are long-term ramifications for providing too much for free too much of the time.

There are problems with free.

If you’ve ever attended a state or national conference, I’ll bet that, like me, you’ve picked up dozens of free items in your welcome bag or from the exhibit areas. Even though you were appreciative and pleased to receive those items at the time, now you probably can’t remember what any of those items were. And when it was time to pack for your return home and you couldn’t get your suitcase closed, you probably thought nothing of leaving those free items behind.  Because you had nothing personally invested in them – and because they were free - they got tossed! The problem with freebies is that over time they maintain little value. People don't value what they get for free. Free is disposable.

Consider this: You see a free training offered nearby. They offer free coffee, snacks, meals, and a pretty decent presenter. Would you miss it? For those who indicate that they wouldn’t, there are many more that would. People turn up sporadically for free offerings or not at all. Yet when trainings have a prepaid cost, attendance is high.

Now think about this: When nonprofit afterschool programs are structured so that all participants and parents are invited without any charge, we are setting up a system that devalues almost everything we’ve worked extremely hard to do. People might flock to the program at first, but they'll eventually value it like everything else that they receive that is free - food, clothing, coffee, training, and much more. Free is disposable.

Certainly, the offer of ‘free’ generates feelings of appreciation. But will your parents really feel a loss if the free afterschool program their kids attend is suddenly taken away? Is anyone entitled to anything being free?

We value most that what we’ve actually paid for. You think twice about casting aside something that you've earned with your own sweat equity or money, and you find a way to shove it in your suitcase or keep it close to you. We create sustainability problems for our afternoon programs (as well as our professional associations) when we give them away for free.

Without doubt, some parents would rally for the cause if their program went away, but far too many wouldn’t. We have to find ways to add to the value of afterschool. Even if what you offer must be provided free, we need to change that perception. People are accustomed to free things and experiences being flaky and unreliable. People want to connect with something they can count on. The R in free must stand for responsibility and relationship.

It might be controversial to suggest this, but afterschool programs need some barriers to entry and a sense of exclusivity that increases the perception of value. Exclusivity is quickly eroded by free. Yet, free is very hard to sustain. No one can overcome innumerable difficulties for long periods of time and pour energy into unsustainable endeavors that have very little if any financial return.

What do you think? Does the “free-ness” of afterschool outweigh the challenges of structures based on fees or other costs for enrollment?  Can “free-ness” ever achieve long-term sustainability? Looking to the future, do you think we should be cautious and thoughtful about giving our program offerings away for nothing in return and with no investment from those who benefit most?

Value is increased in afterschool programs when people connect with you and your staff!  Relationships matter. Shared knowledge and experiences create exclusivity. But to assure that we can attract and keep the very best people so those relationships continue to increase in value, we must pay them well to keep them so that we achieve the outcomes we expect to get.

That can’t be sustained when programs are free.

Paul G. Young, Ph.D.

President & CEO

National AfterSchool Association

Staring at Phones

I enjoy hosting my friends to watch collegiate football games on my big screen TV. Normally, we benefit socially from these times together. But increasingly, all anyone seems interested in doing is staring at their phones. No one shows much interest in the games. We don’t engage in intelligent conversation. I’ve even observed several friends spending much of the time watching score highlights on their ‘smart’ phones.

This winter, my concerns about cell phone etiquette were further heightened while attending a conference on the East Coast. There, I observed conference attendees engaged in similar behavior – staring at their phones. Worse, they had paid money to come (likely appropriated from their program budget) supposedly to learn from live, experienced trainers (I was one of them). At least my friends’ visit to my home had been free.

Then, an historic cell phone courtesy violation occurred earlier in January when the New York Philharmonic was presenting a live performance of Mahler’s Ninth Symphony. During the beautiful fourth movement, an audience member’s cellphone began ringing loudly. The recognizable iPhone marimba riff loudly filled Avery Fisher Hall, clearly discomforting the audience. 

What happened next is an exchange no afterschool presenter ever hopes to encounter during professional workshops or trainings.

Maestro Alan Gilbert halted the performance. He turned from his podium and asked that the offending noise be turned off. The offender was seated in the front row!

Following what reports categorized as shocking dialogue and an unforgettable moment in orchestral history, Gilbert apologized to the audience for the disruption, and was greeted with applause.

