‘Harry Potter’ Goes to School--Amid Debate

“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” the wildly popular J.K. Rowling novel that inspired America’s current No. 1 movie, will soon become required reading for a group of third-grade students in one Ventura elementary school.

The book’s leap into the public school’s language arts curriculum is a sign of a growing trend by educators to use Rowling’s novels--which have captivated millions of young readers around the globe--as a teaching tool.

“It’s an advanced book for a third-grader, but what I have found is if they’re excited about it and motivated to read it, they can handle a greater challenge,” said Teresa Johnson, principal of Portola Elementary School, which this week got school board approval to purchase 30 copies of the book as a supplemental textbook. “It will enhance their comprehension skills, at whatever level they are.”

“Harry Potter” has had a strong presence in school libraries and on extracurricular reading lists since its 1999 release. But the book--which has been banned in other parts of the country because of perceived satanic content--has yet to be widely used in formal reading-comprehension lessons.

Johnson said third-grade teachers thought the 312-page novel--the first in the series--would be a good challenge for their most advanced readers. Starting later this school year, students will study the characters, themes and vocabulary in “Harry Potter,” discussing the book and writing about it.

It will fit into the portion of the language arts curriculum that has students doing different reading activities in small groups based on their skill level, Johnson said.

At other local schools, the Potter books are used in different ways. For example, copies are available during free reading time, or teachers may read the books aloud to younger students.

In Julie Crist’s second- and third-grade class at Lincoln Elementary School in Ventura, some students sketch pictures about what they’re hearing as she reads from “Harry Potter” aloud. She also took her class to see the movie on opening day, and had students compare and contrast it with the book.

Some Parents Equate Sorcery With Satanism

While Rowling’s fiction has topped bestseller lists around the world, it has also sparked controversy. Two years ago, parents of a Moorpark fourth-grader attempted to transfer him out of a class where a Rowling book was being read aloud. The school ended up moving the student to another campus.

Teresa Schmidt, the boy’s mother, said she does not believe “Harry Potter” belongs in a classroom setting.

“In a third-grade class it’s definitely not appropriate because some of the kids are only 8 years old,” she said. “The title of the book is ‘sorcery,’ and sorcery is witches.”

The “Harry Potter” titles were banned from a handful of school libraries across the nation after parents argued that the adventures of the adolescent aspiring wizard could attract children to witchcraft and Satanism.

During the last three years, the series has been the most frequently challenged of all books in schools and libraries, said Beverley Becker, associate director of the office for intellectual freedom at the American Library Assn.

Any attempt to keep schools from stocking the books, however, has also met with opposition from educators, who have been thrilled with the ability of “Harry Potter” to get children excited about reading, Becker said.

“It really speaks to kids,” she said. “And it’s hard to think of anything else that has reached so many young readers.”

Ventura Unified school board member John Walker said the books’ sorcery themes put him “a little on edge,” but that the text has enough literary value to make them worthwhile.

“Kids just have to know it’s fiction,” he said. “Any time you can make people want to read, that’s much more desirable than forcing them to read.”

But Ron Matthews, the conservative president of the Ventura County Board of Education, called that reasoning “hogwash.”

“What goes into the mind gets processed,” he said. “It’s endorsing the demons and goblins and witchcraft, and it opens up the floodgates for demon possession.”

In Ventura, school and district officials said teachers will find alternative titles for children to read if any parent objects to the content of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.”

“Because we are teaching concepts like plot and character development, the questions would be the same, the book would just be different,” Johnson said. “We have a variety of materials to choose from.”

At least one conservative parent disagreed with that approach, saying it alienates families.

“There are plenty of wonderful books to choose from,” said Coleen Ary, who has two children in Simi Valley schools. “It doesn’t have to boil down to a controversial book.”

Still, many educators say there is great value in using a pop culture phenomenon to make reading--and writing about it--fun for their students.

“That’s the advantage of choosing a book that is so popular right now, because kids are interested and connected to it,” said Richard Simpson, an assistant superintendent in the Conejo Valley Unified School District. “We call it ‘a teachable moment.’ ”