Harry Potter

The debate over Harry Potter is one that I have always taken an interest in. The books came out when I was in elementary school, and my best friend recommended that I read them. My school library had the books, and I started reading. After following the series for years, I do understand that magic is a controversial topic but I never personally felt that it was a source of concern. It seems to me that the best argument for why these books need to be included in libraries is that children should be able to choose what age appropriate material they want to read. If children have to get approval from their parents to read the books, then the chance that they might miss out on learning about something new and broadening their horizons lessens. Additionally, the books are works of fiction and are clearly promoted as such. As a child, I never confused the world of Harry Potter with the real world, it was a book and I understood that it was not true. I grew up with Disney and fables that contained magic and witchcraft, and as a result I was used to knowing that these stories were not real. Although, often the intent is to protect a child from material that might be disturbing or harmful to them, it also keeps the child from finding their own path and understanding the world in their own unique way.
The main argument against Harry Potter is that, “The books might promote disobedience and disrespect for authority,” (DeMitchell, Carney). As the paper illustrates, the might included in that statement shows that there is no concrete evidence. This reminds me of the film we watched in class this past week. While all of the adults were concerned with the children of the town possibly being negatively impacted by the production of Grease, the children had a different view. One pre-teen who was interviewed made it clear she could separate fiction from reality stating something to the similar to, “It’s just a play, I know they are characters.” It does not mean that maybe at some level she thought these kids seemed cool, and maybe would want to emulate them. The problem is that maybe does not cut it. If we never allowed children to see things that contain controversial material, then they would never understand the world. Everything can be seen as controversial to someone. I think we do need to decide what is age appropriate and create boundaries that way, but I cannot agree with restricting ideas and materials that can allow a child to learn more.