Before most concerts begin, an announcement is made requesting that cell phones be turned off. Similar announcements typically precede other events. We make them at professional conferences. Yet, too many people fail to comply.

Loud ringing is distracting and embarrassing. Some consider it rude. So is staring at phones while others speak.

We can do better. Hopefully, we can learn from the experience of others and avoid situations like that confronted the maestro. Let’s avoid the need to publically call out attendees at our gatherings who fail to comply with requests for common cell phone courtesy.

Better yet, let’s put our phones out of sight during trainings. Let’s stare at the speaker!  That simple act (and courtesy) will make everyone better, and smarter.

Paul G. Young, Ph.D.

President & CEO

National AfterSchool Association

On Being Succeeded

Dr. Paul G. Young
President & CEO
National AfterSchool Association

Leaders love it when they are needed. It stokes their ego. They love hearing how much they are appreciated. They love hearing comments like "What will we do without you?” “You have big shoes to fill.” “We like you, because you really understand us.” “You really get it!"  But leaders also know that those who say those words aren't likely to remember what they said for very long after they’re gone.

All leaders are replaceable.

My goal as I leave my leadership role at NAA is to futher define professionalism and develop other afterschool professionals so they succeed when I'm gone. Obviously, a major focus of my time and energy will be to work with and support the next association leader, whose official title will be Executive Director. Hopefully, that individual will come to the job with the requisite competencies needed to move forward in a timely manner. Those characteristics and skills will be assessed and determined by the NAA Board of Directors.

Without relationships, there is no association. My job will be to help the new leader review what I’ve done and understand the strategies I have used to build relationships with members. Allow the new leader, as you did me, the time needed to adjust, assess, cast a new vision, and begin in earnest the work of association leadership.

NAA is primed to provide the lead role for the development of high-quality professional development at the national level, which will grow the field. NAA has strategically moved from a focus on program accreditation to one of individual mastery of the essential core knowledge and competencies needed for effective program leadership. Where leaders demonstrate those competencies, program quality is bound to exist.

Although I haven't led NAA for an extensive period of time, I have worked hard to develop other leaders in the field, particularly in their work to connect with school leaders and align programming with the regular school day. That work continues to be my passion. Hopefully, I can continue to play an influential role initiating and promoting key conversations about collaboration, sharing turf and resources, and shaping school leaders’ paradigms of what afterschool is and can become.

Since the meaning of “retirement” means to withdraw and give up work, I choose to think differently about this time in my career calling it a ‘protirement” – an opportunity to be proactive, doing what I want to do when I want to do it.

I look forward to meeting my successor.

Thanks for your support.

Hanging Out Together

Register now at
http://www.naaweb.org/

There is a human tendency to band together. If you reflect back to your high school days, you’ll remember the cliques of kids with commons traits and interests, such as jocks, band geeks, tech nerds, and shy, quiet, and smart kids. They hung out together, socialized, and shared common experiences that would shape their lives. We need each other. We need to make the effort to hang out with each other.

Over the years, I feel I’ve increased my leadership skills because I’ve built a network of innovative, creative, and caring professionals that shared a singular purpose with me. I’ve learned different ways to manage my work and solve problems by listening to them. Often times, hanging out with other leaders helped me by just knowing that they faced the same challenges and frustrations as I did. But I’ve also watched colleagues that wanted to live and work in a cocoon – they suffered and succumbed to their problems. Those of us with professional networks who met and talked on a regular basis were emotionally strengthened by those connections.

NAA exists to be your professional network. When you get three or four afterschool program leaders in the same room and talking about what they do and how they do it, you are certain to profit. The benefits that come from putting like minds together are powerful. When we multiply those potential benefits by the numbers of professionals you can connect with at a state conference or a national convention, the results are priceless.

One of the greatest ways to keep your focus is to reward yourself for small accomplishments. As a band geek, my friends and I would celebrate good performances together. As an afterschool professional, celebrating a good “performance” might be a less tangible concept unless you consider your collective accomplishments envisioning, managing, and growing a program. That is definitely worth celebrating! Join us at the NAA National Convention where we will do just that!

