To be surprised DSs teacher claims Harry Potter are her favourite books?

[bluegreenruby]

She teaches English and I would surely have expected a little more sophistication from someone with an English degree?

Of course it doesn't (nice little insult there!)

Which would you rather she said is her favourite? I've got to say I don't really understand what makes something 'Great literature'/'A classic'. My favourite book in the world is aimed at 10 year olds ('There's a boy in the girls bathroom'). I don't see the appeal in Harry Potter at all myself but as you're surely aware millions of adults around the globe do love them, so to answer your original post, yes you are being unreasonable.

Why the hell would you assume people who read HP are not sophisticated?

Ridiculous, judgemental attitude.

So what do YOU read @bluegreenruby, you wise, intellectual, upper-class person.

I've an English degree, and I have taught nursery and reception.

I love Chaucer and Shakespeare, I can read a 3 inch thick book in a couple of days, and have 4 books on the go at any one time.... but my favourite book, out of everything I've ever read?

Mort by Terry Pratchett.

Favourites is about what you enjoy reading the most, not whats most high brow.

My first thought when I read your post was “ oo I haven’t read them for ages”. I love those books. I’ve got a degree.
I read crappy books on hols. The papers on a Sunday.
Used to always read Booker Prize until The Luminaries, then I gave up. What does it matter?

I think my surprise stems from it being a children's book. Yes, she may have been "just saying" it, but I think she meant it.

I have several degrees and my favourite books are Tolkien, Discworld, Anne of green gables and G Heyer because I read them as a teenager. They are my comfort books. I love reading and have many much more literary tomes on my shelves but in a fire Lord of the Rings comes first.

Why are you surprised it's a children's book?

Do you think it's easier or simpler to write for children? One of the first things my degree taught me is that it's not. Indeed, the idea of 'children's literature' is very modern and would have been anachronistic and confusing when most of the 'big name' canonical authors were alive.

What does a “children’s book” even mean? Does that mean that adults cannot enjoy the magic!?

I'd judge an English teacher who said that to a class unless they were lying to create a bond . It shows a lack of appreciation for structure, characterisation, language and innovation. I'd despair that they were giving my child such low expectations of literature.

I have an extremely well-regarded Classics degree. I can read complex Greek and Latin texts in the original languages. I'm stating that for context, not to show off. When I was at school, we were forced to read "worthy" literature. Steinbeck; Shakespeare; bloody interminable Maya Angelou. I couldn't stand it. Goody twoshoesness shoved down our throats for years on end. Some of my favourite books are pure escapism and froth. I love Georgette Heyer and the Harry Potter series. So what? It's made no difference to my academic ability or achievement

This, times a million.

Is it a 'children's book' or is it a book that can be enjoyed across the age gaps? In fact the HP series was marketed to both adults and children but clearly you're too dense to know that.
And so what if she meant it?
You're really not the sharpest knife in the drawer are you OP? You've got this baseless little idea in your head and you're not changing your view for anyone.

Oh fuck off.

jessica, should that teacher also avoid Shakespeare and Chaucer? Same logic applies, especially w/ref Chaucer, and I doubt many people could argue something like Two Gentlemen or Comedy of Errors is linguistically sophisticated.

I’m a mathematician and my favourite proof is “prove root 2 is irrational”. (This is a very basic proof for the uninitiated.)

Damn, I'll have to go off and remind myself of that before I go to bed! The other sleepless night I decided to derive the formula for quadratics from first principles.
One of my favourite 'proofs' is 1 = 2 !
As far as books go, people get very surprised that I, a mathematician, know quite a bit about literature but I still read Jilly Cooper for relaxation.
In interviews for Sandhurst the most popular morning papers were The Times and Telegraph, the most read in the Officers Mess were the Sun and Mirror. Intellectual snobbery is everywhere.

@JessicaJonesJacket it really is a matter of opinion. I have an English degree from a top 5 uni. I have an MA. I get the best GCSE results in my school. I also happen to think the Harry Potter books are great. More fool you if you can’t see the value of adapting your teaching to the age/level of the class you are teaching.

By which I mean, telling a class HP is your favourite when asked off the cuff in a busy lesson rather than Dostoevsky.

I'd judge an English teacher who said that to a class unless they were lying to create a bond . It shows a lack of appreciation for structure, characterisation, language and innovation. I'd despair that they were giving my child such low expectations of literature.

Really?

She probably has other favourites too but like a pp said, if she mentioned War and Peace or whatever it is you think is worthy literature, you'd not get a good response for generating conversation in class.

Some of you are really angry about this. How strange. This isn't as personal for me as it appears to be for some of you.

Degrees are easy to get.
Harry Potter has some interesting references but it's an odd choice I'd agree.
Like saying New Zealand makes the best wine because their Sauvignon Bland is outstanding and popular. When France makes an extraordinary range if every type and kind.

tilly, Oxford and Cambridge colleges each take all the tabloid papers in the Senior Common Room, so that people can be well informed about the content of the Daily Mail without having to admit to buying it.

Some of you are really angry about this. How strange. This isn't as personal for me as it appears to be for some of you.

Honey, you started the thread! If you don't think you sound personally invested I don't know what you do think you're doing.

So what if she meant it. Most people who are avid readers in adulthood are so because the fell in love with reading as children. I can list so many children’s books that were/are important me. Just because they were written for children doesn’t mean they aren’t good books.

@Squidgee High five! My favourite book in the world is Feet Of Clay by PTerry

For the record, I have an MA in English literature

I don't think starting the thread equates to being personally invested, it just means I wondered whether I was being unreasonable or not. Evidently I am; the surprise has come from how vehemently I've been told I am!