Time before school

[carsten]

Sorry if this has been discussed before, but I thought about the careers of our three heroes before they went to Hogwarts school. Here a re my guesses.

Harry: He has been to muggle school. He was in a difficult family situation, but this is no excuse for not having friends. He was probably a shy boy, sitting in the back and making average results.

Hermione: She must have been in muggle school, too. It is very likely that already there she has been a "know-it-all." Maybe she had one or two bright friends, but I think it was a relief for her to change school, because her attitude creates frictions. In one word: she was a freak.

Ron: Where did he learn to read and write? Do wizards send their kids to muggle school? Do they teach themselves? Are there basic schools for wizards? The latter is unlikely, because from the travelling to the wizard championship we know, that very few wizard families live around the Weasley's home. So Ron probably didn't have friends of his age. Otherwise he would have known Luna better, who happens to live in the same area.

Especially Ron's early school career is very mysterious.

[choki]

Molly appears to be a house wife. Most probably Ron was educated with home study along with his siblings.

As for friends, who needs one when you have an interesting twins for brothers!

[Phinea Rogue]

I think that in an interview JKR said that wizarding children either are tutored privately or parents teach them and as for the Weasleys, Molly taught her children. Maybe they live a bit off the rest of wizarding world, but I believe that they do meet each other and it's possible that Ron had a friend, though not someone as close as Harry, just a playmate from time to time.

[Athena Appleton]

In her World Book Day chat back in either March or April, Rowling does say that wizarding children are either taught the basics at home, or they attend a muggle school. In the case of the Weasleys, they were taught at home. Even though Arthur and Molly Weasley seem to be pretty well-known in the wizarding community, the children seem to have been very sheltered (or maybe a combination of sheltered and shunned), so they played and learned with each other. This isn't completely unbelievable, given the closeness in age of them, and their relationships. Even at Hogwarts, the twins, Ron and Ginny all run in the same circles (along with Harry and Hermione).

[carsten]

...it's possible that Ron had a friend, though not someone as close as Harry, just a playmate from time to time.

OK, this explains a lack of social competence among wizards. Even many adults in the book act like children - which is OK in a children's book.

This sheltered / shunned upbringing could be one cause for the weird behaviour of the camp ground guests at the quidditch tournament. They acted like children which were raised mainly by adults.

IMHO teaching children at home, is a deficit in the wizarding community. Some parents lack knowledge, which would be running in the family: they stay dumb. And not having friends of your own age is sad in itself. Few families have as many members as the Weasley's. This leads to an immature and infantile wizard community.

[Athena Appleton]

Whaddya know, carsten, something we actually agree on!

I'm not a big advocate of homeschooling at all. I think it is only really successful if the child has lots of other opportunities to be around other kids, either in a church setting, ballet/karate/gymnastic, etc. setting, or through organized play groups with other homeschooled kids. It is likely, though, that a lot of the wealthier wizarding families used private tutors for their children, so the kids got a competent education, even if they weren't getting all the social development they'd need.

The thing that I find the most odd about the Weasleys is that Luna was apparently never a childhood playmate. Seeing as she was one of the only wizarding children in the area, and the same age and gender as the Weasleys' one and only girl, I would have imagined that Luna and Ginny would have been closer. Even if they weren't best friends, it seems like, at least in their early years, Luna and Ginny would have been playmates.

In addition to all you said, I think this trend towards homeschooling had another effect: it enabled families like the Malfoys to keep their son away from "riffraff", therefore creating just another snob. Malfoy, I would assume, knew Crabbe and Goyle before Hogwarts, so it's possible, since all their fathers were friends, they were playmates since they were small. But if the Malfoys either taught Draco themselves, or had a private tutor for him (which I think is more likely in their situation), they had control over who he was around all the time, and they were able to keep him away from "trash" such as muggles, mudbloods, or wizarding families like the Weasleys.

[carsten]

:lol: Whaddya know, carsten, something we actually agree on!

Mutual agreement: this can happen!