Of course, not everyone from the field can make it to Dallas. But we can still “hang out” together when we connect through websites, list-serves, E-News, conference calls, and local gatherings. We connect when we read similar materials, dream big, and share ideas. Engaging in these professional activities while doing the work we do provides us the emotional strength and reassurance we need to meet the goals we are shooting for.

There are certainly those occasions when we can’t control what happens and we fall upon rough times. But how we handle what happens to us during tough times is within our control.  Hanging out together builds emotional capital. Our capacity to handle our professional challenges has everything to do with our emotional balance. Banded together, we can conquer the chaos and get through anything. Alone, you will be consumed.

Come hang out with us at the NAA National Convention in Dallas, Texas, April 2-4, 2012.

Paul G. Young, Ph.D.
President & CEO
National AfterSchool Association

Giving Feedback

Paul G. Young, Ph. D.
President & CEO
National AfterSchool Association

Mention the words “performance review”, and they often conjure up anxious memories of uncomfortable conversations with our bosses.  For many of us, those painful experiences ranked close to going to the dentist for a root canal. We’d do anything to avoid them. The documentation and feedback processes that were used often had little meaning.  Little good ever came from the experience.

The reality is, unfortunately, that many of us don’t conduct performance reviews with our staffs any better than our bosses. Most of us have never been trained in how to give supportive feedback. It's not a performance task in our long list of work responsibilities that typically gets perfected. We stress and worry about how to deliver unpleasant messages and respond to recipients’ reactions. So we tend to ignore or procrastinate until, quite often, pressure points build. When that happens, change often becomes unattainable.

In contrast, we all respond favorably to positive feedback. It has many benefits. It helps us all focus our attention and behavior. Giving it shows that we care and notice what others do. Since one of our primary responsibilities is to increase and enhance the skills of our professional staffs, providing feedback (positive or negative) is one of the most powerful tools we have as leaders. We need to learn to do it well.

We can learn a lot about giving feedback by observing what the great athletic coaches do. They train and mentor their players to improve, overcome mistakes, become a cohesive team, and achieve success.  Great coaches let their players know they care whether their feedback is positive or critical. They share strong interpersonal relationships. Expectations are clear. Feedback and ideas are communicated and exchanged in highly personalized ways. All players are given proper attention and training with opportunities to grow.

Our coaching work with afterschool professionals, hopefully under a lot less stress of most high profile coaches, is just as important. We can learn by observing them in order to improve our processes for giving feedback to our staffs. No matter our level of experience, we all have room for improvement.

We must focus more on observable work behaviors, less on attitude or personality traits. We must provide feedback in the moment, everyday, not days after the fact. It should be delivered in a short, informal, and mostly positive manner. We must encourage our staff members to provide peer feedback to each other, and just as in sports, to teach peer support processes to their students.

Furthermore, I encourage you to give feedback to your afterschool staff in this way. “Motivate on Monday” and give “Feedback on Friday”.  When your staff reports on Mondays, spend a few minutes outlining major goals and expectations for the week.  Allow time for questions. Provide encouragement. Highlight successes. Individualize as needed for each person. Be motivational. Set the tone for the week. Then, before everyone leaves on Friday, provide summary feedback that you haven’t otherwise shared throughout the week. Show people you care and how you will support them going forward.

Relationships are the key. Communication must be effective. Giving feedback, as challenging as it sometimes may be, is essential to grow and develop our staffs. Get involved with NAA where you will have many opportunities to listen and learn and further develop your leadership skills as an afterschool professional.

Flashbacks to Marching Band

Recently, a graduate from my high school posted an open question on Facebook, "You know you went to Fairfield Union High School if...". When curiosity finally got the best of me, I began reading the comments, many of which were from classmates I haven't seen or heard from in years. And since I was one of several graduates who returned to my high school after college to begin my teaching career (in my case as the band director), I became intrigued by what my former students were writing about me and my teaching colleagues from the 70s and early 80s. My former students now range in age from 45- 56.

I have to admit, what I've read has been fascinating. I feel like an evaluation of my work has been occurring all over again. Here's a sampling of what they recall:

·         I was tough and demanded the highest form of discipline.

·         I worked my students hard.

·         Students knew they were expected to perform and excel at a high level.

·         We held marching band practices in rain, snow, excessive heat, and bitter cold.

·         We were a family.

