by Sara Mcgrath

Created on: July 16, 2010

The young wizard in my family gives me some insight into the appeals of a fictitious school such as Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I would argue that it's not the strict boarding school as presented in the books and movies that appeals to kids, but the personally compelling content of the curriculum. How exciting to learn what you're really interested in?

The Hogwarts kids sit in class and do homework assignments just as mundane students do, but they also interact directly with the magical world. Mundane students long for real-world experiences that correspond to their personal interests.

Consider the Magic School Bus series where the kids spend rare little time in the classroom. They live the lessons through fantastic learning adventures. Whereas a child might not perk up at a lecture about the digestive system, imagine the difference when the lesson is brought to life through digestive experience (i.e., eating experiments, a trip to the butcher to see intestines).

My wizard pores over magical texts, follows the instructions, mixes potions, etc., with remarkable focus and devotion. She does this because she loves the topic, not because a teacher assigned it to her. It's not just the topic of magic. She pores over books on human anatomy, too, and she can't wait to tell me and anyone who will listen everything she has discovered about the brain, the digestive system, blood flow, etc.

I would argue that the main appeal of a fictitious school over a mundane one is in the personally-motivated nature of the fictitious students' academic pursuits and related adventures. The Hogwarts kids continually use what they learn in their extracurricular adventures. The Magic School Bus kids learn through direct experience before sharing what they learned through report writing.

As with the Magic School Bus kids, we rarely see the Hogwarts kids in the classroom. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry appeals to kids who long for some experience outside the classroom. According to a University of Michigan study, American children spend about 32.5 hours per week in school and 4 hours on homework. That's 7.5 hours more time spent on academic study and less on extracurricular play and experience than children 20 years ago.

Dr. Stuart Brown of the Institute for Play believes that play is essential to overall optimum development. Children need play. Reducing their play time does not serve them.

The Hogwarts kids creatively put their skills to use in applicable real-world situations. They live what they learn and learn what they live, and they have fun and excitement while doing it. Mundane students don't necessarily perceive any significant motivation for memorizing their assigned studies. What for? The Hogwarts kids really are preparing for their futures as witches and wizards. They want those skills.

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