hogwarts/american school

[copa-cetic.livejournal.com]

A little analogy I have comparing Hogwarts to an American school with the years:
Yes, I know the Brits have their own school system unlike the American one I'm accustomed to.
Someone in my flist compared Hogwarts to a high school, and I've always thought of Hogwarts in this way and a few people liked my random analogy when it comes to ages and the maturity level of the books, so here:

Age:Hogwarts Year:American Grade,School
11:Year One:6th Grade, Middle School
12:Year Two: 7th Grade, Middle School
13:Year Three: 8th grade, Middle School
14:Year Four:9th Grade, High School. I think that Year 4 is a turning point in the books for maturity levels for the characters and shows a change like from middle school to high school. 4th years dating 7th years (like Hermione and Krum) would be like freshmen/senior which isn't that weird.
15:Year Five:10th Grade, High School
16: Year Six:11th Grade, High School.
17: Year Seven:12th Grade, High School.
The ages are of the kids when they start that year, I know Ron turned 17 during Year Six.

Hogwarts is like a combined middle school/high school for wizards in my mind.

Just thought that was a bit interesting...
Sarah

Comments

[kauricat.livejournal.com]

I live in the U.S. and that's how I've always thought of Hogwarts also.

[jessmah.livejournal.com]

Where I'm from, middle school is only 7th and 8th grade. That, or K-8 is all lumped into one school. hehe. But I've thought about Hogwarts your way, too, which is just slightly different.

[possibilities.livejournal.com]

I've occasionally thought of that, but Hogwarts spans from the last year of elementary, through junior high and all of high school for me, which makes strict comparisions tough.

I think of Hogwarts more like the Quebec system. Secondary school grades from Hogwarts Year 1 - Year 5, and then the end-of-high-school stuff, then CEGEP for two years (or Hogwarts 6-7).

[seaborne.livejournal.com]

I'm confused, because in England you either finish school aged 16 and go to sixth form college or into work, or you stay at sixth form in the school until you're 18. So should there be another year? I should add that I'm half asleep after staying up for 48 hours writing essays so perhaps my brain just isn't functioning properly.

[seaborne.livejournal.com]

Actually I'm just an idiot, because in your analogy 6th grade equals year 7 (year 1 of Hogwarts) so it all works fine. I really wish my brain would wake up :(

[angelofstrange.livejournal.com]

mmm, i turned 18 my senior year :P really depends on when your birthday is

[ciara-belle.livejournal.com]

It sort of works out like that. I just think the English system is so different, though!

Lol, and I never think of 9th grade as high school since when I was in 9th grade I was still at the junior high.

[kayryn666.livejournal.com]

Ditto to that.

[sadisticsquirrl.livejournal.com]

same here...they changed 9th to high school when i was in 10th, so i was in jr. high in 9th too...oh well

[perrie.livejournal.com]

It kinda works, but its not just the years that are different between American/English, its the ENTIRE schooling system. We have different day structures, subject choices, uniforms!, pretty much everything that could be different IS different apart from the basic teacher > student interaction.

So...it's good to work it back to your own understanding of it, but...it's not quite as simple as year comparisons. ;)

[copa-cetic.livejournal.com]

Of course. I know about GCSE's and all that, and I'm generalizing American schools by the ones I went to and I know that, but I'm well aware that in England they spell color like colour and have a totally different school system. I saw someone else's comparison of Hogwarts, and I just felt like sharing what I think of when I think of First Year or Second Year. I'm sure it's different for everyone.

[zentraedi-shep.livejournal.com]

I better keep the German system out of this (or at least the system that was on when I went to school), cuz it'd confuse you all to hell and is in almost no way compatible with the system shown in the HP books...

Here in Germany you have only four years of elementary school and move up to the next level at the age of ten (or eleven if you're born early in the year). We don't have high schools as such, but a complicated system of four different school types that you can choose from, depending on your marks and intelligence. The "lowest" form (though people there are not necessarily dumb) ends after 5 years, the standard after 6 years and the "higher" forms (which doesn't mean that the people there are in any way intelligent) after 8 or 9 years (I'm not really sure about that, cuz when I was in school they wanted to switch from 9 to 8 years, but I dunno, if they really did)...
You could split the forms into middle school, junior high and senior high, but that would only be for a better understanding.
Even worse: what you learn in school and at what point in your life as a pupil depends on the state you're in (Germany is a federation of 16 states), since there is no overall law governing schools and universities. This belongs to each state independently...

Who again was it that said that the British have a complicated school system??!?

[copa-cetic.livejournal.com]

Danngggg. I'm sure it was even worse pre-Napolean and after the Holy Roman Empire died and there were almost as many states as there were days in the year :)
haha I remember that from AP EURO, good thing I got college credit for it.