My former students remember incidences that I've long forgotten. But they remember the way I handled them as well as the people involved who became part of the school’s folklore. I remember some of the complaints and occasionally worried that perhaps my teaching style and rehearsal methods were too extreme. But time shapes our memories, in this case very fondly. Despite the love of music that they learned under my tutelage, it was the sense of discipline, work ethic, and pride that they valued even more. Many have described ways that those characteristics have carried them to success in their varied careers.

I wasn't their only teacher, of course. Facebook fans are also reflecting on the characteristics and idiosyncrasies of many other teachers and the pranks they pulled as part of high school. They remember how their teachers walked, talked, dressed, smelled - and cared. The smallest things made lasting impressions. It doesn't take much reading to discover the teachers that the students liked and who they didn't.

The point of my writing about things such as this in this blog is to remind afterschool professionals that you, too, will someday be fair game for an informal evaluation by your students when they become reflective about their time with you. You probably won't discover their feedback about you via Facebook, but rather, some kind of communication media we can't even imagine today. After all, for my former students who are reflecting about me, the slide rule was high tech for them when we shared those special high school years.

Never waver from your values. Set high expectations. Kids will rise up and meet them. Communication is essential. Listen. Smile. Dress professionally. Show that you care. Have fun.

Kids are always watching. The realization that my former students  now respect (for the most part) what we collectively did to become a successful marching band creates a sense of pride within me that is worth more than any amount of money.

Paul G. Young, Ph. D.

President & CEO

National AfterSchool Association

Encore Careers

Dr. Paul G. Young
President & CEO
National AfterSchool Association

As a music major in college, I was taught what needed to be done before and during concerts so that my audiences would ask for more. It’s every musician’s aspiration to finish a performance and hear shouts of bravo! and encore!

As an educator, I’ve approached my professional work as I was trained to do by my musical mentors.  My high school marching bands, 4^th and 5^th grade classrooms, and schools where I served as principal were my ‘concert venues’ where my students, staff,  and I worked to meet the highest expectations and plaudits from our supporters. Our success bred success. The more we did together, the more we realized we could do.

Then in 2004, after many years and many ‘performances’ came the age for retirement. Once I did it, I discovered retirement to be very challenging. I would dress, but have no place to go. I had no audiences to perform for. There was a big void in my life.

But rather quickly, I was presented opportunities in afterschool. And during that time, the term encore career was made popular.[1] I soon discovered more audiences, performance venues, and reasons to work hard. Life was good again.

But we were also taught another lesson in music school. Don’t let an encore become another concert! After one, or perhaps two short, delightful encores, there is an appropriate time to stop. To extend beyond that point is to risk leaving audiences privately wishing your performance would end so they could get on with other business, no matter how good you might think you are.

That time has come for me. My encore is finished. I choose to leave before I begin hearing boos instead of bravo. There may be smaller gigs that I can play from time to time, but no more long concert programs. There are younger professionals that must be given those opportunities.

It is no wonder so many Babyboomers are writing their own second acts or performing encores. The rewards—at least in terms of personal satisfaction—can be tremendous. We are retiring and finding ourselves in good health with a desire to do more, and give back.  We are fortunate to find jobs that combine personal meaning, provide continued income, and have potential for social impact. But we can’t let an encore career become another career!

What we can do is mentor, consult, and teach. In those ways, we can maintain our performance skills and realize continued value from our experience. But we also have to get out of the way and allow those younger to enjoy the limelight of the stage.

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[1] work in the second half of life that combines continued income, greater meaning and social impact. These are paid positions often in public interest fields such as education, the environment, health, government sector, social services and other nonprofits.

The Value in Complete Sentences

Dr. Paul G. Young
President & CEO
National AfterSchool Association

 In addition to my other professional work, I've enjoyed teaching music theory classes for 30 years as an adjunct professor at a regional campus of Ohio University. Many of my students would best be described as nontraditional college undergraduates - and definitely non-music majors.  For some, perhaps because they've already experienced some of life's tough knocks and limitations in the workforce, they've enrolled in college with aspirations of positioning themselves for better opportunities. Many of them know all too well the hardships of poverty. Most are recent high school graduates, and for numerous reasons (most always poverty-related issues) have chosen the regional campus college experience. In general, most of our community's more advanced and privileged high school graduates attend college elsewhere. Yet, what I find in my classes are hard working students, but they've probably never been considered to be stellar students by their former teachers. 

