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An East Los Angeles elementary school teacher uses magic words and enthusiasm to encourage better student attendance.
Oscar Vasquez, a first-grade teacher at KIPP Illuminar, uses magic tricks to motivate his students to attend class.
“They are able to come out of their shells even more. Some students who were very shy at first are now able to come out and talk,” Vasquez said. “They can talk more with their partners and colleagues.”
If your class has a good week of attendance, surprise them with a new magic trick on Friday.
“They come in every day and put a check mark on the anchor chart for the magic show. If they stack up for five days, the magic show is on that Friday,” Vasquez said.
Once the students choose the magic they want to see, Vasquez goes home and practices with her family.
“I want my kids to be curious about the world and not be afraid to ask questions. And I want them to just try and keep digging to figure out what they should do in life. I want people to know,” Vasquez said.
He explained that chronic absenteeism is a challenge for many schools, so school leaders are offering incentives such as raffles to encourage students to attend classes.
“But apart from that, I also wanted to add it to my classroom so that all my students would come to my class,” Vasquez said.
The children are in awe when Vasquez asks them to say a magic word and reveals that what was once a simple rope is now stiff and stretches straight into the air, but with a snap of his fingers it turns back into a regular rope. They reacted with thoughts and applause.
Vasquez also has some students involved. He chooses some of them to come to the front of the class and participate.
Several students raise their arms high in hopes of being chosen for the magic trick.
Once all the work is done, Vasquez gives the students a sneak peek of what the next week will look like.
“I might take that one home,” he says, teasing another trick.
“From now on, you have to make sure to come to school every day,” Vasquez says, to which the children all reply, “Day of the week!”
The room fills with excitement as the children hear about a box that can turn $1 into $100, a coin that breaks when placed in a bag, and other magic tricks Vasquez may bring to class.
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