Dear parents and/or guardians,
Due to several complaints and questions that I have received concerning the class reading selection, I chose to send a latter home addressing several questions and comments that have been raised about the novel.
The book that we are preparing to start is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling which is about a young boy who finds out that he is a wizard and is whisked off to a school to learn to control his powers and become a trained wizard. Magic and wizardry are heavily present in the novel and this is where the concern seems to stem from. While the book is about a boy beginning his training as a wizard, it is in no way a book that attempts to convert readers to the Wicca religion or glorify wizardry.
At it's core, the book is about the power of friendship, good triumphing evil, and overcoming any situation that you are placed in. In the way that I am choosing to teach this novel, we are not concentrating on the wizard/fantastical aspects of the novel (though they will be discussed) but rather the innate human aspects that most (if not all) of the students can relate to.
This is a story that was immensely popular when I was growing up and has had a great influence on literature and student literacy rates. I picked this book in the hopes that my love for the series would not only come across, but encourage the students to pick up the book and read more than the assigned reading on their own.
If any of you have any suggestions to make this lesson more appropriate for your own child, please let me know, I am more than willing to work with you. Feel free to also tell me, after reading this, if you still are not comfortable with your child reading this novel and we can come up with an alternative novel for your child.
My email address is [email protected] and my phone number at the school is (123) 456-7890 ext. 123.
Thank-you,
Ryan Kish
Smart People School District
English Department
Due to several complaints and questions that I have received concerning the class reading selection, I chose to send a latter home addressing several questions and comments that have been raised about the novel.
The book that we are preparing to start is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling which is about a young boy who finds out that he is a wizard and is whisked off to a school to learn to control his powers and become a trained wizard. Magic and wizardry are heavily present in the novel and this is where the concern seems to stem from. While the book is about a boy beginning his training as a wizard, it is in no way a book that attempts to convert readers to the Wicca religion or glorify wizardry.
At it's core, the book is about the power of friendship, good triumphing evil, and overcoming any situation that you are placed in. In the way that I am choosing to teach this novel, we are not concentrating on the wizard/fantastical aspects of the novel (though they will be discussed) but rather the innate human aspects that most (if not all) of the students can relate to.
This is a story that was immensely popular when I was growing up and has had a great influence on literature and student literacy rates. I picked this book in the hopes that my love for the series would not only come across, but encourage the students to pick up the book and read more than the assigned reading on their own.
If any of you have any suggestions to make this lesson more appropriate for your own child, please let me know, I am more than willing to work with you. Feel free to also tell me, after reading this, if you still are not comfortable with your child reading this novel and we can come up with an alternative novel for your child.
My email address is [email protected] and my phone number at the school is (123) 456-7890 ext. 123.
Thank-you,
Ryan Kish
Smart People School District
English Department