Harry Potter and the Analysis of a Hogwarts Education
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When the Harry Potter phenomenon began, readers consumed the pages of the mystical and exciting life of The Boy Who Lived. This obsession with a hidden world of witches and wizards in Great Britain instilled an excitement for the unknown and fictitious. Everyone ached to know how Harry Potter would survive, who he would be fighting, and what mystery he and his friends would need to solve. With every book and movie release, the love for the wizarding world only grew and Harry’s story became more complex. One of the greatest pulls of the books was the magical and, sometimes, dangerous school where young witches and wizards learned to control and use their magic.
Hogwarts is filled with bumbling ghosts, poltergeists, goblins, house elves, enchanted suits of armor, moving staircases, magically appearing feasts, and talking portraits. Not only does it contain all of these fantastical creatures and objects, the subjects are quite exciting as well. A young witch or wizard is able to study a vast number of subjects: Defense Against the Dark Arts, Potions, Herbology, Transfiguration, Charms, and Divination to name a few. To a generation of students forced to study math, english, history, health, and science, the idea of exploring the subjects at Hogwarts is enticing. The Harry Potter books became an escape for many students who felt restricted, uninspired, and simply bored in school. They would hope for a chance to be educated like those witches and wizards; many would pray and wait for their own Hogwarts letter to come by owl and take them to a new and better learning experience. But would Hogwarts be a better experience? While Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry prides itself on its hands-on learning experiences and a stimulating (albeit, a bit dangerous) environment, the school struggles with qualified teachers and standardized education.
In Hogwarts, there are many different teaching styles at play. There are a variety of subjects with a specializing teacher; each instructor has their own approach to teaching and education. Due to the fact that Hogwarts is a magical school where young witches and wizards are meant to learn how to use and control their magic, it can be assumed that there is a certain level of hands-on education that must be instituted. Because how can a witch or wizard learn to use magic without the use of a wand? John Dewey, educational theorist, describes some of the most important aspects of a successful education as hands-on learning, focus on student interest, and connecting school and learning to everyday life (“Dewey, John”). In the more successful teachers at Hogwarts, there is a definite suggestion that each of these fields are filled and focused on within the classroom.
Instructors
JK Rowling uses parallelism in an effort to compare and contrast the teachers and their teaching styles. She places classes next to each other in Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s schedules in order to create a stark contrast of teacher successes, failures, shortcomings, and quirks.
The classes of Professor Trelawney and Professor McGonagall nearly always fall concurrent to each other in the schedules of the main characters. These two professors are opposites in nearly every way.
Professor Trelawney, hiding sherry bottles and once heard muttering about “nasty accusations”, has an over-reliance on alcohol and finds odd joy in predicting the untimely death of her students, specifically Harry Potter (The Half Blood Prince 541). Seen more often as a fraud than not, she is constantly attempting to build up her reputation by using naive students to bring her predictions to fruition. In The Prisoner of Azkaban, she abuses her role as teacher and uses the extremely nervous and shaky Neville to prove herself by predicting his clumsiness and saying, “after you’ve broken your first cup, would you be so kind as to select one of the blue-patterned ones?” (104). When he, of course, does drop the teacup, the gullible students assume she used her seer powers to predict it when, in actuality, she manipulated a nervous young wizard into believing he would drop the cup. This exploitation of her students’ weaknesses creates an uncomfortable and fearful classroom environment. It also shows Trelawney’s willingness to use students as stepping blocks to show her success as a true seer. Besides this, she also puts down students in order to set herself higher upon a pedestal. Trelawney makes an example of Hermione’s skepticism of Divination referring to her logic (which aids her in every other subject) as an inability and lack of power by saying:
I am sorry to say that from the moment you have arrived in this class, my dear, it has been apparent that you do not have what the noble art of Divination requires. Indeed, I don’t remember ever meeting a student whose mind was so hopelessly mundane. (Prisoner of Azkaban 298).
Trelawney’s cruel words are meant only to serve her own reputation. There is no thought to what these words may do to a student. Not only this, she abuses the fact that Hermione is the top student in her class which, due to her know-it-all attitude, creates an opportunity for the students who may envy her academic status to tease her. Several of her students, after this episode, “looked deeply impressed” by Professor Trelawney (Prisoner of Azkaban 299). She opens up a student for abuse from other students in order to push the power of her own clairvoyance onto the class.
