We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Alan Kratish a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alan, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you feel you or your work has ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized? If so, tell us the story and how/why it happened and if there are any interesting learnings or insights you took from the experience?

My business is called South Florida Magic School. Seems self-explanatory, right? A place to send your kids to learn magic tricks. But teaching kids magic is not our raison d’etre. Our primary mission is to get kids looking up from their computer screens, into another person’s eyes, and communicating with them. We aim to teach kids positive character traits, like respectfulness and creativity, while building their self-confidence. Qualities that will improve their lives and benefit them for years to come.

Alan, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Like many other magicians, I was bitten by the magic bug at a very young age. Although I still feel like a kid, I’ve now been learning, performing and teaching magic for more than fifty years, so you can do the math. Several people helped me along the way, but I didn’t really have a mentor. Much of what I learned came from books and hanging around magic shops. I love magic and working with kids and I think that my passion shows. That enthusiasm is one of the things I hope to convey to my students. I encourage kids to have fun, think of others and always give their best. I wish there had been a school like this when I was a kid, I would have certainly attended

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

I was very fortunate to discover an organization called Discover Magic, a network of magicians who use a very special curriculum to teach magic, positive character traits and communication skills to kids around the world. It’s an “amazing” group of people who are very generous with their ideas and resources, so that we all benefit from the shared knowledge. (See what I did there? “Amazing” magicians!)

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

Magic is a rare and valuable art form and has been recognized as such by the US Congress in 2016. (https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-resolution/642/text)

When I started South Florida Magic School in 2015, I was pretty serious about teaching the “art of magic.” What I came to realize is that, with a few rare exceptions, the vast majority of the kids who take our classes probably aren’t going to pursue magic as a career, or even as a meaningful long-term hobby. They don’t want to be so serious about it.

Another thing I found out is that the best way to teach kids something is to make it fun. If they’re having a great time, they will learn the lessons we’re conveying.

So that’s what we do now. We still teach magic, but we also play games and have lots of fun, and the kids learn the people skills we’re teaching. The magic becomes almost secondary.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://grapewiz.wixsite.com/sfloridamagicschool
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/southfloridamagicschool/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SFloridaMagicSchool

Image Credits
Alan in Diagon Alley: Credit Jeff Bold Outdoor photo with kids at table: Credit Preston Mack Photography Photo of Alan with kids, parents watching: Credit Staci Jacobs

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