Mixing pre-teens and young adults in WW & RW was Re:School year system in the UK

[festuco]

No: HPFGUIDX 128889

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Marcelle" <celletiger at y...> wrote:


> I'm not talking about different ages mixing in structured, after 
> school clubs, where there is a purpose to the gathering and an adult 
> moderator.  My point is that the 17 year olds are sitting at the 
> same relaxed lunch table right next to the 11 year olds, who are 
> simply soaking up all the ridiculous teenage drama that the older 
> kids have experienced  in a few short years.  Its not that I think 
> the 7th years are hanging out with the 1st years teaching them how 
> to smoke cigarettes and do tequila shots – to me it's the younger 
> kids keeping their ears open from the corners of the common 
> room, "learning" by hearing tidbits of teenage "wisdom."  IE: Parts 
> of more advanced, potentially more dangerous magic.  Parts of 
> hormonal encounters.  

Well, 13 and 14 year old kids have plenty of hormones, as I know from
experience. Its all part of growing up. As for learning: there will
always be kids that want to experiment, and they will do so, no matter
how much people try to 'protect' them. Anybody who truly believes
keeping children in the dark works is i.m.o. naive. 
 
> IMHO, kids younger than 15 have plenty enough kid stuff to keep them 
> occupied other than hormones.  JKR doesn't introduce dating as a 
> concept for the main characters until GOF.  The only mention of 
> teenage dating before that that I can remember is Percy and 
> Penelope – when Percy was a sixth year (16 y.o.) in COS. 

If children younger than 15 are early developers they will have plenty
of hormones to deal with. A body develops in its own time, not
according to what other people think is appropriate. And 13 and 14
year olds can have lot of hormones to deal with. I prefer them to know
what happens in their bodies and to give them means how to handle it.
We see Harry develop feelings for Cho in PoA, when he is 13 years old.
We see Hermione have a huge crush on Lockhart in CoS. 

> to which celletiger answers:
> Yes, but positive role models must be available.  My mother is my 
> role model now, but believe me, when I was a teenager, I worshiped 
> rock stars and the stupid older high school guys who could get 
> beer. Bad influences, certainly, but it wasnt cool to worship mom 
> who said no alcohol when the cute football player was holding the 
> tap. 

Well, that is what you get when mom says no alcohol, as if drinking is
evil instead of mom learning the kid how to handle it. I'm dutch and
the legal age of buying low alcohol level drinks like beer is 16
years. Most of us have had beer before that, usually at home. I've had
wine for Christmas dinner when I still was at primary school. Just a
little bit, to be included and feel grown up too, which I did not
finish because it tasted horribly. Its not a big deal. Unless ofcourse
people make it so, by forbidding it and making it in this mysterious
only grown up, dangerous thing. Then its suddenly cool, etc. The lure
of the forbidden fruit and all that. 

  Assume the same goes in the WW - if an older kid knows how to 
> do certain magics - isn't there an allure for some younger kids to 
> want to learn those secret/more advanced/dangerous/dark! magics? 

Nope. If a younger kid wants to learn these things it will go looking
for them. Knowing these things exist is usually enough. And depending
on how much he wants to learn, he will succeed. The only reason things
got wrong in her case is that she used the wrong kind of hair. But for
Ron and Harry it worked beautifully. Hermione did, and succeeded quite
easily. Hermione heard about polyjuice in class, from her teacher. I
expect there is plenty more information about dangerous magics in the
Daily Prophet for example. Or in wizard children's books with evil
characters. I've known  14 year olds who smoked pot. Most of us were
just not interested. Not in smoking, not in pot. Growing older did not
make a difference. 

Gerry