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WOW! I am acually plannig to take English Language and English Litrature next year at College. However, I never thought for one second that Harry Potter would be envolved! English + Harry Potter = What more could HP Fans ask for! Oh I cant wait to start English! I suppose it can now be also known as An A Level In Harry Potter

WOW! I am actually plannig to take English Language and English Litrature next year at College. However, I never thought for one second that Harry Potter would be envolved! English + Harry Potter = What more could HP Fans ask for! Oh I cant wait to start English! I suppose it can now be also known as An A Level In Harry Potter

This is rather controversial, but totally deserved, I think.

Rowling’s works are by far the best children’s literature I’ve ever read, with the possible exception of Lewis Carroll’s works. Far from being pure escapism, the Harry Potter books address both classic and current themes and teach important lessons in imaginative and compelling new ways. Plus, they’re extremely readable; even adults like myself enjoy them!

I do hope you’ll let Sofia read them one day.

Laurel

I’d love it if this was on AS level…but it’ll probably be on A2. Which is annoying because im going to do AS English LIt and Lang next year…That would be awesome.

It does make sense reading it, because its got so many levels, and it’s just like the books usually studied. If the college doesnt think so, then they can choose another book.

Sorry ‘bout that, everyone—the latter note, which is marked “from Heather,” was intended to be a private message sent with a copy of the article. My goof!

But my sentiments remain the same …

Laurel

Having worked at a bookstore in the US, I must say I was also appalled at what high schoolers had not read, and what they were reading (mangas and sci-fi). One girls actually had been sent to buy a copy of The Yearling, a book most kids had read in the first or second grade.

Not only that, but they now publish “dumbed down” simplified versions of classic children’s books, so they aren’t even reading the real book anymore. I’m talking about books like “National Velvet”, and “The Chronicles of Narnia”.

I don’t see any harm in including the Harry Potter books in the curriculum, they would be fun for kids to read and discuss in a group-but it’s the only thing JKR has written really. She hasn’t written anything on the scale of Dickens or Austen (both of whom she greatly admires, by the way, which should encourage others to read them). She’s a best-selling author and I think they should throw something fun in there, but I don’t take Harry Potter so seriously; maybe because there are already plenty of conventions and contests and things where people basically do the same thing, analyze the books and write fanfic.

Cool:P

This is appalling. Even diehard fans cannot suggest that Harry Potter is great literature – so to put it on lists with Shakespeare, Austen, Chaucer, Hardy and Keats is disgraceful. This undermines all the hard work us English A level students are doing. It discredits the qualification we are trying so hard to achieve.

English Literature could now be quite easily considered a joke subject for prostituting itself to increase the number of takers while sidetracking the greatest works written in the English language.

I am an ardent and avid Potter fan—but to study it for a serious qualification is apalling.

NB it will not be compulsory. Only Shakespeare is compulsory for the other texts teachers have to choose from a selection of other authors. So only very foolish teachers will select this to make up a major part of what their students study. They would be a laughing stock. I recognise that Harry Potter might have some place in the classroom but for far younger students. NOT for people who want to study the serious literature for the qualification which is the highest that the English School System offers.

I think that all the people who are saying that HP isn’t “serious” enough to be considered for this should pick up a book of scholarly essays on the series. You would be amazed at the amount there is. I am currently writing my Master’s thesis on Animal Studies in Children’s Fantasy Literature, and HP is one of my sources. Before I decided on that I was using Joseph Campbell’s Cycle of the Hero in Fantasy Literature. I have a friend who just finished her thesis on The Role of the Environment in Fantasy Literature . All of them included Harry Potter, and the amount of scholarly and academic work we found to use in the them was astounding.

Think about it this way: if the group of work considered “classics”, “great works of literature”, or the “canon” had never been expanded upon and improved, it would not contain people like Jane Austin or Charlotte Bronte, because women wouldn’t be on it. People HAVE to start considering new works of literature.. new genres.. otherwise literature becomes stagnant.

Also, I do not think that people necessarily need to compare Rowling to Shakespeare or Chaucer. Their works of literature are not supposed to do the same thing. Shakespeare and Chaucer show the evolution of the English language (olde and middle), but cannot be appreciated by someone who is just beginning to be interested in reading. When a child first picks up their first book BY CHOICE, do you want it to be something like Romeo and Juliet (which, quite apart from being inappropriate for a small child, may turn them off from reading with its complexity) or Harry Potter (which is something they can more easily understand, and therefore probably enjoy)? I vote Harry Potter.

