I've been reading the Harry Potter series. My son started reading it a year ago and I told him I'd follow along and read it after him. I haven't been doing that great considering I'm still in Year 3 and he is deep into Year 5.
Anyway, the fact that we are both reading it lets up speak in "Harry Potter" language. We make up our own spell names and recall funny parts of the book. It's a way I can connect with him in a world in which he feels like he belongs.
Today when I dropped him off at school, I said, "Here we are... Hogwarts." Then as I looked around, I corrected myself. "Oh. This isn't Hogwarts. These are all muggles. This is a muggle school. Oh no. You don't belong here." He immediately retorted, "Nope. I don't." We smiled and off he went.
It struck me. That feeling. Ah. School. Not belonging. I remember that. I was just another insignificant person floating through the halls full of clicks and people who were all different from me and didn't get me. And as I remembered that feeling, I realized that is how my son feels now. School is a foreign land to him that he must partake in, but his real place, the place he belongs is somewhere else.
Do all kids feel like that in the large public schools or was it just me and him? How about as adults? I still feel like that a lot of the time.
There is a verse in the Bible that says our citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20-21). Maybe this is where we will finally feel like we belong. Until then, we are special, not fully realized people in a restrictive muggle world.
C'est la vie.
I think that's the brilliance of the books. I was someone who always LOVED school (right up until this whole law school thing ha) and never understood why it was cool to hate being there, ditch, hate on the teachers, etc. I think as vivid as Rowling imagines Hogwarts, she leaves the reader just enough creative license to make it your own, whether that means having the perfect group of friends, fighting evil, or making magic in class. Okay, now I want to re-read the books.
ReplyDeleteYes! I just realized that yesterday. Any kids can relate. Harry is the hated odd-ball that doesn't belong, and the most admired kid in school. He's relate-able to everyone. We get the feeling that he is an orphan with no one to love him, yet he is loved and protected by wonderful people. Is everything. Love it!
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