Looking Back: Some of Our Favorite Interviews

By Sam Piha

Sam Piha

The Learning in Afterschool & Summer project posted our first blog post on October 6, 2010. Since then, we had attracted 142,000 views. The purpose of the blog is to interview thought leaders in the field of afterschool and summer, alert readers to important developments, and provide commentary and an exchange between readers. 

Some of our colleagues have expressed a concern that because so many afterschool workers are young, underpaid, and have a short tenure, they “can’t handle” so much information. We are mindful of this concern, but are convinced that many of the youth worker professionals have made this work a vocation and deserve to have access to leading thinkers and researchers. 

Below (in no particular order) are some of our favorite interviews that we have published on our blog. We urge readers to click on these to go back and view these interviews. (There are many other great blog posts that are not included in this list.)

• Youth Voice: A Perspective on Hiring Young People in Afterschool Programs (Youth Leaders)

• Growth Mindsets: An Interview with Mindset Works CEO, Eduardo Briceño
• What Kids Can Tell Us About Motivation and Mastery - Part 1 (Kathleen Cushman)
• The Importance of Social-Emotional Learning (Joseph Durlak)
• Employability Skills Framework (Laura Rasmussen Foster)
• Mindfulness in Afterschool Programs, Part 1 (Laurie Grossman)
• All Things Girls and STEM, Part 1 (Linda Kekelis)
• All About Character (Tom Little)
• Expanding Horizons and Global Learning (Alexis Menten)
• Opportunities, Not Achievement: An Interview With Richard Milner

• Affordable Housing Communities: The Third Place for Afterschool (Susan Neufeld)
• Checking in with Dr. Pedro Noguera
• Expanded Learning Requires Expanded Thinking: An Interview with Karen Pittman, Part 1
• Afterschool Programs Matter for Rural Youth (Logan Robertson)
• How LIAS Can Strengthen the STEM Movement (Carol Tang)
• Paul Tough, How Children Succeed and Non-cognitive Skills
• Afterschool Program Participation and the Achievement Gap (Deborah Vandell)
• Ask Dr Judy: The Essential Neuroscience of Learning (Judy Willis)