A weird thing happened a while ago when I was doing some school presentations.

I do a 45-minute show called Perception vs Reality, which is targeted to middle school students. So I bring my gear into one Grade 7 classroom and I start my opening spiel and this 12-year-old short blond kid with enormous glasses starts frantically waving his hand in the air, desperately trying to get my attention. I usually don't take questions during the show because it messes with the pacing, but this kid looked like he was going to hyper-ventilate. He absolutely had to tell me something, so I acquiesced.

"Yes," I said.

This kid stands up and says: "Before you start your show, I would like to examine everything in your table just to make sure there's nothing funny about it. Okay?"

I looked around the room to gauge the attitude of his classmates. Most of them looked annoyed, though some of them looked like they hoped I'd agree.

"Sure," I said. "I only have 45 minutes with this group but that's okay. I'll cut the show in half and we'll just stand around silently while you do your inspection. I think that's perfectly reasonable."

The other kids laughed and the kid sat down, a little nonplussed.

I'm not sure if that was the right way to handle it, but it sure felt good.

Sounds like it worked and didn't cause any bad feelings or impact the presentation.

I probably wouldn't have said that, but I wasn't there, it depends on your tone of voice and body language, and the student's also. Maybe it was a very good response, but without seeing everything, it seems like you maybe possibly were a bit snarky or a bit rude, or maybe it wan't be maybe the kid or other students may have felt that way. I wish I could say I've always handled everything perfectly, but it's a tough gig sometimes and we do our best.

Not compared to that rude kid interrupting the show to demand that he be allowed to examine all the performer's props !

Got to bite your tongue sometimes, unless it is a real distraction for everyone there

But this sounds to me like it was just a 12-year-old trying to make a joke

When it comes to kids, it’s never about my feeling, it’s about how I make others feel

That's just me

Tom

Obviously I wasn’t there and don’t know the child’s story, but he could quite possibly have been on the Autism spectrum. Based on how you described his behavior it wouldn’t surprise me. Nobody is perfect but I really hope you didn’t alienate a special needs child from his classmates.

A way I handle Kids who ask "Can I have that?" or"Can I look at that?" (meaning examine) about my props is I use a very high voice and fairly loud, starting with a long N say "NNNNoo!" with an abrupt ending.

It gets a laugh, moves it along, and does not make the Kid asking look bad because we are just kidding around.

- Mary

When asked how did you do that -- I ask "can you keep a secret ?" >they "yes" - >I say "So can I " < > When asked how did I levitate my Wife , answer " She has a lot of IRON in Her system and I have a Magnetic Personality " ha ha ha ha

"No. I appreciate your curiosity, but this is a magic show, and yes, it involves trickery. I hope you enjoy the show."

I'm not sure that couldn't be worded better but the point is I don't want my audience to think magic is real.

Man you people fuss about nothing. Kids call silly things out or ask silly questions constantly. If you were working a lot you wouldn’t even remember stuff like this after you walk out the door because it’s so common.