Read more as to why I think they've come to be perceived that way.

As they present themselves, it’s apparent to me why their peers outshined them. Many do not know how to effectively communicate. They have weak verbal skills. They lack command of sentence structure. More often than not, informal social skills and cues necessary for success in the middle class are lacking. And most can't put a sentence together without using the word “like” and other forms of verbal graffiti. Added to those gaffes, they often fail to make good eye contact. And when they shake hands, they expose their lack of self-confidence. I hate wet noodles.

Besides providing them with an introduction to music theory, I also teach ‘Communication 101’ to help address these issues and provide them an advantage. Some get it, others don't. Those that don't work to improve will be perpetually held back and continue to fall to the bottom of the class or any other professional setting. They will fail to reap the rewards of their college training, not because they can't master the basic content, but because they can't express themselves during important high stakes, middle class conversations, such as a job interview.

One of the most important gifts we can give our afterschool program participants is an awareness of the importance and mastery ability to speak in complete sentences – in English. Teaching and modeling proper verbal communication skills should take place every minute of every day in every afterschool program. It won’t cost anything extra. It simply requires a staff with a clear vision and commitment of purpose to equip kids with one of the most important and essential life skills. But achieving the desired outcome requires focused teaching, modeling, and relating language and communication experiences to the real world. It demands persistence over time. Kids can learn how to properly shake hands. They can make eye contact. They can speak with proper inflections, nuances, and grammatically correct usage of nouns, verbs, and adjectives if they are continually encouraged and reinforced by caring and nurturing adults.

I'm convinced that many of my college students will eventually become fantastic workers. But they'll pay a huge price and wait a long time to see a return on the investment of their training if they don't learn how to speak. I recognize that many possess a warm personality and intelligence. But without self-confidence (which comes from teaching and practice), their verbal skills will hold them back.

Please provide your kids with that time to practice and gain confidence speaking in complete sentences. In the end, that may be more of an important edge for them than mastery of content knowledge or a high test score.

Don't let kids leave your programs until they can confidently talk their way out of it.

Just Do It



Register for the GO FAR race
 at the 2012 convention



Nike's iconic trademark and motto are universally recognized. They convey an image and message of self-reliant athleticism that leads to success. Buying Nikes is easy, but it’s the regular usage of them that is not so much fun for some.

I think that most people I know and meet in the world of afterschool education are knowledgeable. But I find too many that fail to act as effectively as they can on what they know. Most of us know what's right to do. We understand what actions and behaviors will lead to desirable outcomes, but we often fail to act on what we know is right. Like our kids, we sometimes just need some gentle (or perhaps not so gentle) reminders. That's really the essence of most of my blog entries - practical, common sense advice and reminders of things most of us already know. My intent is that with a little nudge, these reminders will prompt you (and me) to take action and realize significant change as professionals.

Take exercising, for example. Or even more so, consider how the role modeling of good exercise, eating, and healthy living habits impacts your kids. Do you have an interest and commitment to reduce the incidence of childhood and adult obesity?

We don't lack for knowing what to do about that issue. We lack for doing something about it.

When I get on my soapbox about this issue and gently (or not so gently) nudge, I sometimes stir up anxieties and feel tension within my audiences. I observe a consensus that afterschool professionals intellectually know what they should do, but they allow too many barriers or obstacles to get in the way. And more than any other barriers, our self-imposed choices get in the way and prevent us from adopting a healthier lifestyle.

My blogs are also intended to push your mind-set, challenge your methodologies, educate, encourage, nudge, and help you achieve success regardless of your circumstances. It's my hope that reading my words will enlighten you to move beyond the information I share (much of which I know you already know) and inspire you to take action.

So again, let’s reflect on exercising, personally and with our program staff and participants.  Most of us would like to increase our personal level of fitness. We can't refute or deny what the research says. Most of us are informed and know what we should do, we just don't do it. We lack conviction to embrace change. But with a collective effort, I think most of us can make changes necessary to improve our health – and many other facets of our personal and professional lives. It is imperative that we teach our kids how to do so, both in school and afterschool.

