Skip to main content

harry potter - Does Hogwarts teach non magical classes?


I always wondered if children who graduate from Hogwarts have an education that is actually worth while in the real world.


Do the children learn math and English?



I can see History of Magic as practical. I know of Arithmancy, but that's the study of the magical properties of numbers, not math.


Since Hogsmead is one of the very last all-magical towns, it's a fair assumption that a majority of the students at Hogwarts will be living in non-magical towns or cities. If practical classes (like math or English) aren't taught, then how do these students function in the non-magical cities?



Answer



History of Magic and Muggle Studies are both indeed non-magical classes. History of Magic is probably more immersed in the study of magical topics than is Muggle Studies.


Astronomy is another discipline taught at Hogwart which straddles the magical/Muggle worlds. Study of the stars.


I can see Divination as being mostly non-magical, at least how its described in canon. There is the reading of tea leaves (non-magical equipment), presumably the reading of tarot cards and the like, and reading crystal balls (the one item that I think could possibly have more magical properties). Hermione describes Divination as "a very woolly discipline" in Prisoner of Azkaban, which I interpret to mean she doesn't find it particularly useful or possibly non-magical or less magical. She sees Divination as subjective. Frankly, in the end, Divination came in use when Professor Trelawney provided crystal balls as weapons during the Battle of Hogwarts. Note: I see the ability to receive Harry's prophecy on Trelawney's part as separate from the actual course material taught in Divination the class. Certainly there are many "psychics" who hang out their shingle all over the Muggle world, not to mention religious practices that use symbols, interpretation of texts, objects, and incantations as part of their worship.


Herbology might include some knowledge that could cross over into the Muggle world, such as growing potions ingredients that both magical and Muggle folk use for making potions and herbal tinctures/supplements respectively. If you look at the list of known potions ingredients at the Harry Potter Lexicon, you will find ingredients that are just naturally occurring in the world, and are not strictly magical plants or herbs.


ETA: The study of Ancient Runes might help prepare for a career in archeology, if a magical child were to take that route. Runes are found in the Muggle world and are not exclusive to the Wizarding world.


I think that Squibs would need a strictly Muggle education in order to get by in the world. Ron Weasley confides that a family member (a cousin, I believe) is an accountant but the family "doesn't talk about him much." Otherwise, magical folk seem to stay fairly insular, working in magical jobs and careers.


REPHRASED: Some professions, whether wizarding or Muggle, require advanced math and/or science. Canon does not explain how a magical child would receive advanced instruction in math or science at Hogwarts, or should their chosen career path call for it. Perhaps advanced skills are taught through apprenticeships (canon mentions wandmakers study under other wandmakers to learn wandlore) or specialized on-the-job training (such as an Auror might receive). Many people -- magical or not -- are able to go day-to-day using only addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and fractions, even though they've been taught advanced math, such as algebra, calculus, and trigonometry. How relevant advanced math will be will vary profession to profession. Most children -- again, magical or not -- are familiar with basic math by the time they leave elementary school, so this kind of learning would precede a Hogwarts education, as Hogwarts students are either in Muggle primary schools or homeschooled prior to going to Hogwarts (no mention is made of all magical elementary schools in the Wizarding world). The skill of writing is reinforced at Hogwarts through essay writing; it's just that the subject matter is magical, not Muggle.



Also, (POTTERMORE SPOILER)



Pottermore states that some students are allowed to study Alchemy at Hogwarts and receive special instruction in that discipline. Alchemy could be related to chemistry, which could be bridged between the magical and Muggle world.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Did the gatekeeper and the keymaster get intimate in Ghostbusters?

According to TVTropes ( usual warning, don't follow the link or you'll waste half your life in a twisty maze of content ): In Ghostbusters, it's strongly implied that Dana Barret, while possessed by Zuul the Gatekeeper, had sex with Louis Tully, who was possessed by Vinz Clortho the Keymaster (key, gate, get it?), in order to free Big Bad Gozer. In fact, a deleted scene from the movie has Venkman explicitly asking Dana if she and Louis "did it". I turned the quote into a spoiler since it contains really poor-taste joke, but the gist of it is that it's implied that as part of freeing Gozer , the two characters possessed by the Keymaster and the Gatekeeper had sex. Is there any canon confirmation or denial of this theory (canon meaning something from creators' interviews, DVD commentary, script, delete scenes etc...)? Answer The Richard Mueller novelisation and both versions of the script strongly suggest that they didn't have sex (or at the very l...
1 comment
Read more

Why didn't The Doctor or Clara recognize Missy right away?

So after it was established that Missy is actually both the Master, and the "woman in the shop" who gave Clara the TARDIS number... ...why didn't The Doctor or Clara recognize her right away? I remember the Tenth Doctor in The Sound of Drums stating that Timelords had a way of recognizing other Timelords no matter if they had regenerated. And Clara should have recognized her as well... I'm hoping for a better explanation than "Moffat screwed up", and that I actually missed something after two watchthroughs of the episode. Answer There seems to be a lot of in-canon uncertainty as to the extent to which Time Lords can recognise one another which far pre-dates Moffat's tenure. From the Time Lords page on Wikipedia : Whether or not Time Lords can recognise each other across regenerations is not made entirely clear: In The War Games, the War Chief recognises the Second Doctor despite his regeneration and it is implied that the Doctor knows him when they fir...
Post a Comment
Read more

story identification - Animation: floating island, flying pests

At least 20 years ago I watched a short animated film which stuck in my mind. The whole thing was wordless, possibly European, and I'm pretty sure I didn't imagine it... It featured a flying island which was inhabited by some creatures who (in my memory) reminded me of the Moomins. The island was frequently bothered by large winged animals who swooped around, although I don't think they did any actual damage. At the end one of the moomin creatures suddenly gets a weird feeling, feels forced to climb to the top of the island and then plunges down a shaft right through the centre - only to emerge at the bottom as one of the flyers. Answer Skywhales from 1983. The story begins with a man warning the tribe of approaching skywhales. The drummers then warn everybody of the hunt as everyone get prepared to set "sail". Except one man is found in his home sleeping as the noise wake him up. He then gets ready and is about to take his weapon as he hesitates then decides ...
Post a Comment
Read more

warhammer40k - What evidence supposedly supports Tau as related to the Necrontyr?

I've heard of rumours saying that the Tau from Warhammer 40K are in fact the Necrontyr. Is there anything that supports this statement, in WH40K canon? I just found this, on 1d4 chan 1 : Helping Necrons? Or are they Necrontyr descendants? An often overlooked issue is that Tau have no warp signatures, just like Necrons, hate Warpspawns and Warp in general, just like Necrons, have the exact same skull shape,stature and short lives, and the overwhelming need for Technology and beam weapons, JUST LIKE NECRONS. GW may have planned a race that simply prepares a pacified, multiracial galaxy for Necrons to feast upon, supported by Ethereals that have a C'tan phase blade. Then there is a reference of "dark seed in east" by the Deceiver, so the tricky C'tan might give Tzeentch the finger in the JUST AS PLANNED competition. Or maybe GW just has so little creativity that they simply made a new civ conforming to an Old One's standards without knowing it. Is this the connec...
Post a Comment
Read more