Archived Article on WisePagan.com

Subtitle: Brittish Author May Be Making A Political Statement About The State of Education In The USA.

Image captions: US Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings - Actress Imelda Staunton as Dolores Umbridge

submitted by BuddhaBoy

J.K. Rowling, aside from being the top earner in England (with an estimated income of 545 million pounds - or 1 billion dollars) may also be something of a politician. Her fantasy book series, Harry Potter, has been the single largest source of entertainment for kids in the USA over the last 6 years. There is no doubt that J.K. Rowling is a very influential person in the United States as well as the UK. So, would it suprise us to find out that she may have an opinion on education in America and the direction it has taken since her surge in popularity? In the recent film adaptation of Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix, actress Imelda Staunton plays the role of Dolores Umbridge, a wicked Head Mistress who has been planted at Hogwarts Academy by the ever powerful "Ministry of Magic". This calls to mind, George Orwell's 1984 because of the irony of the situation. You see, dear old Dolores has been missioned out to Hogwarts to implement standardized testing and prevent the students from applying magic in any practical form. This is where we start to draw a direct correlation to the Bush Administration and it's "No Child Left Behind" program. The NCLB program forces schools to rely on standardized testing as a means to "earn" their funding and even has provisions for planting federal agents as school officials in districts that have wanderd off course. These "renegade" schools are brought swiftly to a halt by firing the staff and sending the students to other schools that have resolved to focus solely on standardized testing. The parallels become even more obvious when Ms. Umbridge (or Ms. Spellings) is appointed High Inquisitor of Hogwarts - allowing her to inspect and dismiss faculty at the school that she finds to be in contradiction to the sky-high list of new rules and regulations. George W. Bush's appointment of Margaret Spellings as Secretary of Education in 2004 was nothing short of controversial. Spellings first order of business was to aid in the withdrawal of funding for public media, accusing PBS of promoting homosexuality to young people. The program that Ms. Spellings took issue with (Postcards From Buster) was a childrens program that aired a single episode in which a character lived with two mothers and no father. No promotion of any sexual activity ever took place. Spellings, who co-authored No Child Left Behind, would certainly be an ideal target for non-christians and anyone who wishes to keep the Separation of Church and State alive in the USA. Since the Act's inception, President Bush and Margaret Spellings have allowed "faith-based" groups to serve as private tutors, receiving public money, in public schools under the act. The US Department of Education's website reads: "No Child Left Behind provides opportunities for faith-based organizations to assist in educating children." To a skeptic, this reads like "Why should your taxes go to public schools? We should give your tax money to the Church so that they can educate your children in the ways of the Lord." So is Rowling weighing in on American Politics? Is Imelda Staunton a dead-ringer for Margaret Spellings? What do you think?

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Title: No Muggle Left Behind	Author: Buddhaboy	Date Archived: 04-10-08