|
|||||||
|
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||||
Harry Potter and Education
It cannot be denied that reading is educational in itself. Literacy remains a large problem to this day, because vast numbers of people - children through adults - have never been instilled with a love of the written word.
One way reading became far more enjoyable - beginning more than a century ago, in fact - was the introduction of "series". Most often recalled are the Sherlock Holmes stories, which appeared in magazines on a monthly basis in the late 1800s, before being compiled into book form and remaining in print 100 years later.
Holmes was a character with whom readers could identify, as they also would with Dr. Watson. And the mysterious plot of each story taught readers - albeit vicariously -how to use their own deductive reasoning.
In other words, the stories were not just enjoyable reading, they were educational.
Other series have appeared over time. The Nancy Drew mysteries, the Hardy Boys, Trixie Belden, The Three Investigators, the Babysitters' Club, and others have given young people hours of pleasure, and the chance to learn from the characters' adventures and travels to richly described locales. But it was always clear these stories were fiction.
Then came Harry Potter.
Like characters in the other series mentioned, Harry is propelled through an adventurous life. His days involve training in witchcraft, which crosses a line for many - the line between reality and fiction. Many people don't want young people exposed to the concept of witchcraft, even when it is clearly (and according to author J.K. Rowlings) unresearched and fictional in content. It is seen as "satanic", and the author has been publicly and repeatedly denounced from the pulpit and in the media.
With the advance publicity and November release of the Harry Potter movie, fear has built among conservatives that young people would flock en masse to Wiccan covens for training, or to Barnes and Noble's New Age section. Did that happen when the television series "Bewitched" premiered in the 1960s? Is it possible that kids grasp the difference between fiction and reality better than grown adults?
The Harry Potter books have "fabulously moral and uplifting messages," according to an editorial in the Birmingham News from July 14, 2000. Instead of promoting those lessons, however, certain religious groups continue to harp on the "evil of witchcraft" in the books (Florida Times-Union, September 13, 2000). Even libraries are targeted, in an effort to ban the series. The books top "the list of books most challenged for the second year in a row" for "occult/Satanism and anti-family themes." (PRNewswire, February 2, 2001)
In suburban Pittsburgh, members of a Christian church burned volumes of Harry Potter this past spring, seeing them as promoting "things that are against God." (ABCNews.go.com. March 26, 2001) Opponents of this action, including a representative of Scholastic, which publishes Rowlings' work, declared "the message sent by burning books is more dangerous than any fable about sorcery could be."
And this is the kind of education owed today's children. Freedom to read, to ask questions of adults who have not closed off their imaginations or their minds.
Harry Potter has been seen by psychiatrists as an educational tool for troubled children, because of the character's own abusive childhood. Some more broad-minded Christians see parallels between Harry Potter and Jesus Christ (much like what happened with C.S. Lewis' "Chronicles of Narnia"), and have begun using the books to teach youngsters about their faith.
On the other hand, outspoken opponents see the books' contents as "an accurate presentation of witchcraft, spirit possession and spells", to the degree where they have produced a video that claims Harry Potter makes "evil look innocent".
The overall concern is that such an uproar will cause children to be denied access to the books, which could taint their enthusiasm for reading in general.
If the Harry Potter books inspire young people to want to learn more about witchcraft, the parents have a decision to make. If it is decided to let the youngsters delve into the topic, the adults should help them find accurate sources of information. In fact, it might be an education for the adults to do the research and learn just how different fictional witchcraft is from factual practices.
Parental involvement has been cited over and over in the Potter controversy as a key element. Parents should monitor what their children read (as well as what their children do, and who they have as friends), encourage and be open to questions, and offer explanations that are age appropriate. "You can't read that because I said so," doesn't cut it. With children ever more eager to learn, parents need to stay "on their toes" to help these young minds grow.
The Harry Potter books can open many doors - educational and otherwise - on a multitude of levels. If a very vocal minority is allowed to quash enthusiasm for the series, based on their own phobia-driven misinformation about witchcraft involving Satan and that "the lightning bolt on Harry's head is one-half of the Nazi swastika," (Florida Today, August 19, 2001) then serious problems are bound to arise. One reporter begged these conservatives to "Get a life." (Birmingham News, July 14, 2000) That Harry "has a lot of strengths, and he's using them to help himself, his friends and his school" (Syracuse Post-Standard, August 19, 2001) is the bottom line. Kids and adults can find an educational message in those traits. The witchcraft elements in the stories are secondary to them, and should be seen as such.
Harry Potter is not meant to educate readers about witchcraft. He shows young and old, perhaps, bits and pieces of themselves, while giving them a rolicking few hours of pure entertainment.
He has also, unwittingly, provided the general public with an education about just how foolish some people can be.
- Quill
Home Page Current Issue Past Issues The Frater's Domain Quill's Corner