At last year's NAA convention, we partnered with the North Carolina-based GO FAR (Go Out For A Run) Club to sponsor a 5k race/fun walk as part of our convention. This year, we anticipate 750-1000 kids from the Frisco, TX, schools and other nearby areas to participate in our second event (all those little people might trample us old folks). I envision a glorious spectacle. Afterschool program leaders, particularly in Frisco, have embraced the 10-week eating and fitness program from GO FAR as an actionable way to inform, teach, engage, and actually do something alongside their kids to create change. You can, too.

Check out this inexpensive program at http://www.gofarclub.org/.  Start a club in your afterschool program. Create change. You'll have many reasons and outcomes to celebrate after just 10 weeks.

Come on, just do it!

Paul G. Young, Ph. D.

President & CEO

National AfterSchool Association

Are You an Active Listener or a Multitasker?

Dr. Paul G. Young
President & CEO
National AfterSchool Association

I must admit, my attention span seems to be getting shorter and shorter. I'm like the kids in school and our afterschool programs that seem to have ants in their pants. But unlike those squirming youngsters, I know what I am doing. I allow myself to be distracted. I know the research proves that multitasking is a myth. But like a fool, I try to multitask anyway.

I don't like this characteristic about myself very much.

Do I have your attention?

If you're like me, you participate in lots of meetings, face-to-face or virtually using a phone and computer. If the agenda isn't relevant with engaging content, I start checking email, texting, doodling, thinking, creating a “to-do” list, or simply watching other people. If the meeting leader allows the flow of the meeting to drag, I get bored. I drift off and become distracted by my thoughts or any other environmental stimuli.

One of my college music theory professors once stopped his lecture and asked, “Paul, how many leaves are left on that tree outside our classroom?”

Multitaskers relish irrelevancy. Everything distracts and slows them down. Despite what they’d like to think, they don’t have an undivided attention span. They can remember very little of what distracted them, and as a result, they gain minimal benefits from participating in meetings. Research shows that our brains struggle to process more than one bit of information at a time.   Multitaskers waste time and productivity by constantly, compulsively, and actively switching between random activities.

Virtual meetings by conference call have become multitaskers’ play time.  Many people have come to view a regularly scheduled conference call meeting as a free opportunity to shut their office doors, log onto the calls, activate the mute function, and then start multitasking as they listen (or try to) to the meeting presenter(s). No matter how hard we try, the distractions that can occur during conference calls are tempting and too numerous to stay focused. Boring conference calls don’t work, because they just invite more multitasking without fear of being caught.

Let's commit to doing better. Afterschool professionals must adhere to meeting norms and expectations, and presenters must keep things moving with content that is relevant and engaging.

We can do better and get more done virtually. Our meetings can become the exception to the rule. We can be remarkable. We just have to try - and not multitask.

The Value of Piano Recitals

As I reflect upon those formative years when my daughters were elementary-age students, my favorite memories include their earliest piano recitals. My wife and I elevated these into important events in their young lives. Looking back, I hope we didn't create unrealistic expectations. But we never wavered from an expectation that they would participate and do their best.

Fast forward to today, both have become successful professional women with many accomplishments while performing and advancing in their chosen careers. Katie has become the principal oboist with the Florida Orchestra and Mary Ellen an editor with McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Both have developed confidence in the technical, professional, and political aspects of their work. But more importantly, they have acquired high levels of self-confidence, particularly when speaking or "performing" in front of others. I think the roots of that confidence and their ability to self-express can be traced back to their learning experiences during to those childhood piano recitals.

Without any doubt, our daughters benefitted from having two parents who themselves had both majored in music. But neither of us were pianists. Much more importantly, they had an uncompromising yet outstanding piano teacher (after school). Mrs. Seeley modeled confidence and performance skill and insisted her students do the same. Besides learning about music and the piano, our girls were taught stage presence, poise, performance skills, public speaking, and the skill of improvising and thinking fast in the present. They learned to deliberately focus their practice sessions (homework) on what required the most effort and improvement. They learned self-discipline and responsibility. Our daughters now know that these peripheral performance skills have greatly influenced their ability to succeed as adults.

And, as you would likely imagine, those life performance skills were learned after school!

