VIVA PRESS

For just over one year, I have spent a few hours a week as an educational clown in schools around Israel. It doesn’t matter at which school I clown. I meet the same types of kids – although each unique in his or her own way, of course. There are the popular kids and the super popular ones. There are the followers and leaders. There are the loners and the socially awkward kids. There are well-spoken and rude kids. The outspoken and silent ones. And every day – except for Satur

Killer clowns are way more popular than their therapeutic counterparts. Although that shouldn’t be surprising. It’s been shown that people respond better to negative stimuli. I typed the words, Killer Clown, into Google search. The result: About 53,600,000 results (0.76 seconds). I then typed the words, Therapeutic Clown, into Google search. The result: About 1,580,000 results (0.46 seconds) In Yahoo search, Killer Clowns offered 15,100,000 results while Therapeutic Clowns li

Journalists have been called clowns. And when they are, it’s usually a negative remark. There's even something known as a "clown question" -- it mean an irrelevant question. Clowns are hardly ever – if ever – called journalists. But they could be. Clowning attributes include flexibility, creativity and wanting to know more. Journalist traits are not that different. My clown’s theatrical skills are still at the lower levels. I have so much to still learn. But my communication

Two years ago, I crossed the lines of writing about the arts -- which I’ve done for over 20 years as a journalist -- to being in the world of the arts. At first, it was a very strange, curious and out-of-my-box experience to be on the other side. It was Oshi, my clown alter ego, who took me to the other side. Of course, that’s one of the key things an alter ego is good for: to do something completely out of your box. And clowning – medical, educational, social – was definit

My 12-year-olds had a tweenager quarrel. He said. She said. It happened suddenly while we were sightseeing. On a hot day. In the sun. So, as any good parent who has been learning and applying the principles of improvisation and clowning these last two years – in the classroom, as an educational clown in schools and in devouring numerous research papers on the subject– would do, I agreed that such bickering should continue. The theatrical game of “Yes, And…” My caveat: That it

Sometimes you need an outsider to show you what's happening in your neighborhood. Journalist and filmmaker Zhou Yijun dedicates an episode of her education series, Childhood Elsewhere, to what's happening in Israel. The documentary series, now showing on Youku, offers a fascinating look at the culture of education in Japan, Finland, India, the UK and Israel as compared to China. The Israel episode looks at this country’s views on education styles, innovation from a young age,

Twice a week, I work as an educational clown. The rest of the week, I work as an innovation journalist and give talks on the culture of innovation. So, this morning, when I went to the TV studio for an interview it could have been a typical outing. But today, I was being interviewed – and not the other way around. Moreover, I was dressed as Oshi, my educational clown alter ego. Upon walking into the waiting area of the studio, however, my eyes nearly popped out from excitemen

For the past five years, I’ve focused my public speaking on the innovation stories I’ve covered as a journalist. I love speaking to groups about the Israel of today: a tiny country out in the Middle East and yet one of the most important sources of pioneering ideas for the world. As a journalist and speaker, I take the role of storyteller seriously. That’s not to say my talks are solely serious-minded. I’ve always included humor in what I do. I inherited a healthy dose of sar

As an educational clown, adding humor to the school day impacts the openness to learning. Sometimes, being silly and offering another perspective is just that: fun. At a primary school recently, my clown alter-ego, Oshi, was asked to help find a broom. Oshi found a chair. The two first-graders looked at Oshi like she didn’t understand. In Hebrew, chair and broom almost rhyme. So, she explained that if they took her to their classroom, she’d explain to the teacher that althoug

Back-to-school season is underway. For teachers that means lesson plans, learning students’ names, teaching strategies, classroom guidance. For school counselors that means alternate frames of reference, classroom guidance, defiant kids, building self-esteem. For parents that means navigating jitters, providing emotional support, easing anxieties, setting a homework tempo. For Oshi, my alter-ego educational clown, back-to-school means adding humor to the school day. It means

