Harry Potter and Censorship

Do you agree/disagree that the book should be available in the classroom?

I would have to say that I agree that the Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone should be allowed in the classroom. Along with all the other Harry Potter series of books. Yes, I know that this book has caused a lot of questions to arise, but overall I feel that this is a good book. To me kids should be given the opportunity to read whatever interests them. I don't feel that it's fair to them for me to tell them what they should be reading. When I was in school I appreciated the wide variety of books that my teachers made available for me to read, so I want to do the same in my own classroom.

Would you use it as part of your instruction? Why or why not? What problems would it present? What benefits would it offer?

Although I would allow this book to be in my classroom, I don't think I would use it as part of my instruction. I would allow the students to choose the book to read on their own, but I wouldn't make it a required reading. The reason is because some parents are against letting their child read the Harry Potter books because of the witchcraft involved. However, the problems that may arise by me allowing this book to be in my classroom is some parents might be against it. If this issue was to arise I would talk to the parents and explain to them that their child does not have to read the book. But it is being made available to the students who enjoy reading these types of fantasy books and whose parents approve of them reading it.

Reflect about the book and the issue of censorship.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is about a boy named Harry who starts out living with his aunt and uncle because his parents have died. Some kids would be able to connect with this because they might have lost a parent or someone close to them. The only difference is that Harry has magical powers. Because he has magical powers is the reason that some people feel the book is not acceptable for children to read. I can understand why in Trelease article, about censorship, he mentions the parts in the Harry Potter books that could be inappropriate for children. Because some of the parts could be, but overall Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in my opinion is a well written fantasy book. Yes this book does mention a lot about magic, but it also teaches the kids a lot about life lessons. A good example of this is friendship. I think that if parents would take the time to really examine this book and all the other Harry Potter books they would see this as well.