When I read the first Harry Potter book, I wondered this, and the other books haven’t answered it. (The next book might.) What do wizard/witch children do before they come to Hogwarts, or whichever wizarding school they enroll in?
Since they can all read, write and so on, I would assume they go to an grade school before that, but they don’t know anything about Muggle culture, and have varying degrees of knowledge about wizarding culture, so maybe it only teaches those basics?
If so, how is it stretched out throughout the seven or so years before a kid enters wizarding school? And if they do teach some wizarding culture, how do they bring the magical-children-of-Muggle-parents up to speed? (Harry still seems confused about some aspects of wizardry, but I would assume they would have a special class for kids like him or something.)
Well, the Weasly kids never mentioned going to a muggle school, and Mr. Weasly had a fascination with the muggle-world and how they did things. In the Chamber book he was asking Harry all sorts of questions during his stay with them. So they hadn’t much interaction with the muggles in their day-to-day life. I imagine they keep a low profile, escape the attention of the authorities, and get educated at home or something until they are ready for Hogwort’s.
IIRC (and I’m 99.44% sure I do in this case), wizard children enter school after their 11th birthday. This means your question concerns even more prime educational years.
It’s an interesting question. Maybe Rowling will address it at some point.
Another thing – would there be separate procedures for “Muggle-borns” like Hermione Granger and Colin Creevey? Are they notified that they’re magical before their 11th birthday? (It seems that Hermione might have known prior to her Hogwarts acceptance letter, though I could be wrong about this.)
Interesting. Someone should e-mail Rowling and ask her.
Prior schooling for wizarding children is never mentioned anywhere in the books. Muggle-borns and halfbloods who are raised in Muggle society attend normal elementary schools, but it’s obvious that the pureblood wizarding kids we know best (the Weasleys and Draco Malfoy) did not. Barring any futher information from JKR, anything more is speculation, but I’d guess that most wizarding kids are either homeschooled or taught by private tutors.
We are told that Remus Lupin has never taught at Hogwarts before, and that Hogwarts is the only wizarding school in the British Isles, but he had a briefcase with “Professor R. J. Lupin” printed on it in battered, peeling letters. Unless one of his parents was a professor and the briefcase is an heirloom, I tend to take this as evidence for the “private tutor” theory.
It might also be interesting to learn how a child in a Muggle orphanage manages to get de-institutionalized during the school year, to attend a school that Muggles in general aren’t even supposed to know about. Also, who underwrote young Master Riddle’s tuition, bed and board, and school supplies?
I rekon they don’t learn any “practical magic” previous to arriving at their magic-school. I am going to WAG that puberty is a trigger to their magical powers (as is often the case with fictional pychics, mutants, etc), and that there is no real point before then. Sure, they have the occasional hiccup pre-puberty, but it is around then that all their magical juices start flowing, so to speak.
Hogwarts is a School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, meaning it only teaches magic. Prior to that all education is standard ‘Three Rs’ stuff.
For those in Wizard families, they’d have their own schools, even though they wouldn’t cover any wizarding. And Muggles, of course, have the normal education that we all know.
So are the American wizarding schools hidden away in nowheresville like they are in the UK, or is it possible that they’ve got the New YorkWarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry somewhere on Manhattan island?
I’m guessing they try and keep the schools in nowheresville, so next time someone’s driving through Montana or Wyoming, keep an eye out for any caped teenagers.
Geez, Gex, didn’t you know? It’s right next to the Xavier Institute.
Seriously, while interesting questions, it doesn’t really matter to the scope of the story. It wouldn’t hurt Rowling to flesh it out, as that will expand the world, but there are worse things she could omit or do. At least from my perspective.
I envision small groups of children from wizarding families being tutored together because I really don’t think there’s enough of them in any given area to justify having a official primary school. And definitely not attendance at a Muggle school. There would be so many logistical problems that it wouldn’t be worth it…assuming, of course, that parents would consent in the first place. I don’t think most of the wizarding world likes Muggles. They don’t hate them, but they certainly do look down on them as inferior.
And just additional speculation:
I think Hogwarts is free for students. No tuition or room and board…more of a state-run school. Unfortunately, I don’t know much about British school systems beyond what I need to know about grade levels, but would the gov’t be able to set curriculum standards for a privately-run school?
I also think that the mountains of Virginia would be a prime location for an American wizarding school. I fleshed it all out once because I was bored, but it could work, I think. The area I’m thinking of isn’t highly populated and also highly nonconducive to visitors. A few mountain hollows away from the coal mines and you’d be set. Works best if you split the US up into various regions with one school for each, though, because a large school couldn’t be supported here.
Unfortunately, I doubt very much that Ms. Rowling would ever share details about schools in other countries. No room in the books. Now, something released after the 7th book would be fun…
Maybe, but students do still need to buy their books and supplies (Diagon Alley is a staple in the books), and they apparently aren’t cheap – hence the Weasley’s use of hand-me-downs. How did old Tom Riddle manage those?
I’ve thought about this and decided it’s just a matter for the parents to teach the kids.
Many children know the alphabet, or counting to 10, or whatever else, before going to a school. I’d imagine wizarding families just go ahead and give them the full elementary school course. They probably leave off the stuff you don’t need to know as a wizard. There may also be guides or books you can purchase to show you how to teach your children well, but somehow I doubt there are schools for it.
As for the theory that the magical abilities of a wizard is triggered by puberty, I doubt it. Look at how hard it is to do magic without a wand for even a full-grown wizard. You’ve got a few, like Dumbledore, who can pretty much just waver their hands and make stuff happen, but mainly, it’s wand based. I believe that the wand focuses a wizard’s magical ability. It’s hard to control without the wand, easy with. I think the reason kids start at the same time they’d be starting 6th grade is that that’s when they are trusted to know enough to follow the laws set by the ministry about underaged use of magic.
Another thing I’ve wondered about – are there any wizarding universities? How does one get to be a Hogwarts professor? (I suppose the qualification process must be fairly informal, or Hagrid wouldn’t be teaching students who have a higher level of formal education than he does.) Also, how come none of the professors seem to have private lives, spouses, kids, etc.? Is it like going into the priesthood?
