The (Mis)Education of Harry Potter

After our discussion of education in the Harry Potter books today in class I found an interesting article on education in fantasy by Elisabeth Rose Gruner. She looks specifically at wizard education in children's literature, and I thought some of what she said might be insightful as we continue to think about Hogwarts and pedagogy.

One thing that Gruner wrote that really struck me was that witches and wizards in fantasy stories are not in school to learn facts and information, but to learn who they are (218). We also discussed in class today a bit of how Harry knows who he is and how that was developed throughout the novel, but I don't think we entirely linked that to his education. Gruner argues that most of the learning in Hogwarts takes place outside of the classroom, and thus through independent learning students learn how to learn and how they as individuals learn best. Perhaps the question to examine should be whether learning works best outside of the classroom or in a more applied environment, but my initial concern is to what degree we (Muggles) are concerned about teaching or leading children to learn about who they are. How should we teach that? Can that even be taught in a classroom? The humanities always strives to examine the human condition and what it means to be human, and as a believer in the humanities I think that classroom learning can teach about the larger scope of humanity and about the self. Furthermore, as someone who was long-ago brainwashed by my English teachers, I believe that literature is among the best ways to teach the individual about the self. Through narratives, through imaginative and fantastical stories, we learn about the human capacity for good, evil, strength, and honor. Through examining characters that are both similar and different from ourselves, we question our own motives and actions.

Now my question is this: Should a primary goal of education be to teach about the self? Did you learn that in school? How did you learn? And, if literature IS a means to this understanding, how did you learn about yourself through Harry Potter?

Works Cited:
Gruner, Elisabeth Rose. "Teach the Children: Education and Knowledge in Recent Children's Fantasy." Children's Literature 37 (2009): 216-235. Web. 26 Jan. 2010.

A Wizard of Earthsea

            In critically examining children’s literature, we might (or should?) ask questions that are central or insightful to children, and the remarkable thing about children is not so much that they are small, but that they are growing. Part of growing up is forming one’s identity and translating ideas about identity into practical, daily self-conception. It seems natural, therefore, that questions about identity would be prominent in children’s literature.  In A Wizard of Earthsea, LeGuin illustrates identity through literal, physical forms by the power of fantasy, such as when Ged uses magic to change his own shape. At one point he transforms into a bird so he can make an escape, and from that experience he learns of the dangers of losing one’s identity. His mentor Ogion has to help restore him to his man-shape because his identity has become so engrossed in the bird-shape he has taken he has forgotten himself. Susan Bernardo and Graham Murphy, in their critical companion to Ursula LeGuin, relate the ideas of identity and consciousness in Earthsea to the writings of Carl Jung. They see the instances in which Ged is helped by his friends (namely Ogion and Vetch) as therapy, which Jung believed was essential to understanding and transcendence of the self. Ged certainly does get by with a little help (and wisdom) from his friends, and eventually he fully comprehends that the shadow he has released is a part of himself. His longing to know the name of this shadow ends when he calls it Ged, thus conquering the darkness by allowing it into his being and his light. He identifies even the darker parts of himself as his own self, and then can no longer be controlled or possessed by other dark forces.

Ged learns difficult lessons about himself, and the reader benefits by seeing these struggles in physical and perilous images that are not readily present in our “real” world. I imagine the power this story could have on a young adolescent, who is constantly tempted to transform her or his identity (and at times, especially for girls, her shape). Through Ged’s experience the reader learns not only the pitfalls of an overly flexible identity or one that is not willing to accept its darker portions, but also the value of wise friends.

 

Works Cited:

Bernardo, Susan M. and Graham J. Murphy. Ursula K. Le Guin: A Critical Companion.

Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2006.

Intro

Hello everybody. My name is Molly, and I am a Masters student at TCU. I am taking Children's Literature as a graduate directed study. This semester I am looking towards researching for my thesis, and I am planning on writing in some capacity on children's literature. My other academic interests include women's studies and 19th century British novels, but I am not sure exactly how those interests may be incorporated into my thesis.

I would love to write my thesis on my favorite children's author, Maud Hart Lovlace. She wrote the Betsy-Tacy series, which is set in the hills and valleys of Minnesota at the beginning of the 20th century. My favorite book in the series is Betsy and Joe. The first four books of the series are set during Betsy's and Tacy's elementary school years, the next four cover the four years of high school, and the last two revolve around Betsy's travels in Europe and her marriage to Joe. Yes, I just gave a way a major plot point, but by looking at the titles you probably could have guessed that Betsy ends up with Joe. I really love the books that cover Betsy's years in high school the most because I think Lovelace does a wonderful job of developing a smart, interesting, funny, and strong-willed woman. Betsy is a leader amongst her friends, and questions the role she is expected to play sometimes as a woman. She is also a writer. The books are fairly highly autobiographical, and Lovelace shows her own early inclinations to be a writer through Betsy. I was a pretty imaginative child and loved to make up stories and to write, so I very much identified with Betsy. I hoped that I could have the friendships, fun, and success that Betsy had while she was in high school. Betsy and Joe, which chronicles Betsy's senior year, shows all the pangs and triumphs of growing up and preparing to say goodbye to home and childhood friends.