Potter readings banned

By STACEY BODGER education reporter

Birkenhead Primary School has banned its teachers from reading Harry Potter books aloud in class because of a complaint about the books' references to wizardry and magic.

Pupils at the primary school received a letter last Wednesday to take home to their parents, advising that instalments from the series of four books, by J.K. Rowling, would no longer be read aloud.

Students are, however, still allowed to read Harry Potter books by themselves at the school and teachers are not banned from discussing the books in class.

But Darrin McLay, whose 6-year-old son attends the school, said the ban was ridiculous.

Mr McLay has withdrawn advertising for his plastering business from the school newsletter. He has also sent a letter to the school objecting to the ban.

"We should be encouraging children to read anything, provided it's not porn or gratuitous violence.

"If you ban the reading of a book aloud based on such innocent things as wizardry and magic, it just won't stop - other books would be banned because of equally ridiculous reasons.

"Things like magic and imaginary worlds open up children's minds - there's no way we should be discouraging that."

The school principal, Nigel Bioletti, would not discuss what complaints the school had received about the books. "The issue is a minor one which has been blown out of proportion.

"It's about allowing for the differences in parents' points of view - our pupils are still free to read the books themselves and they will still be discussed in class," Mr Bioletti said.

Other Auckland primary schools contacted said they had no plans to ban Harry Potter books. Principals questioned the rationale behind the children being able to read the books silently but teachers not being able to read them aloud.

Last week, it was reported that Lower Hutt's Maranatha Christian School had banned the books from the school, saying sorcery and magic had no place in the classroom.

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Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban