Education

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 44761

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "cockneyrebe1" <bobbins29 at h...> wrote:
> cockneyrebe1 Asked:
> With the exception of muggle-born wizards, it seems that members
> of the magical community receive no education before joining 
> Hogwarts.  I believe J. K. Rowling has said in an interview (I 
> don't know the link) that wizard primary schools and universities
>  don't exist.  If this is true, then:
> 

bboy_mn relies:
First, I can't prove a single thing I say here. These are my own pet
theories, and intuitive guesses.

> - Just what do child wizards do with their time pre-Hogwarts?
> 
bboy_mn:
To some extent, I favor the old fashioned one room schoolhouse system.
Small private primary schools that have a handful of kids from the
general local area, who are taught by possibly one of the parents, or
someone they know or perhaps a hired tutor. In any event, there are
lots of these little self-contain private pocket of education
scattered around. The size of each school is determined by the number
of available kids. The school is paid for, althought the cost is
modest, by the parent of the kids who are currently enrolled in school.

As more and more muggle-borns and half muggles enter the wizard world,
I think more and more kids will go to public or muggle private schools.

On the other hand, I guess there could be a magical education spell.
Cast a few charms, make you kids read a few books. A few weeks later,
their educated.

cockneyrebe1:
> - Are we to assume that wizards have no concept of mathematics, 
> history, geography, etc. etc.?

bboy_mn
The word 'concept' here throws me off. The certainly have the
knowledge and ability to work with numbers in the form of arithmetic,
and while not formal, they must have an intuitive grasp of Algebra.
Algebra being nothing more than a systematic method of structuring and
solving problems. 

Certainly they have a concept and interest in history, but it's magic
history. The history of things we mere muggle have never heard of.
They do teach history at Hogwarts. But they don't teach Muggle
national and muggle world history.

Geography is more complex than 'can you find China on the globe'; as I
learned in college. So in the sense of Geography as a research
science, I say no. But in the sense of 'where is China on the map', I
say yes. This comes in as it relates to history. Significant event in
the history of the magical world, lead to to a knowledge of where
those events took place. Certainly, most wizards are aware that there
is a larger world out there and they are aware of the location of most
of it's pieces. 


>cockneyrebe1: 
> Literacy and numeracy are generally considered the foundations of 
> intelligence in the muggle world, so why do wizards not hold the same 
> view?

bboy_mn:
Most magic people we have seen so far, can read and write, and can do
arithmetic and basic intuitive math. So, I can't say the wizards don't
value Literacy and numeracy. They are literate.

I think perhaps your statement could be summurized as, in the muggle
world, knowledge is power. In the magic world, magic is power.

cockneyrebe1:
> In PS, Hermione tells Harry that most wizards don't have an ounce of 
> logic. 
  
bboy_mn:
Again, like math, logic to a muggle is a systematic method of problem
solving. If a muggle wants to make a chair, he needs to make a great
application of the problem solving skills of logic and math, not to
mention the skilled use of tools.

A magic person on the other hand, waves his wand and has a chair.
There really is no problem to solve, and therefore, they have little
need for the same type of analytical problem solving that a muggle does. 

A magic person would have a hard time solving the Riddle of the
Potions, because he/she has never had to lay our a problem in a
structured way, anaylize all the aspects, apply analytical thinking
and structured problems solving, and arrive at a correct answer. These
are all learned skills and few wizards have ever needed to learn them.

cockneyrebe1: 
> Lastly, if no universities exist in the wizard world, how did 
> Hogwarts teachers become Professors?  Is "professor" just a throw-
> away term in the books?  Can anyone become one?  Is Hagrid a 
> Professor?  

bboy_mn:
Obviously, a Professor is more than a teacher. Because Madam Hooch is
a teacher and she is not addressed as professor. Hagrid is a teacher
but not a professor.

So now we come to another one of my pet theories. A muggle university
degree has no legal standing. They are meaningless in themselves. It
is only the reputation of the school that issues it, that gives it value. 

So, any respected wizard institution could issue degrees as it's own
private certification of a wizards skill. My personal belief is that
there are public and private organization that take it upon themselve
to review the independant study, academic papers, and research of
magic people. When the academic committees of these organizations feel
that a wizard has demonstrated sufficient skill and knowledge, they
will issue a professoriate (Professor Potter) or doctorate (Dr.
Potter). That degree/certification is as good as the organization that
issured it. So Charlie Weasley could get a professorship from his
dragon research, if he submits his work for review.

These oganization are not necessarily academic organizations. The
International Confederation of Wizards which does lots of things,
could also have an academic committee.

cockneyrebe1:
> Do Hogwarts-leavers go straight into work, like Percy did?  

bboy_mn:
Everybody has to pay the rent somehow. So, yes, they look for a job. I
think probably the best job is independant businessman. Like Fortescue
or Ollivander, etc...

So, there are my rambling thought on the subject.

bboy_mn