Assignment 4

I really must start by saying I am one of those rabid Harry Potter fans. I was one of the masses that reserved my copy of each new book a year in advance and joined the midnight release parties to grab my copy as quickly as possible. That being said, I may be a little biased towards the books... obviously! I joined the world of Harry Potter around sixth grade and at the time controversy toward the book was a weaker new thing. Neither my teachers nor my mother (who read the books as avidly as I did) saw anything wrong with the books. I enjoyed my journey with Harry, growing along with him, learning new things about life as he did.

In Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, we meet Harry - our classic Cinderella character. He is rescued from a less than stellar life as the unwanted relation and brought into a new world (of course, a castle). There he makes friends (Ron and Hermione), meets his own personal sized arch-enemy (Draco Malfoy), the number one bad guy (Voldemort), a grandfather like authority figure (Dumbledore), and your average shady-can-we-trust-him character (Snape). With the help - and sometimes hindrance - of this motley crew he finds his tentative place in this new world, a circle of friends, knowledge, love, and the need to do what is right (although dangerous as Fluffy can attest) to protect others.

I think the book should be allowed in the classroom. That being said, I also believe a parent has the right to bring any an all concerns about reading material to the teacher - which must be taken into consideration. I can sum all seven books in the series up in one short sentence: Love conquers all. In book one we see Harry survived Voldemort's attack on his parents and Voldemort was separated from his body because of Lily's love for him. (If you haven't read up until the last book and don't want me to spoil anything for you, skip to the next paragraph!) In the ultimate end of book seven Voldemort is defeated because he could not love, nor understand love or friendship, or the difference between power and what is right and wrong. Harry's loved ones are protected by his great capacity of love for them.


Other themes found in the book are family, friendship, honor, dedication, and flat out good versus evil. I like the statement from the Vatican official: "If I have understood well the intentions of Harry Potter's author, they [magic and occult forces] help children to see the difference between good and evil." I think the fact that the setting is a school of witchcraft and wizardry does not cheapen nor change those lessons learned. None of the magic in the book teaches the occult, or encourages children to dance about worshiping Satan. If the fact that Harry is magical is an issue, then there are many other classic tales that some should take issue with (Cinderella, The Wizard of Oz, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Sleeping Beauty...I could go on all day). There are plenty of people who oppose Harry Potter and have never even cracked open the cover to any of the books... I've had a run in with a few of them. I would be happy to use this book in the classroom at any time and surely could find something in the NCSCOS to coincide it with.

All in all I think that it is a parent's job to be aware of what their children are reading and ultimately it is their decision to censor what their children read. What I don't approve are are not the "watch-dogs" as the article states, but the "mad-dogs" who rush to censor anything they can get behind without first reviewing or understanding what it is they protest. As a teacher it is my job to take those concerns into consideration and talk them over with the parent. If we cannot agree on the book, it would have to be removed from my curriculum.