Abigail
27-04-2008, 17:49
An A-level in Harry Potter: Experts fear ‘dumbing down’ as book becomes set text
Harry Potter has taken his place alongside such greats of English literature as Shakespeare's Hamlet and Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre and is required reading for A-level English students.
J.K. Rowling's boy-wizard has been added to the syllabus in a move that has prompted fresh claims of "dumbing down" in education standards.
Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone is being offered as a 'set text' by the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA), the UK's largest exam board, which is responsible for nearly half of the country's exams.
But horrified education experts fear Harry will rob the A-level of credibility.
Professor Alan Smithers, a special adviser to the House of Commons Education and Skills Committee, said:
"The point of English literature is to provide works that have stood the test of time and that allow people to understand their place in the world as others have understood it.
"I don't think Harry Potter is appropriate as a set text; I don't see how it fits in with that. It may be an enjoyable read but I don't think we are just trying to keep people occupied."
Nick Seaton, chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, added: "This is all done in the name of relevance and popular culture, but it is not why children go to school.
"They should be encouraged to read and understand the great works of English literature. Harry Potter may be what children want to read, but that doesn't mean it should be part of an A-level."
Pupils taking the English language and literature A-level next year will study Rowling's first Potter volume – the 12th best-selling book of all time and the basis for a Hollywood film – along with one other book for the module Themes in Language and Literature.
They will have to write a 1,200 to 1,500-word piece of coursework comparing the "approaches" of J.K. Rowling and the other writer.
Examiners will mark students on how they relate story lines and the activities of Harry Potter and his friends to the context of the times.
And students will have to show an understanding of J.K. Rowling's use of language, described recently as gibberish by a High Court judge. They will also have to write their own 500 to 800-word story inspired by the book.
The AQA claims it will develop "reading and writing skills through the in-depth study of writers' crafting". It adds that students will have to "describe and discuss features of genre, language and style".
In the wake of persistently higher grades and the decision by Oxford and Cambridge universities to set their own entrance exams, experts have already called for the A-level to be replaced by the International Baccalaureate.
The Government watchdog, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, has pledged to boost A-levels with a major overhaul for the next academic year.
But fears that the curriculum is being dumbed down have been bolstered by plans announced earlier this month for 'flexible' GCSEs which will allow students who fail sections to retake them.
Critics said it would give them a false sense of their abilities and make the exams "almost impossible to fail".
Last night the AQA said: "Harry Potter is a genuine example of literature of our time and therefore entirely deserves its place in this unit. We believe that it will prove a popular and engaging inclusion."
Why are people calling it an "A level in Harry Potter?" The book is just a set text, along with other texts and poems. Shakespeare is a set text at GCSE, shall we start calling it a GCSE in Shakespeare?
Harry Potter has taken his place alongside such greats of English literature as Shakespeare's Hamlet and Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre and is required reading for A-level English students.
J.K. Rowling's boy-wizard has been added to the syllabus in a move that has prompted fresh claims of "dumbing down" in education standards.
Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone is being offered as a 'set text' by the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA), the UK's largest exam board, which is responsible for nearly half of the country's exams.
But horrified education experts fear Harry will rob the A-level of credibility.
Professor Alan Smithers, a special adviser to the House of Commons Education and Skills Committee, said:
"The point of English literature is to provide works that have stood the test of time and that allow people to understand their place in the world as others have understood it.
"I don't think Harry Potter is appropriate as a set text; I don't see how it fits in with that. It may be an enjoyable read but I don't think we are just trying to keep people occupied."
Nick Seaton, chairman of the Campaign for Real Education, added: "This is all done in the name of relevance and popular culture, but it is not why children go to school.
"They should be encouraged to read and understand the great works of English literature. Harry Potter may be what children want to read, but that doesn't mean it should be part of an A-level."
Pupils taking the English language and literature A-level next year will study Rowling's first Potter volume – the 12th best-selling book of all time and the basis for a Hollywood film – along with one other book for the module Themes in Language and Literature.
They will have to write a 1,200 to 1,500-word piece of coursework comparing the "approaches" of J.K. Rowling and the other writer.
Examiners will mark students on how they relate story lines and the activities of Harry Potter and his friends to the context of the times.
And students will have to show an understanding of J.K. Rowling's use of language, described recently as gibberish by a High Court judge. They will also have to write their own 500 to 800-word story inspired by the book.
The AQA claims it will develop "reading and writing skills through the in-depth study of writers' crafting". It adds that students will have to "describe and discuss features of genre, language and style".
In the wake of persistently higher grades and the decision by Oxford and Cambridge universities to set their own entrance exams, experts have already called for the A-level to be replaced by the International Baccalaureate.
The Government watchdog, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, has pledged to boost A-levels with a major overhaul for the next academic year.
But fears that the curriculum is being dumbed down have been bolstered by plans announced earlier this month for 'flexible' GCSEs which will allow students who fail sections to retake them.
Critics said it would give them a false sense of their abilities and make the exams "almost impossible to fail".
Last night the AQA said: "Harry Potter is a genuine example of literature of our time and therefore entirely deserves its place in this unit. We believe that it will prove a popular and engaging inclusion."
Why are people calling it an "A level in Harry Potter?" The book is just a set text, along with other texts and poems. Shakespeare is a set text at GCSE, shall we start calling it a GCSE in Shakespeare?