Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.
"For those who may call it the end of civilization, or at least the demise of high culture, a new study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology may provide reason for pause. Researchers from several European universities found that reading Harry Potter may make young people more tolerant. In the study “The greatest magic of Harry Potter: Reducing prejudice,” psychologists led by Loris Vezzali at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia that reading “Harry Potter” improves attitudes toward stigmatized groups, such as immigrants, gays and refugees." - New York Times
As discussed in the above article, Harry Potter is immensely more influential than most people give it credit for. High schools are beginning to question whether they should begin to use this series in their curriculum since it promotes individuality and accepting all different races, cultures, and sexual orientations.
It's no question that this worldwide phenomenon is most loved by children and young adults, but professors and teachers are beginning to realize just how influential J.K. Rowling's fantasy world has on the minds of developing students.
As an avid Harry Potter fan, I completely support this. I -- like many other children across the world -- grew up reading these books and felt pretty upset once the series ended. This series teaches important lessons about abuse and how to deal with it, the strength of loyalty and friendship, and living with internal struggles as a teenager. These themes are so important to teach in school because they encourage students to be open about their feelings and ask for help when they need it.
Also, if students are more on the shy side and tend to close themselves off from the outside world, Harry Potter gives them a great group of friends to connect with when they're feeling lonely.
I want to know your opinion! Do you think schools would benefit from adding the Harry Potter series to their curriculum? Would it cause any negative effects on students? Let me know what you think.
Okay so this is really weird but before I even clicked on your blog I saw the title and thought to myself, "I only read Harry Potter". I honestly just read Harry Potter every night not because it is just an awesome experience and fun book but it is a great piece of literature. The actually writing is top notch. I don't know if it is necessary for schools to read it but I wouldn't be opposed to it.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if I agree completely with you. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Harry Potter...cried during the seventh book and bawled like a baby throughout the entire last movie in the theater. I feel like these books shouldn't be taught unless it's specifically on a course or unit on dystopian literature. I think there are better books that could help demonstrate those themes you mentioned about internal struggle, friendship, and loyalty. The books should DEFINITELY be in a classroom library though, and students should definitely be encouraged to read them in their free time. I agree that they're great works of literature and it does promote creativity, but sometimes it doesn't keep students on track with the real world, and that can be dangerous.
ReplyDeleteI feel like the best course of action for books in teaching should be to steer clear of series. There just isn't enough time in a school year to afford a series the attention it would deserve.
ReplyDeleteI think that harry potter books are too lengthy for classroom material, but I do agree that they should be found in the library.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the Harry Potter series, and I definitely think that they should be available for everyone to read, but I'm also not really sure about actually working them into the curriculum. Plus, I personally tend to enjoy books less if I have to read them for school and I would hate for that to detract from the greatness that is Harry Potter.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy the Harry Potter series. I think they should be available in the library setting, but it is too long for classroom material. It would take up too much time in the classroom.
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