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Nov. 1st, 2005 06:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mari4212Hufflepuff won the house cup!
ETA Okay, I lied. Hufflepuff came in second. There was a contest not counted, and it pushed Ravenclaw into the lead.
And there's more, I tied for third place for my essay!
And since I promised I'd put it up here after voting was done, here you go.
TIE: Third Place: [info]mari4212
Education is the Key to Victory:
How would I end the Wizarding War? On the surface, the answer seems ridiculously easy. Kill off Voldemort, and like a snake without its head, the Deatheaters’ side will lose, just as it did fifteen years ago.
But would that solve anything? The societal foundations and prejudices that caused the first war are still around, and they have led to this war. Voldemort by himself is simply a madman. Admittedly, he is a brilliant madman capable of wreaking great havoc, but he would still only be one man. It is because of his followers that he has achieved any lasting impact. More than just his followers, it was the people who at first agreed with his ideas, even if they didn't like his methods who aided him in his initial rise. Voldemort became not merely a lone madman, but a Dark Lord with support because he was not alone in his ideas. And thus the war cannot simply end when Voldemort is defeated. The tensions between the two ideologies predominant in the Wizarding World will break out again and again. No, the war cannot end by merely killing off Voldemort and the Deatheaters, satisfying as it might be to do so. The only way to end this conflict for once and for all is to change people's mindset. And the best way to do that is by early education of young wizards and witches.
There must be a concerted effort to teach the Wizarding community about a better way of life. As it is, children in the Wizarding World are educated by their parents until they are eleven. During that time, the parents are the primary, and in some cases only, source of information about how to see the world, what to believe, and how to interact with the rest of the population. By the time the children hit Hogwarts, they are so thoroughly indoctrinated that the prejudices are almost impossible to overcome, even in the face of direct proof to the contrary. Witness Draco Malfoy's excuses to his father about why Hermione did better in her subjects than he did in Chamber of Secrets. The only evidence we have of someone switching away from their parent's prejudice is Sirius, and he did so more as a form of rebellion at first than out of any deeply held belief. He may have then developed those beliefs, but he changed his mind more because of his poor relationship with his parents than anything else.
If these children are so thoroughly indoctrinated by the time they are eleven, then the only recourse becomes to start teaching them earlier, by establishing Magical primary schools. These schools could not only teach them the basics of reading and writing that their parents had previously been teaching them, it could also give them an early exposure to alternate points of view while they are still young enough to be open-minded.
Of course, once you've started the process in primary schools, you must follow up with this at Hogwarts. To start with, Muggle Studies should be compulsory for every Wizarding-raised student. At the same time, Muggle-raised students would attend a class on the Wizarding World's culture, which would help to acclimate them to their new society. These classes would help the students to understand each other's worlds, and by actually teaching them about each other's societies, rather than expecting them to pick it up by osmosis, it would end some of the larger misunderstandings between the two groups.
And finally, Professor Binns would be fired and exorcised from Hogwarts, and a decent history teacher would be brought in. So much of the problems of the Wizarding World are caused by a lack of understanding of history, and how events that occurred before shape the current situation.
I didn't win with my song, but I'm proud of it, which is what counts, right?
"Moony over Hogsmeade" by Sting, As re-written by Margaret
There's a grey face over Hogsmeade tonight
I see your face in pictures under the pale lamplight
I've no choice but to follow that call
Your face a reminder that I lost it all
I pray everyday to be strong
For each day I confront your wrong
As I dream of all the things I’ll no longer see
While there's nothing but a memory of the way things used to be.
It was many years ago that I became what I am
I was trapped in this life like an innocent lamb
Hiding my face from the terror of the moon
It hurts to recall our days of play, beneath that same moon
The brim of my hat hides the eye of a beast
You said you never saw the horror in my chest
And I dream of all the things I’ll no longer see
While there’s nothing but a memory of the way things used to be.
He walks before me through the passages of this school
So young to confront the fact that he lost it all
I have stood many times outside his House at night
To struggle with my instinct in the pale moon light
How could this be the way it all turned out?
You destroyed all I loved without a single shout
Now I dream of all the things I’ll no longer see
While there’s nothing but a memory of the way things used to be.
It's set in the third book, Remus reflecting over Sirius before he learns about Pettigrew's betrayal.
In other news, I'm still feeling a little sick, but I need to make it in to my classes today.
ETA Okay, I lied. Hufflepuff came in second. There was a contest not counted, and it pushed Ravenclaw into the lead.