My little brother has never read an entire book in his life. He is 22 years old, and do you know why he has no appreciation for literature? Because the people at our private school had us read “great” literature, the kinds of things that probably should have been reserved for when we were older. It was different for me, because I started reading before I was in school, so I appreciated more approachable books earlier. He didn’t. His first exposure to literature were things that were considered classics..things that are sometimes dull for children.

There are some books that are considered classics that even I, who have a GREAT appreciation for literature, cannot stomach reading all the way through. Who decided that The Canterbury Tales was a great work of literature? Obviously they haven’t read the Parson’s Tale or Melibee… the book is useful because it opened the doors to studying Middle English. Harry Potter is useful because it opens the doors to an interest in reading. It should therefore be given a proper place of respect.

PS is a year 7 class reader (Age 11-12).

I’m studying for my alevel now and while i think the books deserve academic recognition, this is not the right way to go about it. the books are better suited to degree level where an in-depth analysis of themes and word-choice could be looked at with more freedom. DH would have been more appropriate for A-level because of the theme of death/afterlife and similarities to WW2.

There are few themes developed in PS and it is not a book that can be put into a modern context as much as other modern novels that address modern social issues in more depth like A Thousand Splendid Suns or Then We Came to The End. But books like that don’t attract more people to study english.

The exam board still have to have the six criteria for marking the essays so I guess it’ll still be as acedmic as other novels and it might be harder than people think- especially for us fans who might not be objective!!

Wow. This is great! Lived in the US can be annoying b/ they never add newer books to the required reading. I always wish they would add HP. I would love that. I think this could be really benificial to these kids b/c her writing so so different than the traditional readings like Catcher in the Rye, Lord of the Flies, Animal Farm, The Great Gatsby…. and so on. It gives kids a broarder view of litterature that can inspire them. I know it inspired me.

yay UK schools!

Too many people see Harry Potter as a simple children’s book because of its story of a boy wizard yet, they are missing some of the deeper meanings. Harry Potter can be read by children because it is understandable and the plot is appealing. I, myself, read until Goblet of Fire when I was eight. At the time, I didn’t read it as a book to be analyzed; I read it as a really good story that I was unable to put down. Now, however, at fifteen, I can read past the plot and understand some of Jo’s morals and be able to discuss the series further. Hopefully people will look past the plot and storyline of Harry Potter and realize the many themes in the series. Jo has a distinct style of writing and it’s great that UK schools realize that. She may not be the greatest writer (and thus, cannot be compared to Shakepeare, Austen, Dickens) but, her use of humor, wit, sarcasm, symbolism, and mythology amongst other literary techniques make her a writer that deserves to be studied. I wish schools in America would include Harry Potter in their curriculums!

I did my A levels 2 years ago and had to compare schol life in the first book and tom browns school days! Schools have been doing it ages so the Daily mail is a bit slow with the news!

No way. Horrible idea. JK Rowling has a fantastic imagination, but she’s not a great author. A-level kids studying her will only have their literature skills suffer. Makes me glad I’ve chosen the IB. Seriously, Harry Potter is enjoyable, but I would hate to study it. Give me Harper Lee or May Gibbs any day.

Posted by Katie on April 26, 2008 @ 08:34 PM

Ok, so I don’t know much about A-levels since I’m only in grade nine in the US, but I was in the IB during middle school (not anymore though) and in that porgram at least I you’re right. It’d be a pain in the butt to annalyze. :-)

Why can’t this happen in the US???? : (

This HAS to be a joke

i dont actually believe it. im a huge fan of Harry Potter, but since when were books for 12-year-olds studied to A-level by 18-year-olds?

I am totally taking English Lit as my A-Levels now; I could submit my fanfic as coursework (lol)!!! I wish they let GCSE English Lit students study Harry Potter too, then I would feel happy about my exams (which start in about 12hrs ARGH!!!!!) because I know it all inside-out.

Gryffindor’sResidentDuck does raise an important question, for those of us here in the colonies: would one of the contributers from the UK take a moment to explain A levels so that we’re all discussing the same thing?

Chanal, I think your point about including HP needs to be put it into a more nuanced perspective: 1. clearly you mean including HP along with a lot of other materials, which makes sense (note the “along with a lot”), and 2. a background in Greek mythology and established literary traditions will only deepen your appreciation of HP since that is the solid grounding that JKR herself is drawing upon for inspiration.

Finally, I must point out that current popularity does not mean importance over the long term…about forty years ago, the huge best sellers were “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” and “Love Story”. Fourteen years ago it was “Forrest Gump” (people saw the film and assumed the book would be of the same calibre). Anyone here read them recently?

for those who think jo is a bad writer, leave. now. and her workdoes provoke thought. to really understand the plots and characters you do have to think about what is going on. the later books dont just hand you the information. jo gives you time to think and come to your own conclusions before giving you her answer