Can harmonies help kids learn history? Can rhymes reinforce reading skills? Local educator and La Cañada resident Tim Griffin seems to think so.
A longtime Los Angeles Unified School District teacher with a proclivity for music, Griffin regularly wove music and performing arts into his lessons to grab students' attention and reinforce core content standards. He penned clever songs covering everything from the American Revolution to zoology.
Now he wants to share his talents, and the benefits of using the arts to aid learning, with others. Griffin recently retired from teaching to create a nonprofit that offers free song downloads, live performances and writing workshops to the public. Griffin Education Solutions aims to show that music helps kids learn and reaches students who may otherwise struggle with the curriculum.
"This is not just some kind of party trick. This really works," he explains. "It accesses parts of our brains that are actually older than our speech centers."