And there's more, I tied for third place for my essay!
And since I promised I'd put it up here after voting was done, here you go.
TIE: Third Place: [info]mari4212
Education is the Key to Victory:
How would I end the Wizarding War? On the surface, the answer seems ridiculously easy. Kill off Voldemort, and like a snake without its head, the Deatheaters’ side will lose, just as it did fifteen years ago.
But would that solve anything? The societal foundations and prejudices that caused the first war are still around, and they have led to this war. Voldemort by himself is simply a madman. Admittedly, he is a brilliant madman capable of wreaking great havoc, but he would still only be one man. It is because of his followers that he has achieved any lasting impact. More than just his followers, it was the people who at first agreed with his ideas, even if they didn't like his methods who aided him in his initial rise. Voldemort became not merely a lone madman, but a Dark Lord with support because he was not alone in his ideas. And thus the war cannot simply end when Voldemort is defeated. The tensions between the two ideologies predominant in the Wizarding World will break out again and again. No, the war cannot end by merely killing off Voldemort and the Deatheaters, satisfying as it might be to do so. The only way to end this conflict for once and for all is to change people's mindset. And the best way to do that is by early education of young wizards and witches.
There must be a concerted effort to teach the Wizarding community about a better way of life. As it is, children in the Wizarding World are educated by their parents until they are eleven. During that time, the parents are the primary, and in some cases only, source of information about how to see the world, what to believe, and how to interact with the rest of the population. By the time the children hit Hogwarts, they are so thoroughly indoctrinated that the prejudices are almost impossible to overcome, even in the face of direct proof to the contrary. Witness Draco Malfoy's excuses to his father about why Hermione did better in her subjects than he did in Chamber of Secrets. The only evidence we have of someone switching away from their parent's prejudice is Sirius, and he did so more as a form of rebellion at first than out of any deeply held belief. He may have then developed those beliefs, but he changed his mind more because of his poor relationship with his parents than anything else.
If these children are so thoroughly indoctrinated by the time they are eleven, then the only recourse becomes to start teaching them earlier, by establishing Magical primary schools. These schools could not only teach them the basics of reading and writing that their parents had previously been teaching them, it could also give them an early exposure to alternate points of view while they are still young enough to be open-minded.
Of course, once you've started the process in primary schools, you must follow up with this at Hogwarts. To start with, Muggle Studies should be compulsory for every Wizarding-raised student. At the same time, Muggle-raised students would attend a class on the Wizarding World's culture, which would help to acclimate them to their new society. These classes would help the students to understand each other's worlds, and by actually teaching them about each other's societies, rather than expecting them to pick it up by osmosis, it would end some of the larger misunderstandings between the two groups.
And finally, Professor Binns would be fired and exorcised from Hogwarts, and a decent history teacher would be brought in. So much of the problems of the Wizarding World are caused by a lack of understanding of history, and how events that occurred before shape the current situation.
I didn't win with my song, but I'm proud of it, which is what counts, right?
"Moony over Hogsmeade" by Sting, As re-written by Margaret
There's a grey face over Hogsmeade tonight
I see your face in pictures under the pale lamplight
I've no choice but to follow that call
Your face a reminder that I lost it all
I pray everyday to be strong
For each day I confront your wrong
As I dream of all the things I’ll no longer see
While there's nothing but a memory of the way things used to be.
It was many years ago that I became what I am
I was trapped in this life like an innocent lamb
Hiding my face from the terror of the moon
It hurts to recall our days of play, beneath that same moon
The brim of my hat hides the eye of a beast
You said you never saw the horror in my chest
And I dream of all the things I’ll no longer see
While there’s nothing but a memory of the way things used to be.
He walks before me through the passages of this school
So young to confront the fact that he lost it all
I have stood many times outside his House at night
To struggle with my instinct in the pale moon light
How could this be the way it all turned out?
You destroyed all I loved without a single shout
Now I dream of all the things I’ll no longer see
While there’s nothing but a memory of the way things used to be.
It's set in the third book, Remus reflecting over Sirius before he learns about Pettigrew's betrayal.
In other news, I'm still feeling a little sick, but I need to make it in to my classes today.
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no subject
Date: 2005-11-01 09:40 pm (UTC)And the song is heart-wrenching. Well done!
Hope you feel better.
no subject
Date: 2005-11-01 10:45 pm (UTC)I made it to both of my labs, I'm counting that as a success.
no subject
Date: 2005-11-02 10:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-11-03 03:19 am (UTC)