McGonagall is quite the opposite of Trelawney. Stern and organized, yet not unafraid to bend some rules. McGonagall’s classroom demands respect, and respect is what she receives. Hermione, who has only ever spoken against Divination and Trelawney, especially gives this respect and watches McGonagall closely. Following Professor Trelawney’s first lesson in which she predicts the death of Harry, McGonagall assures the class that “seeing death omens is [Professor Trelawney’s] favorite way of greeting a new class” (Prisoner of Azkaban 109). This assurance from McGonagall causes Hermione to laugh with relief, showing her faith in her professor’s opinions and words. McGonagall’s faith and love for her students is evident when she encourages Neville in his sixth year, saying “it’s high time your grandmother learned to be proud of the grandson she’s got, rather than the one she thinks she ought to have” (Half Blood Prince 174). She encourages her students to do their best and, when necessary, builds them up with confidence. However, she is not a soft and coddling professor. After giving this compliment to Neville, he “blinked confusedly... Professor McGonagall had never paid him a compliment before” (Half Blood Prince 174). She only gives compliments that are deserved. McGonagall is respected by her students due to her fairness and consistency.
In the Prisoner of Azkaban, Snape and Lupin are rivals, both in their past and in the classroom. Lupin is the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher whom Harry and the rest of school always hoped they could have. Snape is the haughty and cruel Potionsmaster who holds grudges and plays favorites.
Lupin’s classroom is one that is welcoming and interesting from the first day. Lupin focuses intently on hands-on education. He immediately has the students facing and warding off an unknown creature, known as a boggart. J. K. Rowling, author, uses the boggart to create a symbol within Lupin and his teaching. In the very first lesson, Lupin encourages each student to face their own fear, personified by the boggart, and send it away with laughter. The students entered the classroom filled with anxiety of the unknown and left having fought their own demons and feeling more confident than when they arrived. Neville Longbottom was an especially important aspect to this lesson. He entered and was particularly drained, nervous, and unconfident from Snape’s lesson immediately prior. To make matters worse, Snape tells Lupin in front of the whole class that Neville is essentially hopeless to all education (Prisoner of Azkaban 132). Lupin, despite hearing this, takes Neville and gives him the opportunity and confidence to prove otherwise. Lupin gives hope to his students. He encourages and he uplifts them. He also creates lessons that the students feel are relevant to their lives after Hogwarts which is essential to a well rounded education (The Ultimate Harry Potter and Philosophy 215). This relevance is extremely clear when, throughout the books, the protagonists run into many of the magical creatures Lupin teaches in his lessons, including boggarts and grindylows. (Prisoner of Azkaban 153). Rather than having his final exam in the great hall or classroom as most of the other teachers, Lupin decides to take the students outside and do an obstacle course. He uses this alternative type of assessment in order to help the students have a more practical test, more fun, feel more at ease, and less stressed. Professor Lupin’s teaching style instills a sense of trust in the students and creates an environment that brings about positive learning.
Where Lupin is loved, Snape is loathed. Snape’s behavior as a teacher is appalling. Snape and Lupin’s classes are paralleled with each other, creating a stark contrast between their likeability and teaching abilities. Snape is a master of potions; his opening speech for the first year students gave an insight into his character when he says, “I can teach you how to bottle fame, brew glory, even stopper death—if you aren’t as big a bunch of dunderheads as I usually have to teach” (Sorcerer’s Stone 136). This introduction to Snape’s character shows his disdain for students and his terrifying expectations of perfection. He immediately creates an environment that makes his students uncomfortable and feels innately hostile. Cruel and unfair toward most students, however, Snape focuses much of his guile toward Neville Longbottom. At one point, Snape, in front of the whole class, asks Neville “if anything penetrate[s] that thick skull” of his, causing Neville extreme embarrassment and terror (Prisoner of Azkaban 125). This attack on Neville’s intelligence in front of the class displays Snape’s utter disregard for the feelings of his students. Later, when asked what his biggest fear is, Neville responds that it is Professor Snape (Prisoner of Azkaban 134). Snape’s anger and cruelty get in the way of his teaching in every lesson. He focuses on abusing his students rather than teaching them. In The Half Blood Prince, Harry carries around Snape’s old potions book (unbeknownst to either of them) and his “best subject had suddenly become Potions” (Half Blood Prince 318). Harry was able to learn from Snape when Snape wasn’t actually present to harass and abuse. When Snape is around, he cripples the students’ abilities to learn through the classroom environment he creates.