It is a little bit off-topic, but in Germany a high-court just ruled, that teaching kids at home is not acceptable, even if the parents disagree with contents in biology, religion or other school subjects.

I wonder what some wizard families will do about lessons by a centaur or the new DADA teacher.

[Athena Appleton]

Ahhhh, but that is the beauty of fiction: we're supposed to just take some things for granted without questioning about the details.

So, I don't think we're supposed to wonder about when wizarding kids learn about sexual education, or other things you typically learn from grades 6-12. I mean, at Hogwarts, 11-year-old kids are basically done with what would normally be primary and secondary school. They never have to learn about higher maths and sciences, they have no more physical education (sorry, flying practice doesn't count, you're SITTING on a broom ), other than magical history, they have no more history classes... I mean, good grief, even though they're wizards, I think they should still know how to figure out the answer to 4x-2=6, they should still be presented with Shakespeare and Milton and Chaucer, they should know the history of the country they live in... It's crazy!

Another off-topic question: what if, before a child realized he or she was magical, REALLY had his or her heart set on what is typically considered a Muggle career. I mean, what if a person really wanted to be a kindergarten teacher? They wouldn't learn what they'd need to at Hogwarts, but it's just assumed by the wizarding community that all wizarding children would want to have a wizarding career afterwards. Also, what if a kid REALLY liked playing video games? Or playing on the computer? It's like, once a kid realizes they're a wizard and they're going to this wizarding school, they have to abandon all things Muggle that they previously really enjoyed. Dean Thomas is the only student who really didn't completely do that, he still had a poster of his favorite soccer team, but other than that, the kids at Hogwarts aren't being trained for a life outside of living and working outside a wizarding environment.

[pallas artemis]

I suppose if a child had those kinds of problems with a Hogwarts education then they would probably decline the invitation to go in the first place. I think I heard that in the case of muggles, like Hermione, getting accepted to Hogwarts an official of some sort goes to their home and explains everything to them and their family. If they had already decided that they wanted to be a Kindergarten Teacher or coulded live without their computer then the would opt to attend a muggle school like Eton(sp)!

As for Hogwarts students not learning higher mathematics or literiture I completely agree. At very least students should be taught basics of muggle life as well so that if they are ever interacting with muggles (like at the world cup) they are able to blend in.

[Athena Appleton]

See, that's what bugs me though... can a student decline once they're invited to Hogwarts? I mean, it seems like it would be a matter of security and safety that all magically-inclined children would have to learn how to center their gift, otherwise accidents would happen all over the place, much in the same way as the vanishing glass in the snake hut, or Aunt Marge blowing up. They would have to have some sort of magical education to be able to use magic in a controlled way...

Very weird... and once again, something that I don't think we're really supposed to wonder about.

[pallas artemis]

As for security, you mind wipe them of the meeting with the Hogwarts official and my guess would be that as the child grows older if they aren't trained their ability to do magic would decrease along with their imagination, youthful innocense, anything is possible attitude, etc that you have when your a child.
Also, I doubt that someone with a very muggle mind like Uncle Vernon would be likely to have magical abilities. It simply would go against their very nature, sooo odds are that most if not all of the muggles born with magical abilities also have in them a natural desire to be a part of that world. Even Arthur Weasley who is fascinated by all things muggle wouldn't actually want to be a muggle

[carsten]

... It simply would go against their very nature, ...

Very bright comment! I agree with your view. In our oh so real muggle world, wonders like wizardry are completely out of fashion. The former coach of the German national football team said: "If I could go over water, people would say, 'He can't even swim.'" It is sad but true, that your world depends very much upon your expectations and prejudices. Wonders are impossible? They will not happen to you! And if they would happen anyway, we would refuse to acknowledge them. It is one of the best things about HP-books: They open our mind a tiny little bit for things beyond matter, space and time.

Back to the topic! Hermione took some lessons about muggle things, even though her friends ridiculed her about it. So there is a chance to learn about these matters, but on a voluntary basis. Ron declined this offer.