I challenge our professionals to develop multiple opportunities in our afterschool programs so that all kids can attain these advantages. They can be learned in many disciplines besides music, such as athletics, clubs, extracurricular activities, and enrichment endeavors. Many kids can, and must, be taught these success skills without the benefit of parental support. And believe it or not, we can teach kids to perform while learning math and reading.

I encourage you to prioritize the teaching of the peripheral performance skills in your afterschool program. In every way you can, I encourage you to create opportunities for kids where they can show what they know and can do so in front of supportive adults. Encourage them to speak and express their own thoughts, to improvise, and to show poise under pressure. They will thank you for these valuable learning experiences after they have successfully interviewed for jobs in a competitive market.

Share your ideas and best practices with our members. Together, we can greatly add to the value of afterschool experiences.

Paul G. Young, Ph. D.

President & CEO

National AfterSchool Association

Working With Millennials

As I travel the country, I frequently overhear afterschool program directors (who appear to be age 40 or older) commiserating about the difficulties they have working with their youngest employees – those twenty-somethings that social psychologists are calling the millennials. Some of the descriptors I hear about the challenges are that these workers are uninterested in work, unprofessional, complacent, lazy, carefree, late to work, always multitasking, and more. There are some obvious generational disconnects.  That may be nothing new.

I am sure there were plenty of issues raised when my generation, the babyboomers, entered the workforce, especially during the tumultuous late 60 and early 70s. After all, we thought nothing about bringing our freewill spirit, long hair, and wearing hippy attire complete with dirty bellbottom jeans and sandals to work. We were young and oblivious to what our elders thought, or cared.

The millennials go by many names - Generation Y, Generation Next, or the Echo Boomers (yes, many millennials are boomers’ kids.) This group generally is said to be born from 1982 through the early 2000s. They’ve been pampered by doting parents who structured their lives to take advantage of increasing numbers of learning and social experiences. Television, computers, the Internet, and myriad digital communication devices have shaped their outlook, behaviors, and skills. Millennials text message more than they talk. In their world, there are always unlimited minutes. As a group, they are bright, cheerful, cooperative, and display a “can-do” attitude about tasks at work. Yet, to afterschool program leaders, many are presenting an “I-don’t-want-to-do-this-type-of-work” attitude.

So what is research revealing that can help our older leaders when working with millennials?

Be patient. Tolerate differences and try to understand. Because of their schooling, many millennials feel that they are better suited for higher-level work above entry positions. They appear unwilling or unable to start at the bottom and work their way up. They view grunt work as something other people should do. They don’t buy into the concept of paying one’s dues.  They expect to work hours that fit their schedule, not the other way around. The reality is that many can jump right in and succeed.  But not all.

When hiring and working with millennials, make sure expectations are very clear. Don’t make demands that won’t work. To avoid conflicts and unhappiness, allow for flexibility and teamwork. Provide constant feedback.

Embrace the millennials’ love for technology. Encourage them to use it. Challenge them with new assignments and teach them about the importance of professional credibility. Remember, this group’s constant connection to technology will keep them linked to it while performing their jobs more than their older coworkers.

From an early age, millennials have learned, been allowed, and even been encouraged to be multitaskers.  They will easily become distracted. They must be provided parameters of when, where, and how they can multitask at work, especially when working with children and youth. They must be taught about the dangers and mistakes that multitasking can create in their work performance.

Millennials also want to know why an activity is important before they listen to what must be done. When asking these questions, they aren’t being defiant. They just want to know their role in the grand scheme of things. We need to help them discover their reason to care. When asked, explain the why.

Millennials are the future of afterschool. They value a balance between work and life, rewards, achievement, attention, simplicity, informality, meaning, and multitasking. They bring fresh perspective to an afterschool setting many grew up in when younger. We must accept their values and create a work culture that is millennial-friendly. We must adapt behaviors and learn skills that engage them. Babyboomers must accept millennials without bias, communicate and connect with them, and establish meaning and accountability in their work. Direct those who appear unfocused and indifferent.

Millennials are creative, generous, educated, and enjoyable. Without doubt, babyboomers and those of other generations wanted to be viewed by our first employers in much the same way. We came to work expecting our unique differences to be accepted. 

Nothing is new.

Paul G. Young, Ph.D.

President & CEO

National AfterSchool Association