Education Standardization
Standardized testing claims to accurately depict what students are capable of and their possible prospects for success in the future. Wizarding standardized exams are not much different. Fifth and seventh year Hogwarts students are required to take the ministry given, standardized tests that supposedly determine their future successes as witches and wizards: the Ordinary Wizard Levels (OWLs) and the Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test (N.E.W.T.). The grades in these tests determine the future of the students as functioning members of the wizarding world. This can be detrimental to a student’s confidence by indicating their worth or success is attached to the grade they receive. To make matters worse, the grades the students receive for standardized tests such as OWLs are filled with derogatory and demeaning connotations. The passing grades are rather commonplace with O for Outstanding, E for Exceeds Expectations, and A for Acceptable. The failing grades, however, can be quite shocking: P for Poor, D for Dreadful, and T for Troll. These grades show the lack of empathy and respect the Ministry of Magic (the governmental body proctoring the tests) have for the students. If a student were to receive a T grade, the implication is that they are as thick as a troll, a drooling, slow-moving creature that speaks only in grunts, and therefore their place in society is far lower than the other students who received passing grades. In The Half Blood Prince, Hermione was shaking, almost unable to open the results of her test despite being the top student in her year. She knew that her entire future rested upon her grades, her ability to go forward and pursue the career path of her choice was resting on the results of her OWLs (Half Blood Prince 101). This intense pressure is far too much for sixteen year old students. Far too much of Harry, Ron, and Hermione’s futures falls upon the results of their OWLs tests, creating tension and anxiety about their futures.
Despite the great importance placed on education, there are no certifications or prerequisites set in place to become an educator; one must simply meet with the Headmaster in order to acquire a job as a professor. Not to mention, curriculum appears to be largely determined by the whims and interests of the teachers. The Defense of the Dark Arts class sees six different teachers in Harry’s six years of education. Each one displays wildly different lessons, with no apparent lineation or progression of material.
The students are encouraged to focus on classes that best suit them and to take classes that will lead them to their career goal. Harry wants to be an Auror, so he must take NEWT level Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts. In The Half Blood Prince, Harry experiences extreme sadness when he realizes that, because of his Exceeds Expectations in Potions, he will be unable to fulfill his dream of becoming an auror for the Ministry of Magic (100). In his fifth year of school, Harry is faced with the idea that, because of a grade, he cannot have the future he hoped for. The career paths seem simple, but what happens when ideas, goals, and intentions change? In colleges all over the United States, between “20 and 50 percent of students enter college as ‘undecided’” and are unsure which path to choose as their major (Freedman). In a college environment, students struggle to decide on their career path and major. The pressure set upon students to decide their future is huge. And who is to say that once the decision is made that it is the right one? In fact, it is estimated that “75% of students change their major at least once before graduation” (Freedman). It is significant that college aged students are struggling with these decisions while, in Hogwarts, fifteen year olds are expected to begin testing into their careers. It must be noted that this educational system is not uncommon in the United Kingdom, however, I have focused on the United States educational system at this time as it is within my field of experience.
Fred, George, and Percy Weasley parallel the different results of standardized testing in professional progression. Percy Weasley aspired to be respected and important. He managed to procure the spots of Prefect and Head Boy while at Hogwarts, positions he felt ennobled him quite nicely. Pride for his accomplishments caused him to walk “with his chest thrown out” so that no one would miss seeing his Head Boy badge (Prisoner of Azkaban 71). His efforts in Hogwarts led to an internship with Barty Crouch Sr. and, later, employment for the Minister of Magic. Hard work, immense focus, study and ambition brought him success. Percy Weasley was an ideal student and model example of a proper Hogwarts education.
Fred and George are, in some ways, very similar to Percy. While not quite fitting the mold that Hogwarts creates, both Fred and George are obviously extremely talented and ambitious wizards. Having managed to figure out and use an extremely complicated magical map of Hogwarts when they were only eleven years old, they blossomed into genius pranksters (Prisoner of Azkaban 192). One of their tricks, turning an entire hallway into a swamp, was left as a memorial to their brilliance by Professor Flitwick because “it was a really good bit of magic” (The Half Blood Prince 848). They learned a lot, but didn’t see the glitter in excelling in exams and were “not fussed about N.E.W.T.s” (The Half Blood Prince 574). The twins are so confident in their business (Skiving Snackboxes are an extremely popular candy, created by the brothers, which help get students out of class) that they have no anxieties concerning their test results. In fact, they only received seven passing grades between the two of them, meaning that one twin passed three out of nine subjects and the other passed four out of nine (Half Blood Prince 103). Fred and George dropped out of Hogwarts, saying “I think we have outgrown full-time education”, and set off to start their own careers (The Half Blood Prince 674). Fred and George managed to become some of the most successful businessmen in London. In the midst of the terror and unknown in The Deathly Hallows, when many businesses were closing down, Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes became a thriving joke shop. The twins’ prowess for fun and magic, even in the midst of terror, gave them an edge. These two dropouts became far more successful than Percy despite the fact that their education was cut short. Fred and George are examples of how the education system doesn’t always measure intelligence and abilities accurately.