The tweenager woke up angry. Everyone was to blame. Her youngest brother “took” her spot on the couch. Even though she had vacated said spot about 15 minutes prior. She didn’t like that her other brother had a spot while “hers” was nowhere in sight. No, she would not sit in another spot on the couch. She brought her wrath to the breakfast table. So, I asked her to explain her feelings so that we could all move on from her irritation to a more pleasant atmosphere. But she was

Niv Morgenstern, an educational entrepreneur who is on a mission to creating a relevant learning experience in the 21st century, runs a podcast on education. He invited me -- and my alter ego, Oshi -- to come and talk about my forays in education innovation. Usually, I speak and write about the innovation and creativity taking place in Israel and where it can be seen in the global community. Today's podcast focused on my role as an educational clown in the Israeli educational

Inevitably, at least once a day at school, Oshi is called a killer clown. Of course, take one look at Oshi – an educational therapeutic clown – and it is obvious that her fashion sense of dots, stripes, bright colors, flowers, no face makeup or wig and goofy facial expressions aren’t exactly killer clown material. Yet, the students at the schools at which Oshi works use the name-calling to strike up conversation. And Oshi is only too happy to play along. The “game” begins wit

I love giving talks. I love giving talks about Israel. Specifically, about modern day Israel. And, never about politics! I gives talks about contemporary Israel because I feel it is important to share these stories with as many people as possible. I speak about the culture of creativity and innovation here, in Israel. This country’s amazing achievements belie its size. How does an idea become a global solution? I have oodles of examples of the chutzpah (in the best sense of t

“I don’t want to talk to you,” a sixth grader recently told me. “Good. Cuz I don’t want to talk to you either,” I replied. “I only want to talk to the girl sitting beside you.” He loved my response. He knew we had just begun the “Yes, And!” game. And he couldn’t wait for my next move. My sparring partner for this match of “Yes, And!” was a kid with a lot of drama in his life. He is a kid who needs boundaries to function but hates limits set upon him. We meet once a week. He

As soon as the kids saw me walking towards the school gate, they screamed my clown name: “Oshi! Oshi!” They had big news to share with me: I was in their school newspaper. It was great excitement for them that Leepa and I (we split days as educational clowns at this school) made it into the school magazine. Before I had time to even walk up the steps to enter the front door of the school, a girl was already pulling my hand to come meet the writer of the few sentences that had

So, there I was, moderating and speaking on a panel about innovation at the International Lion of Judah Conference in Hollywood, Florida and my fellow panelists and I knew that the last topic I was going to introduce could be a hit or miss with the audience. I regularly give talks about innovation and creativity taking place in Israel and how it benefits the global community. But this time, I was asked to talk about the personal innovation in my life. That meant that my educa

I have never been fashion-conscious. But as an educational clown, I have turned into a fashionista of sorts. I find it hilarious. Every costume I put together excites me. It took me a while to get the hang of what kind of style I wanted to show. If I'm going to a high school to clown I won't wear the same thing as if I were going to a medical center. Primary school visits also entail a change in wardrobe. And now, when I post my latest outfits, a whole social media community

At an elementary school today, the pupils made sure to tell Educational Clowns Oshi and Leepa about all the things we didn't know. We didn't know our style of dress was out-of-style. We didn't know our hair bows were called 'ugly.' We didn't know how to do Fortnite dances properly. We didn't know that Oshi's knapsack was for little kids only, not for educational clowns. We didn't know that when you go to the bathroom, it is best to be followed there by a group of kids. There

“Leepa and Oshi are coming!!!!” one pupil shouted from the front gate of an elementary school. Within seconds, a gaggle of pupils from first through sixth grades crowded the gate chanting a welcoming cheer for us, educational clowns. “Go straight. Turn to the left. Come to us. No… go straight. Turn to the right. Now straight. Come to us.” The excitement rose and rose. So, we – Leepa and Oshi – slowed down our walk towards the gate. The anticipation only grew. A teacher up on