What makes magic so appealing? No matter your age magic is intriguing. Not only kids are mesmerized by magic tricks, but teens and adults as well. Magic allows people's imaginations to go wild. They can make up endless possibilities when it comes to finding answers. There is not wrong answer when it comes to magic which is why kids are so amazing. This is how kids imaginations work all the time until they are taught that there are only so many right way to do things. Teaching kids that there are only so many or only one right answer to a problem causes narrow mindedness or inability to think outside the box. For example when we walk into a room, what do we do? Turn on a light. If Albert Einstein accepted that there was only one way to do things correctly we would not have light today. If Ransome Eli Olds did not think outside of the box we would not have ever had assembly lines which would severely impact the world today. Great inventors do not think inside the box. They may get tangled up in some of society’s “patterns” or “cultures”, but they are not afraid to take chances and make mistakes.

Learning should be magical for students. Learning in classrooms should swallow up students the same way a magician does the audience. Children should have fun and be learning at the same time. In a second grade class, why can we not make cartoons? Why are we not playing to learn? Direct instruction has taken over the education system and is boring kids in schools every day.

Do you remember being in pre-school? Many people do not remember pre-school. Personally, I do not, but I taught in a pre-school and as a young adult I never had so much fun learning. Kids have a passion for learning. They play, color, dance, think, innovate, and grow through all different ways. Going to an ice cream store… just a trip for fun? No, we learned colors, textures, manners, and other things. In high school chemistry students make ice cream. I bet this is one of the lessons students remembering them most. I remember tye-dying in high school chemistry. Think back to any grade level. What is the most vivid memory you have learning a lesson in school? I guarantee that it was either something fun and interacting or in some way playing and this lesson stuck.

I know it gets harder as kids get older to let kids learn though playing, but even adults have fun innovating and working together. When did a quiet classroom become such a big deal? Why does the classroom have to be quiet all the time. Observing in a school day, I’d say about 85% of the day students are told to be quiet. Now think about yourself as an adult. 85% of the day being told to be quiet… kind of unrealistic! Adults are making phone calls, interacting with people, asking questions, and making connections. Are we limiting social skills in schools by asking students to work quietly so often? Just another something to think about.

Therefore, even though kids get older, their play time, imagination and creativity should not be limited. Middle school should have more lessons hands on and creating things. High school should have lessons where they make cartoons and tell stories about them. A certain age level should not limit the mind and its possibilities. The brain has ideas that are magical and no matter what age, just like magic, should be limitless for all ages.

Here is a fun sight for kids :)

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