Harry Potter

I have never quite understood the obsession with Harry Potter. I have only seen the first Harry Potter movie and that was when it first came out years ago, so needless to say, I was a little confused last night because I had no context of what was going on. That being said, I probably find myself within the minority of the millennial generation in my stance towards Harry Potter. So many of my friends like Harry Potter—in fact some of them are obsessed. The Harry Potter books proved to be my first experience with utter fandom related to books. Never before in my young educational career, had so many of my peers been obsessed with a book. Harry Potter was changing the way that kids read. Bond and Michelson argue “The popularity of the Harry Potter series has shifted reading for many young readers from the encapsulated textual experiences of their classrooms to the more personally connected reading experience of and envisionment” (311).

Its no shock that most kids find popular culture much more intriguing than history textbooks. One student makes a case that, it is one thing to learn about something you know nothing about and could care less about, and it is another to read one of your classmate’s piece of fandom. Schools are extremely reluctant to turn towards media outlets and fandom to cultivate learning, however, because there has always been such a stigma against them. Children, though, are probably learning much more in their online fandom experiences, than they are in the classroom. One of the most common aspects of online fandom for Harry Potter enthusiasts is writing new chapters that may delve more deeply into a characters life. Often they will submit this piece of work and it will be critiqued allowing them to not only perfect their piece of fandom but also their writing skills. Henry Jenkins argues, “they use analytic concepts they probably wouldn’t encounter until they reached the advanced undergraduate classroom” (3).

In my opinion, schools are silly to ignore the student’s passions. Often times, reading and writing is a dreaded task for kids because they don’t care about what they are reading and writing. However, think about if students were writing about something that they truly had interest in—I would have to believe that they would put a lot more time and effort into this writing. It wouldn’t be seen as a tedious task, instead they would see it as fun. Think about Hogwarts: it is a highly esteemed school, yet they are always participating in interactive tasks and fun competitions. With the prospect of this fantasy school, why would any student be intrigued by the mundane type of schooling that often takes place across the US. Whether students are reading Harry Potter, or a typical school short story, they are perfecting their literacy skills, why not let them enjoy their reading?