WHY MAGIC TRICKS MATTER TO OUR KIDS… by Steve Trash®
It’s official.
We live in a “Hey Siri” and “Alexa” world of instant downloads, GPS, fast food, selfies and “on-demand” everything.
The world is moving at a speed no-one can catch up with and all the while we seem to have less patience, less consideration and less real human interaction than ever before.
You may have even noticed that your kids (students) are less and less prepared and less thoughtful of others than ever before.
Ironically, social media is limiting our interactions with others and turning every one of us into more of an introvert day by day.
Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat and other various social networking apps and websites are eating up kids’ time and creating anxiety and depression at unprecedented rates as they do so.
This is not good for society and we all need to slow down this runaway train just a bit.
As an educator, you have a direct connection to kids’ lives and, by association, their future. Even when it all seems chaotic you play a key role in which track your kids end up on. I know it’s tough to see a way through the fog, din and confusion so here’s what I’ve been thinking about. How do we get this upcoming generation of kids to interact positively with each other once again?
This is what I came up with.
We can’t stop the train, but as educators, we can tap the brakes and get it heading in a better direction.
This is gonna sound weird, but I think magic is the answer.
Yeah… magic tricks. But hear me out. I know a lot about magic. I’ve been a magician for a very long time. I’m dyslexic and from the time I was 8 years old (I’m 58 right now), I’ve tried to learn as much about performing magic tricks as I could.
Even though I have difficulty reading, I love reading magic books because I really love magic!
I also love music but it’s different than magic. I play a recycled Cigar Box Guitar, and I play it on my front porch even if no one else is around to listen.
But magic is different. Magic is an empathetic art. It’s interpersonal. There MUST be someone there to share your magic with or it does not exist.
And magic requires you to develop some skill at understanding and relating to other people.
The success of a good magic trick requires you to understand what someone else is thinking and feeling. Most magic tricks require interaction with others, giving instructions and responding to what others do in an appropriate manner.
The human connection.
What magic also requires of you is preparation, practice and most importantly, being a creative story-teller to make it fun and memorable.
And of course, magic is all about sharing with others.
There is no magic if you aren’t sharing it.
On April Fools Day 2021 I am gonna launch my own version of Harry Potter’s Hogwarts School. It’s called the Alabama Academy of Magic.
We exclusively use the Discover Magic Curriculum and it’s absolutely brilliant because it uses magic tricks to teach life lessons. Kids come along for the tricks but the lessons they learn go WAAAAAY beyond simple magic tricks. That’s its value.
It leverages the power and excitement of learning magic’s secrets to get kids to put down their electronic devices and learn important social and emotional skills. Things like using people’s names and looking others in the eyes. Embedded in these fun and interactive classes are simple and powerful life-changing lessons.
We teach the importance of being prepared, being humble and being your best self all in the context of what it takes to be a good magician.
Through the act of performing magic and working with others, kids build self-confidence, make new friends and develop priceless communication skills that will really impact the rest of their lives.
Alabama Academy of Magic program ACTUALLY IS MAGIC!!!
Discover Magic is licensed exclusively in Alabama by the national PBS TV Star (and Alabama Native) – Steve Trash®.
WHY MAGIC TRICKS MATTER TO OUR KIDS… by Steve Trash®
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