The Social and Psychological Effects of Dividing Houses Based on Characteristics of Students
TITLE: The Social and Psychological Effects of Dividing Houses Based on Characteristics of Students
NOTES: Contest prompt: We're all in hogwarts_elite so we must agree to some extent with the separation of people into 4 discrete houses. But do you fully support the way JKR did it - splitting prepubescent students based on the qualities they value/will soon value: wisdom, bravery, ambition, hard work? Do you think this is the best way? Discuss. If you disagree, write an essay detailing how you would split the students differently, giving your reasons.
WORD COUNT: 591
Splitting prepubescent students based on qualities they may or may not possess yet is a socially and psychologically unsound way to divide the students into Houses.
If you look at the stages of development presented by noted psychologists such as Erik Eriksen and Jean Piaget, it becomes clear that students of 11 years of age are simply not ready to be divided into a House based on characteristics that only may become present. According to Piaget, children are only starting to gain the ability to think abstractly at around 11 years of age, and for some children it happens even later. This means that students first entering Hogwarts are unable to think of the consequences of their actions, something that needs to be considered if the students’ wishes are taken into account by the Sorting Hat at all. If a child wants to be in Gryffindor just because all of their family members were, the child might not be able to think ahead and realize that they would be much happier in one of the other Houses. Furthermore, at 11, the child is still learning to interact with peers and be self-disciplined, according to Erikson. It is not until 14 or 15 years of age that a student is able to start asking, “Who am I?” Children at this age are still trying on roles and experimenting, so to put a child into a preconceived box at the age of 11 negates much of this necessary psychosocial development.
Along with the psychological affects of sorting based on characteristics, there are social effects as well. By cloistering children into Houses with other children who are just like them, the ability to learn to get along with all kinds of people, a necessary skill later in life, is taken away. The students attend class together, sit together at meals, and play on teams together. Nowhere is interaction among the Houses encouraged, which can lead to problems playing well with others down the line, as is seen with the rivalry that is encouraged among the Houses, most prominently Gryffindor and Slytherin. Even adults in the Harry Potter universe continue to make snide remarks and judgments based on what the House someone was in during their school years, something that is not a good practice to pass along. The other thing to consider when grouping by strong characteristics is that groups that do well tend to have all types of people with different strengths working in them. The Order of the Phoenix is one such group - you have people from all backgrounds, such as Tonks from Hufflepuff, Snape from Slytherin, and Lupin from Gryffindor. This is a group that needs and uses its people for different purposes to great affect.
In that vein, it seems the best answer to dividing the Houses is to divide people up into four completely random Houses. This ensures Houses that are not defined by their characteristics and that would encourage students still developing personalities to play to their strengths, instead of conforming to a House mold such as in the Harry Potter universe. It would also teach the students to work with and accept other types of people, rather than encouraging enmity that sometimes can last for years after school is out. Finally, it would make all the Houses equally strong, with an equal chance to succeed and do well at the challenges presented throughout the year.
Sources
1. Erikson’s Eight Stages of Development: http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/development/erickson.shtml
2. Stages of Intellectual Development in Children and Teenagers: http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/development/piaget.shtml
3. Psychosocial Development: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychosocial_development
NOTES: Contest prompt: We're all in hogwarts_elite so we must agree to some extent with the separation of people into 4 discrete houses. But do you fully support the way JKR did it - splitting prepubescent students based on the qualities they value/will soon value: wisdom, bravery, ambition, hard work? Do you think this is the best way? Discuss. If you disagree, write an essay detailing how you would split the students differently, giving your reasons.
WORD COUNT: 591
Splitting prepubescent students based on qualities they may or may not possess yet is a socially and psychologically unsound way to divide the students into Houses.
If you look at the stages of development presented by noted psychologists such as Erik Eriksen and Jean Piaget, it becomes clear that students of 11 years of age are simply not ready to be divided into a House based on characteristics that only may become present. According to Piaget, children are only starting to gain the ability to think abstractly at around 11 years of age, and for some children it happens even later. This means that students first entering Hogwarts are unable to think of the consequences of their actions, something that needs to be considered if the students’ wishes are taken into account by the Sorting Hat at all. If a child wants to be in Gryffindor just because all of their family members were, the child might not be able to think ahead and realize that they would be much happier in one of the other Houses. Furthermore, at 11, the child is still learning to interact with peers and be self-disciplined, according to Erikson. It is not until 14 or 15 years of age that a student is able to start asking, “Who am I?” Children at this age are still trying on roles and experimenting, so to put a child into a preconceived box at the age of 11 negates much of this necessary psychosocial development.
Along with the psychological affects of sorting based on characteristics, there are social effects as well. By cloistering children into Houses with other children who are just like them, the ability to learn to get along with all kinds of people, a necessary skill later in life, is taken away. The students attend class together, sit together at meals, and play on teams together. Nowhere is interaction among the Houses encouraged, which can lead to problems playing well with others down the line, as is seen with the rivalry that is encouraged among the Houses, most prominently Gryffindor and Slytherin. Even adults in the Harry Potter universe continue to make snide remarks and judgments based on what the House someone was in during their school years, something that is not a good practice to pass along. The other thing to consider when grouping by strong characteristics is that groups that do well tend to have all types of people with different strengths working in them. The Order of the Phoenix is one such group - you have people from all backgrounds, such as Tonks from Hufflepuff, Snape from Slytherin, and Lupin from Gryffindor. This is a group that needs and uses its people for different purposes to great affect.
In that vein, it seems the best answer to dividing the Houses is to divide people up into four completely random Houses. This ensures Houses that are not defined by their characteristics and that would encourage students still developing personalities to play to their strengths, instead of conforming to a House mold such as in the Harry Potter universe. It would also teach the students to work with and accept other types of people, rather than encouraging enmity that sometimes can last for years after school is out. Finally, it would make all the Houses equally strong, with an equal chance to succeed and do well at the challenges presented throughout the year.
Sources
1. Erikson’s Eight Stages of Development: http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/development/erickson.shtml
2. Stages of Intellectual Development in Children and Teenagers: http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/development/piaget.shtml
3. Psychosocial Development: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychosocial_development