Thoughts on the train

While munching on the snacks, I started to think about whether I should be spending the next seven years at Hogwarts. I mean, I am most likely able to learn finish the curriculum ahead of time. Do I need to blend in as a normie? The main goal is to learn more about magic and of course, find a way to get rid of the pest, Voldermort.

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is a boarding school for underage wizards. But, throughout the books, it is clear that at Hogwarts, the curriculum focuses on practical rather than theoretical subjects. Few of the subjects studied are aimed at improving the students' general or theoretical knowledge. Instead, almost all the subjects have practical orientation. The courses in Potions, Herbology, Charms, Care of Magical Creatures, Astrology, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Occlumency, Flying, Apparition, Transfiguration, Enchantments, and Divination all are practically, not theoretically, oriented.

The classes themselves seem to be almost entirely dedicated to practice. At Harry's favourite, Defence against the Dark Arts classes, for example, students are taught to perform various spells and counter jinxes. The class tests consist of putting these skills into action. Similarly, during Charms classes, the students practice casting various useful spells, while in Transfiguration classes, students learn how to change the shapes of various objects and animals. But in none of these classes are the students required to study why magic works. Little or no time is devoted to the study of the "Theory of Magic." The wizards adopt a black box approach towards magic. It seems that wizards find it important to know how to use magic, but unnecessary to study how or why the magic works.

It is not surprising, therefore, that Hogwarts' students are good in replicating others' work, in finding facts, and in following instructions precisely. But when it comes to inventing, innovating, or even just thinking, Hogwarts' students are less successful. The paragon of Hogwarts students, Hermione Granger, is an example. Hermione does extremely well at the school because she has a remarkable ability to learn facts and use her knowledge at the right moment. When it comes to originality and innovation, however, she does very poorly.

For instance, in The Order of the Phoenix she tries to establish a secret and secure communication channel between her friends. Despite her contempt for the evil Voldemort and his supporters, the only solution she can come up with is to mimic their communication protocol, even though it has some obvious weaknesses. Her friends, instead of trying to improve her solution, simply accept her authority and praise her for her inventiveness and skill, although she is honest enough to identify the source that inspired her. Another example is given in The Deathly Hallows when the Order of the Phoenix continues to use the same protective procedures that failed it in the past because none of its members is able to suggest any alternative procedure, despite the fact that some of its members are among the most able wizards in the world.

While the books focus mostly on Hogwarts, these same shortcomings also seem to apply to other schools in the Potterian world. When students from the three best wizard schools in the world meet for a competition in The Goblet of Fire, the reader learns that none of the school champions could have completed their tasks without outside assistance - because they all lack the ability to think originally. Barty Crouch emphasises this point when he boasts that the schools' champions are fools who cannot work out clues on their own.

The lack of emphasis on a general knowledge in the Potterian education system continues when students graduate from Hogwarts. Nowhere in the books is there any mention of a higher-education system. Wizards do not go to colleges or universities after graduating. Instead, they choose a profession and dedicate their careers to it. Indeed, there is even a fairly sophisticated system of job-matching where students are encouraged to take classes that will be particularly useful for their future careers. None of the students, however, not even Hermione, is advised to study further. This underscores the heavy emphasis that the Hogwarts education system puts on the narrow goal of obtaining practical knowledge that helps the graduates in finding jobs, but not in advancing further the knowledge of magic.

In the real world, universities, colleges and other research institutes have advantages over other types of learning institutions in that they provide a broader spectrum of knowledge and create what economists sometimes refer to as "non-rivalrous". Such knowledge, which can be widely shared, serves the entire society in innovation and advancement. When society gives no weight to this type of knowledge and prefers instead that people specialize in one field and dedicate all their energy to serving their workplace—effectively keeping their knowledge as private property—then universities and colleges have no competitive advantage over on-the-job training programs, and there is no reason, therefore, for people or governments to finance a university education.

Indeed, the government's attitude to formal education is revealed when the ministry of magic first appoints Dolores Umbridge as a schoolmaster and then as a judge, although she has no formal training in either education or law.

The lack of research universities and of professionals who are trained to think and inquire has other implications as well. For example, when in The Deathly Hallows, Harry Potter and his friends need help in understanding the relationship between a legend and their current situation, they cannot turn to a scholar who specializes in ancient myth. Instead, they have to find Xenophilius Lovegood, a wizard who is considered a lunatic by his community because he looks for the grains of truth hidden in myth and legends.

Thus, as the students from Hogwarts mature and leave for the job-market, their inability to create and to innovate goes with them. Even the best of Hogwarts students seems to prefer jobs in the public sector or at established institutions. None of the good students try to open a place of their own or try to sell a new product or service.

The only ones who innovate are those who grow outside the system. Professor Dumbledore, Lord Voldemort, Professor Snape, and the Weasley twins are all wizards who disregard the official schooling curriculum. They are the only ones who try and decipher what lies behind the written orders and instructions in textbooks, and come up with new solutions, such as the Levicorpus spell invented by Professor Snape as a schoolboy and discussed in The Half Blood Prince.