Eye On Education: Urban Improv Tackles Tough Talks
BOSTON (CBS) -- Through music, laughs -- and sometime silly wigs -- hundreds of kids are getting the opportunity to tackle some tough subjects.
"It's around violence prevention, conflict resolution, peer pressure," explains Toby Dewey the artistic director of Urban Improv.
Urban Improv runs dozens of workshops all year long for more than 1,000 students in Boston and the suburbs.
WBZ-TV was invited to a workshop with 6th graders from the Boston Teachers Union School that focused on snitching. The actors and educators of Urban Improv start a scene and then the kids get a chance to play out how they would handle the situation like a friend cheating off your test or a classmate bringing a weapon to school.
Most of the kids were eager to jump in and to talk to us about why these workshops are so important.
"When you're in the real world you don't have 5 minutes to think about it and here you do," one said.
"I learned that when you do something there's always a solution to it," another said.
"I learned how to make decisions in the real world and a lot of reactions people will make to my decisions," another said.
Even after 20 years, Dewey is still surprised by the powerful and impromptu performances.
Dewey says the most satisfying part of this program is "seeing the kids change and grow and come out of their shells and find their voice."
"We've had teachers who say this person has never spoken in class and now they are participating." explains Boston Teachers Union School teacher Melissa Lyons.
When we asked the kids what they liked so much about the improv, they all came up with the same word "funny." But humor is only one piece of this 9-week program funded through donations and grant money.
"Everyone wants to have hope and believe in who they are and giving them that opportunity is so important," says Dewey.
If you have a story you think should be featured in our "Eye on Education" series let us know about it. Email us at eyeoneducation@cbs.com, or send Paula a tweet @PaulaEbbenWBZ.
