Roosevelt Johnson has a few tricks up his sleeve, and he’s not afraid to show them off for children.
‘If you ever want a kid’s attention, do a magic trick,? Johnson joked before an assembly at Pine Knob Elementary on Nov. 15. ‘I don’t just do a trick for them, I teach them about character.?
As part of the Mobile Education program, Johnson donned a tie-dyed shirt, grabbed a microphone, and cheered on students as he started the ‘Iwannano Detective Agency? show. Johnson performed as Detective Iwannano, and recruited the audience to be his character clue catchers.
Johnson, who hails from Detroit, performed a variety of tricks, sometimes inviting students up on stage to help. Each trick ended with the student uncovering another clue and a character-building moral.
‘Pay attention to your teachers. When you pay attention, you make a good teacher a great teacher,? Johnson said.
‘We shouldn’t care about people just because they are white, we shouldn’t just care about people because they are black. We should care about people simply because they are people,? he said after a trick involving a multi-colored panel.
After revealing each clue along the way, Johnson ran into the crowd of students, encouraging them to cheer loudly but also reminding them to be respectful of the rules around them, which sometimes meant being very quiet.
‘I get a lot of personal enjoyment out of this,? said Johnson, who has worked with Mobile Education for the last several years.
‘A kid will thank me for coming to their school and it’s almost better than a paycheck… almost,? he joked.