The learning center/academy place that I work at is currently doing a Harry Potter thing, I have no idea on the specifics (not privy to that due to part-timer status) but a whole lot of kids have been given Harry Potter and the Philosopher's (or as the kids have it, Sorcerer's) Stone for their learning material. As a person whose childhood is 50% HP (I'm a Potterhead still, I get frustrated when I don't get 100% on HP trivia quizes on the internet) I've been kinda enjoying it, according to my books no child should not know Hogwarts and a surprising number of kids had never read any of the books or watched the movies before (still not over the shock of that). Although me humming the audiobook intro music and gushing over Jim Dale's amazing performance do make the kids stare, so far the kids had acknowledged that the book is good and were willing to talk about the bits they had read for the day.
Well, the bright young miss who had loved Junie B. Jones and is my unofficial favorite (shh) student, she started on HP some days ago. She's the youngest one among the HP kids (she's 10, the others are 11 or 12), but I had assumed everything would be fine since she's a smart little thing. Today I checked over her for the first time after she started on HP, and this ensues. (about 80% verbatim)
Me: So, how are you liking the book so far?
Julie (learned her English name today): Huh?
Me: Do you like the book?
J: Not really.
Me: Wha- How come?
J: It's too long.
Me: C'mon, just because a book is long doesn't mean it's not good.
J: It is so.
Me: I can bet my right hand on that it's not. But anyway, tell me what happened during the part you read today. (The kids read the book in parts, annoyingly not 100% in chapters)
J: All of it?
Me: (blinks) Of course.
J: But there's too many.
Me: (secretly
) You don't have to tell me every tiny detail, just the important ones.
J: It's still too many.
Me: Well then... Show me where you began for today, and where you stopped reading.
J: (proceeds to show me that)
Me: Okay, so Hagrid gave Harry tickets for the Hogwarts Express. What happened next?
J: He goes into the wall.
Me: Huh?? Oh, you're talking about Harry getting on to Platform Nine and Three-quarters. I'm talking about the things that happened before.
J: Um... Dudley (mumbled something)
Me:
confused:
) Okay, that happened. Then tell me this, how did Harry get to King's Cross, the train station?
J: Mr Dudley. (The kids confuse Dudley and Dursley for some reason, so I'm kinda used to this)
Me: Right, Vernon Dursley drove Harry. And how did Harry get to Platform Nine and Three-quarters?
J: Run into the wall.
Me: Yes darling, he headed for the barrier... Anyway, who told him how to do that?
J: The fat lady.
Me: (starts to feel uneasy) Aaaaall right... Do you remember her name?
J: (shakes head)
Me: Then at least, do you know who she is?
J: The mother.
Me: She's Ron's mother. So you remember Ron?
J: (small nod)
Me: Okay then. What is Ron like? Can you describe him to me?
J: (shakes head)
Me: But you know Ron.
J: (in Korean) I don't know much.
Me: (switches to Korean) Just tell me the important thing. What is his relationship with Harry like?
J: (in English) Friends.
Me: (back to English) Yes, they become friends. (checks time) Okay now, on the train some people visit Harry and Ron. Do you know who they are?
J: Twins.
Me: (tries to remember whether Fred and George came into Harry and Ron's compartment) Anyone else?
J: Uh... A girl.
Me: You don't happen to remember her name, do you?
J: No.
Me: (sighs inside) Hermione Granger. She becomes important later on.
J: (back to Korean) She's that girl?
Me: Huh? Yeah, she's one of the trio. Aside from Hermione?
J: (back to English) Twins.
Me: You've mentioned them already... Three boys. Remember them?
J: No.
Me: Weeeell, do you remember Harry buying robes, and a boy being with him there?
J: Ah, yes!
Me: He's Draco Malfoy. Does the name ring a bell? (checks) Apparently not. Draco comes with his friends, don't you remember?
J: (shakes head)
Me: Hmm, tell me this. Is Draco Malfoy a good person?
J: Yes? (looks at my expression) No.
Me: How can you tell?
J: ... Isn't it in the book?
Me: No book has a line like "This is a bad person", darling. Why did you think he was a good person?
J: (back to Korean) I haven't read all the parts I was supposed to read, see.
Me: (switches) So then, did you read all the parts you were supposed to read today?
J: (looks at the ground)
Me: I'm not scolding you, so please, show me the parts that you actually read and remember the details?
J: (proceeds to do that, she had only read like 20%)
Me: (internal deep sigh) Okay darling, for today I'm going to summarize the part of the book that you were supposed to read today. But really, please do read the parts you didn't get to catch up on, I don't care even if you read the translated version. I just want you to understand what's going on when you keep on reading, it's going to be even harder and more boring if you don't get what's happening. (summarizes) And that's what happened, got it?
J: (very small nod, looks despondent)
Me: Aaargh this looks like as if I've scolded you, I'm not, it's just... See, Harry Potter was my childhood, I love the books so much and I can guarantee you, they are really, really good. I just don't want you to miss out on it and think that this book is hard and boring and you don't get anything.
J: (blank look)
Me: (feels terrible) I'll... let you go now, want some candy?
J: Uh-huh.
Me: Which one? I've got two jars.
J: Mentos.
Me: (gives Mentos while freaking out inside)
And she was my last kid for today. I still feel terrible, she's usually bright and a bit cheeky and not a bit like what happened today. I know it's more like that she's given too much work than what she's capable of doing in 30 minutes (she was reading Amber Brown just last week, now she's reading a book that's as long as six Amber Browns), but... :hpull:
But, I thought I would at least try to see if it helped in any way).
