Date: Sunday Feb 14th 2016

Participants

(from 15 countries)

Host: Rick

Co-Host: Johny

Teams

Panel PRO (Team A): Rojhano, George, Johny, Masato, Haary, Jami, Anibal, Marwa, Hassan

Panel CON (Team B): Noorola, Grace, Soso, Salima, Mohiuddin, Elham, Ashfaq, Salavat

Audience (Team C): Behnam, Lala, Fastline, Seif, Fatemeh

Team A summary

George: If it there were such a choice, then yes. If my children would like to be illusionists, then it’s their choice.

Masato: if the school is something like “The castle” in The US then yes.

Rojhano: one thing is to put on an act to divert people but real magic could be something really different. Real magic could be used to help the world, and modify the events in the world. If someone can obtain such a power, it could be very interesting. People always imagine and dream to have powers.

Haary: learning magic can help many people. Possessing the power of Magic has many advantages. One of them for example could be improving their self-confidence.

Johny: If the school teaches harmless magic, such as replicating food, growing hair for those who need it, healing wounds, or accelerating the growing process of thins (such as plants and fruits) then yes, I would allow my children to attend such a school. I would have to be sure first that the school only teaches harmless magic and that the school is committed to be a responsible and serious institution.

Marwa: I would allow them if it is for a short period of time to get experience and to avoid receiving their complaint if I don’t allow them. I would allow them so that they will realize that what they really want cannot be achieved through magic. If they really like it and want it, I won’t prevent them from attending it. Moreover, if they can turn things into gold then I would be very happy.

Hassan: I would allow my children to study whatever they want. There is nothing more harmful than not knowing things. Being magicians could be very good but it depends on their decision.

Jami: I would allow them. Magic is part of history (in the sense that people were looking for it throughout history) and children should know about history. If magic existed, then they should be allowed to study it.

Anibal: I would allow them if they would be learning harmless kind of magic and if the school would not be teaching how to summon any kind of spirits. If children could learn to light a room using their magic wands for example then yes. If it is a playful thing and students wouldn’t get involved with spirits and those sorts of things.

Team B summary

Ashfaq: I wouldn’t allow them because children, especially minors, could use it to do illegal things. In addition to that, some religions don’t allow it. Moreover, people could use it to get revenge for something.

Noorola: The idea of a school focusing on the art of magic is ridiculous. Magic doesn’t exist.

Soso: if people would be doing dangerous things like the things the famous illusionist “Chris Angel” does, then I don’t think I would agree with my children learning those things. I think it’s violent and I don’t like these kinds of things.

Salima: When I was a child I used to be amazed by magicians but as I grew up, I learned about their techniques and tricks and I realized they were very ordinary. I think we shouldn’t send them there if they don’t have skills for it. Education is very important for their future so we need to be careful when going about choosing schools for them.

Mohiuddin: Nowadays children have a lot of subjects to learn at regular schools and learning magic may not be considered as important. Real magic nowadays is within science and technology so children may have a brighter future if they get involved in these subjects instead.

I would allow my children to enjoy magic acts performed by artists but I won’t allow them to attend a school of magic.

Votes:

· Behnam: remained undecided.

· Lala: team B.

· Bobory: team B.

· Celio: team A.

· Azamu: team A.

It was a tie. Thanks everyone for participating. Below are the links to listen to this discussion.

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