Educational Improv Works

How does the brain improvise? We asked a rapper, a jazz pianist and a comedy duo to find out. Scientists have discovered that our brains are shaped by creative behaviors. We explore the secrets of improvisation, with GoldLink, pianist Jason Moran, and a comedy duo from Upright Citizens Brigade.

Young Americans are the loneliest, surprising study from Cigna shows And, believe it or not, social media usage is not correlated with loneliness but face to face conversation is an antidote if you're socially isolated.

EIW founder Tim Clue writes: I've already talked about the health benefits of a later school start time for students, as recommended by the AMA and the American Academy of Pediatrics. Now there's research that looks at the effect on academic achievement, and even the economic impact of starting school later so kids can get more sleep:

"But more sleep has been shown to lead to higher academic achievement. They found that the added academic benefit of later start times would be equivalent to about two additional months of schooling, which they calculated would add about $17,500 to a student’s earnings over the course of a lifetime."

Now that's what I call making money in your sleep!

The Economic Case for Letting Teenagers Sleep a Little Later We’ve known for a while that adolescent sleep cycles and high school hours are misaligned. But this is not just a health problem.

One teacher wrote: "I did not feel I was leaving my job. I felt then and feel now that my job left me. It is with deep love and a broken heart that I write this letter."

This is an important read about why talented, dedicated teachers are leaving the field — and how we need to do better by them.

Teacher resignation letters paint bleak picture of US education As teacher resignation letters increasingly go public - and viral - new research indicates teachers are not leaving solely due to low pay and retirement, but also because of what they see as a broken education system.

Our founder Tim Clue, Speaker and Comedian recently spoke at the Transitions 2016 conference at Lynn University in Boca Raton. The focus of the event is one that ties in nicely with our mission here at EIW: empowering learning for students of all kinds, including those who learn differently. So it was a great opportunity to share ideas with a terrific group of educators who are working to open students' minds and hearts.

As Tim said during his keynote address: "We need to worry less about teaching kids what to think, and get excited about teaching kids *how* to think. Help them find their best brain."

Tim also shared some of EIW's exercises with the educators in attendance and got a huge response — lots of great positive feedback to help energize us as we move forward.

Thanks to on Twitter for sharing this photo of Tim (right) at the event, with author and fellow speaker Dr. Harold "Hackie" Reitman (center), along with one of the educators in attendance.

More info about Transitions 2016:
http://events.lynn.edu/upcoming-events/2015-2016/transitions-201