Do You Believe in Magic?
When people talk about childhood idols and heroes, I always say David Copperfield. No, not the character from Dickens. The other character:
If you don’t know of the man above, David Copperfield is an international illusionist who has performed all over the world. He did a series of specials in the 80’s and 90’s on televisionand currently performs daily in Las Vegas.
David Copperfield wasn’t just simplemagic. There was spectacle; there were music and lights; there was a story; there was the attractive girl; there was the impossible becoming possible in a few minutes. Illusions were almost performed like MTV music videos. I was obsessed.
My love for illusions and magic was instantaneous. There was a magic shop in town that I was stopping in every day after school to either learn a trick or save up lunch money (sorry Mom) and buy a new trick each week. At one point, I had a duffle bag full of all sorts of tricks.
AsI got older, I tried to break out into the entertainment scene. I had a clown costume and a mime outfit. I tried rocking out some tricks and entertainment at street fairs and local township events. I thought I had something really special in 6th-grade until I bombed two magic tricks on stage. I didn’t really generate much business in 7th and 8th grade, but I did manage to start a clown ministry program at my church. It was cool, but high school came along, and my bag of tricks retired to the attic.
Fast forward about 14 years to my first administrative position as an Assistant Principal in a middle school. Truly a job where you will never know what will happen, I came across a special 6th-grade student named Max. Max had school phobiato the worst degree. On many days in the beginning of the year, Max refused to leave the car. On the days he did, he was so reluctant to come in, he would be crying and sometimes even screaming. I was determined to find a way to get Max into school in a safe and quiet manner.
And then it happened. Like magic.
I went home that day and searched all over for my bag of magic tricks. I found it. Like riding a bike, the magic tricks came back after a few tries. I practiced on my wife and my dog. I was determined to get the patter (amagic term for story) down and if there were any movements as well. The next day that Max was refusing to get out of the car, I had my magic bag. While some Child Study Team members looked at me oddly for performing the vanishing coloring book trick to a 6th-grader who was kicking the door so I couldn;t open it, he was hooked. Eventually, he asked how I did it. That’s when I broke the magician’s code. I told Max I would show him how the trick worksIFhe came in. Just like that…magic.
Once a week, I would teach Max a new trick that he could try on his classmates and family members at home, but only if he could come in without fuss and go right to class. WE did this for about 2 months, and then he didn’t want the magic anymore; he just wanted to come into class.
I got to use the bag of tricks with a few more students in LAC, and even where I am now. The same deal is reached; if you {come to school} or {behave} or {get all of your homework done}, you can learn a new trick. Believe in the power of magic; it works wonders in lives of all ages.
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