Discovery Learning
It is also significant that, even though the Harry Potter series takes place at a school, the amount of time spent in classrooms is significantly less than the parts of the story filled with adventure, rule breaking, and hanging out with friends. Majority of the Children’s Literature genre that takes place in schools does not focus on the schooling of the characters, but rather it’s found that “sports and friendships frequently trump classes, making it seem as if the school story is about school in name only” (Gruner 217). Hogwarts is famous in literature for its fantastical adventures and odd teachers, not its pedagogical practices. This focus on something outside the realm of schooling may indicate J.K. Rowling’s intention of learning outside of the walls of pedagogy.
Harry is one of the most accomplished wizards in his school, not because of what he was taught by his professors, but through his experiences outside of the classroom. According to John Holt’s theories:
Children do not need to be made to learn, told what to learn, or shown how. If we give them access to enough of the world, including our own lives and work in that world, they will see clearly enough what things are truly important to us and to others, and they will make for themselves a better path into that world than we could make for them. (Holt 157)
Harry was given the circumstances to learn what was important to him and how the world worked. Because of these experiences, Harry is much better equipped to begin life after Hogwarts than any of his peers. He has learned what was important to learn in order to survive. In his fifth year at Hogwarts, Harry starts a secret organization dedicated to learning the ins and outs of Defense Against the Dark Arts in which he is the teacher (Order of the Phoenix 390). His teaching, outside of regular schooling, helps a couple dozen students to learn defensive spells. Neville Longbottom, notoriously nervous and accident prone, even manages to begin to progress with his wandwork (Order of the Phoenix 393). The process of getting out of the classroom to learn is significant. The adventures of Harry, Ron, and Hermione lead to more learning experiences than most of their classrooms do. In Margaret Booth’s essay “What American Schools can Learn from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry” she says:
The three heroes of the series constantly find themselves in the process of discovery learning, in which they experience real problems for themselves and must discover how to solve each one without the aid of teachers or other authorities at school. However, all schools should provide their students with the proper support that will guide them through the process of knowledge-getting. And in truth, Harry, Ron, and Hermione certainly become experts in the process of knowledge-getting as the stories progress. (Booth)
Because of the experiences of these three friends, they were able to gain the experience necessary for a successful future. Harry and Ron never took their NEWTs and yet, due to experiences fighting Dark Wizards at seventeen years old, they were hired by the Ministry of Magic as aurors, the wizard equivalent of police officers.
While, for many students and fans, Hogwarts seems like the ideal place to learn and grow as an adolescent, it may not be the most pragmatic. Not only because it exists in a magical and fantastical world full of unicorns and magic wands, but because of the issues mirrored by real life education systems. Obviously, Hogwarts exhibits a more exciting learning experience than an ordinary arithmetic class. However, it is a miracle that Harry, Ron, and Hermione learn anything at all while being surrounded by the dangers of ancient snakes, runaway trolls, and resurrected beings with homicidal intentions. It seems that Harry has learned far more outside the walls of Hogwarts than he ever did within.
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Works Cited
Booth, Margaret Zoller, and Grace Marie Booth. "What American Schools can Learn from Hogwarts School
of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Phi Delta Kappan 85.4 (2003): 310-5. Print.
"Dewey, John." Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia (2015): 1p. 1. Web.
Freedman, Liz. "The Developmental Disconnect in Choosing a Major: Why Institutions Should Prohibit
Choice Until Second Year." The Mentor (2012): Penn State Division of Undergraduate Studies. Web.
4 Apr. 2016.
Gruner, Elisabeth Rose. “Teach the Children: Education and Knowledge in Recent Children’s Fantasy.”
Children’s Literature 37 (2009): 216-317. Print.
Holt, John. How Children Learn. New York: Pitman Pub. Corp, 1967. Print.
Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. N.p.: Bloomsbury, 1997. Print.
Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. N.p.: Scholastic, 1998. Print.
Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. N.p.: Scholastic, 1999. Print.
Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. N.p.: Scholastic, 2000. Print.
Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. N.p.: Scholastic, 2003. Print.
Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. N.p.: Scholastic, 2005. Print.
Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. N.p.: Scholastic, 2007. Print.
The Ultimate Harry Potter and Philosophy. Ed. Gregory Bassham. Wiley, Hoboken, N.J., 2010. Print.
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