[HPforGrownups] Re: Do all wizards go to school?

[heidi tandy]

No: HPFGUIDX 37424

> zoe said:
> 
> I have wondered about the witches and wizards who
don't go to 
> Hogwarts, such as Stan Shunpike or Ernie Prang on
the Wizard bus. 

Lisa asked: 
> Where did you get the impression that they didn't go
> to wizard school though? I got the impression that 
> Ernie is quite old, and so presumably went to school

> ages ago. Stan is about 18 years old (PoA says he 
> looks a few years older than Harry) and therefore 
> this is his first job after leaving Hogwarts, as he 
> didn't get enough NEWTs to go to the MoM or wherever
> the brightest wizards go!

There's something I've been told about education in
the UK - that a lot of students leave school after
their O-levels and go into training programs or right
into a job, rather than take 2 more years of what we
in the US call high school. Also, as I understand it,
"Seventh year" is more of an equivilent to what we in
the US learn in our first year of college, and
A-levels are something that not all students take,
even if they've stayed in school for those 2
additional years.

In other words, there may be a number of students who
attend Hogwarts for 5 years, then leave after taking
their O.W.L.s and go work in shops, or work on the
Knight Bus or contribute to wizarding society in some
other way, but don't take those final two years of
Hogwarts education, possibly because they're not
academically inclined.  That wouldn't be out of step
as a parallel, although homeschooling would be.

I don't remember where I've seen the stats, but IIRC,
homeschooling in the UK is much less common than it is
in the US. There does seem to be an implication that
it's accepted among wizards before they start at
Hogwarts (is it just me or does Draco scream "Educated
By Tutors" to anyone else?) because otherwise it's
likely that some of the younger wizards would've known
each other (although the canon evidence is mixed on
this one so if there is interest I can post for a
while on whether Pansy and Parvatti knew each other
before Hogwarts). However, there's nothing definitive
in canon that says so - and it's possible that there's
a teacher who Fire-Talks teaching to a bunch of kids
at the same time, so they learn the basics of reading,
writing and arithmatic.

--- "joanne0012" wrote:
> But we have evidence that not all wizards go to
Hogwarts -- the fact that 
> Hogwarts send out acceptance notification letters,
for one, rather than all 
> wizarding children assuming they're going there 
There are a few reasons to send the letters:
1. For kids who are wizarding, like harry, who have no
idea that they're magical or that Hogwarts exists
2. For kids like Neville who've been able to do a
smattering of magic but whose family fears that they
might be a squib ( we don't know if a squib has *no*
magic (i.e. no more that a Muggle) or whether a squib
has certain touches of magic that might protect him or
her in cases of injury or accident or illness.
Therefore, just surviving falling from a window
doesn't mean one is magical enough to actualy *do*
magic.
3. For kids who are half and half, whose magical
parent has passed, and whose living parent may not
know how to get in touch with the magical world, or
with Hogwarts in particular.
The school doesn't necesarily know 1 and 3, and
probably doesn't know for sure who falls into category
2 either - so better safe than sorry, they send all
the letters out. It's much easier to do that than to
track down each kid and ascertain whether they need
the letter, especially since they still need to send
everyone the list of books and supplies. 

I know when I started junior high & high school (not
remembering Elementary school...) we got letters in
August confirming things like the start date, and the
address of the school - of *course* we knew we'd be
attending the local school, but certain information
needs to be imparted - and why not do it in a nice
letter? It's a showing of style over substance on some
level, to be sure, but... why not?

Gretchen wrote: 
> 
> There have also been several references to Hogwarts
being the "best" 
> wizarding school.  Can it be the best if it is the
only school?  I 
> think there are probably different, less
challenging, wizard schools 
> around and Hogwarts is just for the "elite" wizards.

It certainly can be the "best" in the world if it's
the only one in England. Also, that bit about Hogwarts
being "best" was in Book 1, and we didn't even know
there were other wizarding schools until Book 4,
although certainly people on this list, and in writing
fanfic, theorised that there were. Even when I read
book one (when the only other HP book was Book 2!) I
presumed Hermione meant the best in the world, or at
least the best in Europe, not the best on the British
Isles. 

heidi 
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sizes & SHIPs
http://www.fictionalley.org

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