Five Lessons of a Dumbledore Education

WANDS AT THE READY! Don your robes and grab your broomstick, for you are about to depart for Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Educators are invited on this journey because they, too, can conjure moments of magic in their work with students. This journey offers an opportunity to consider how to make magical moments a permanent feature of our work, creating institutions as magical as Hogwarts.

The beauty of J. K. Rowling's writing is not that it crafts other worlds or new educational theories. The true beauty of her work rests in helping readers experience the everyday world in a new light and discuss common theories with a new, more magical vocabulary. After disembarking from the Hogwarts Express, you may discover new ways to mentor and engage students.

HOGWARTS and the world of Harry Potter may help educators re-imagine their daily work and are good reminders that intentional formal and informal mentoring, informed by educational theory, play an essential role in student learning and development. Mentoring principles at Hogwarts flow from Albus Dumbledore, the school's headmaster, whose influence is felt throughout the school. The students he advises almost universally regard the mysterious and powerful Dumbledore as the supreme authority on any given subject. Nonetheless, the last three books of the Harry Potter series illustrate his humanity, his complexity, and—dare we say it—his flaws. Order of the Phoenix reveals Dumbledore as perhaps too caring toward his students. Half-Blood Prince has him questioning whether his faith in the power of love and his unequivocal trust in close confidantes ultimately caused great personal tragedy. Deathly Hallows exposes a man uncomfortable with power. As educators struggle to maintain healthy boundaries with students, they should remain mindful of Rowling's lesson that they may never escape questioning how protective or empowering to be with students. Indeed, the essence of education may be in grappling time and time again with this question. Dumbledore, like any mentor, need not be perfect; it is comforting to know that his imperfections may be what bind him closer to the students.

Dumbledore guides several good educational practices at Hogwarts; his philosophy is embedded in five simple yet powerful concepts: information, empower-ment, self-care, empathy, and choice. Dumbledore's principles provide a fresh perspective and a new language with which to engage students, faculty, and staff in discussion of ongoing educational questions.

The headmaster believes in giving students information: the tools and knowledge they need to accomplish difficult tasks on their own. Confronted by Harry at the end of Sorcerer's Stone, the first book in the series, the great wizard explains his position. “The truth,” Dumbledore sighed.“It is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution. However, I shall answer your questions unless I have a very good reason not to, in which case I beg you'll forgive me. I shall not, of course, lie” (p. 298). Though he prepares Harry for the possibility that some details may be concealed for his own good, in Order of the Phoenix, Dumbledore questions his own hesitancy and regrets not having given Harry the knowledge that may have prevented tragic events. Dumbledore withholds information out of his care for students. Other educators’ experiences may resonate with Dumble-dore's; finding balance between providing students with necessary information and potentially hurting them is rarely easy. How can we explore truth if truth is not appropriate? How can we model integrity while maintaining appropriate levels of discretion? Would withholding information compromise an educator's credibility? Think of moments when you could not disclose specific facts behind a judicial conversation or interpersonal conflict mediation. Rowling's writing hints that there may never be a definitive answer on how to create policies or choose levels of transparency. But there is the process of examining issues, making the best available choices, and hoping that social good results.

Closely linked with information sharing is Dum-bledore's unshakable faith in student empowerment. Young Harry explores this concept as he reflects on his face-off with Voldemort in Sorcerer's Stone:“He's a funny man, Dumbledore. I think he sort of wanted to give me a chance. I think he knows more or less everything that goes on here, you know. I reckon he had a pretty good idea we were going to try, and instead of stopping us, he just taught us enough to help” (p. 302).

One of the most powerful aspects of the Harry Potter books rests in the degree of personal agency that is allowed in the students. While exceptionally appealing to many, this level of freedom frightens many more; Harry and his friends question and even break rules set by the adults. This empowerment is centrally about feeding one's own imagination. In the Harry Potter books, students are encouraged to board the Hogwarts Express away from the world of their parents and toward construction of their own magical world of possibilities. Dumbledore's concept of empowerment is somewhat discordant with the typical treatment of stu-dents. While an eleven-year-old boy can stand up to the most powerful wizard of all time, many of our stu-dents—who would be of age in the wizarding world—find roommate conflicts overwhelming and even terrifying. Educators must close this gap between students’ fictional worlds and worldly reality by challenging and supporting students in their learning and development. Harry has both the tools and the confidence to do what is right rather than what is easy. He is not fearless or doubtless; he is surrounded by those who love him and believe in him and arm him with the necessary tools to succeed.

One of the most important lessons that students can learn from a good mentor is how to manage self-care, both as individuals and in groups. A good mentor knows not only when to push students forward but also when to pull them back if they do not understand how much responsibility they can effectively manage. It can be quite difficult to act in the best long-term interest of students by denying them new authority and responsi-bility, especially when such an administrative decision, seen through the short-term lens, might seem unfair. Dumbledore finds himself in a similar situation in Order of the Phoenix:“I feel I owe you another explanation, Harry,” said Dumbledore.“You may, perhaps, have wondered why I never chose you as a prefect? I must confess … that I rather thought … you had enough responsibility to be going on with” (p. 844). Dumble-dore's tearful admission demonstrates his deep conflict over his choices. He finds his way through this classic mentor's dilemma only by trusting his own instincts.

While teaching self-care on an individual level may mean restraint, Dumbledore remains quite explicit about the idea that self-care in a group setting means continual sharing through a system of testing and helping. In Half-Blood Prince, for example, Dumbledore instructs Harry to share highly privileged information with Ron and Hermione, though not with other students and adults. The episode draws key characteristics from each person and results in more balance within the group. Hermione, for example, must learn to “sort out her priorities,” lest she remain isolated from Ron and Harry. Harry uses his friends’ support as a platform to hone his leadership skills. Even as Ron struggles to develop an identity separate from his family, his magical background supports the trio during their adventures. The three friends become a miniature self-directed community, in which mistakes can be made and learned from, and in which, despite minor squabbles, support can be expected during the toughest of times.

Taking care of one's self and one's group requires emotional awareness—especially, as Harry's lessons with Dumbledore make clear, an understanding and appreciation of the power of love. Dumbledore does not shy away from exploring and exposing his own feelings, even when doing so presents him as vulnerable to Harry. Conversely, he allows Harry to become engulfed in confusing emotions and tolerates Harry's violent outbursts. Ultimately, however, Dumbledore guides Harry toward love, as this scene from Half-Blood Prince illustrates:

Harry's lessons with Dumbledore throughout Half-Blood Prince consist not of advanced magic but of how to feel; the headmaster does not attempt to teach Harry how to deflect dark spells. Dumbledore instructs Harry on how to understand his nemesis's feelings and the path they dictate. In Deathly Hallows, even as he continues to question his mentor's philosophy, Harry demonstrates appreciation for Dumbledore's wisdom.

Love is old magic, more powerful than spells and potions. As a typical teenager, Harry does not fully recognize how love (through his mother's sacrifice) once saved him and how it continually helps him overpower a man whose predominant emotions are fear and hatred. Educators likewise may face resistance when coaching students on the importance of empathy. Bombarded by information, immersed in their schedules, and distracted from human contact by technology and media, students often do not want to or do not know how to take note of their own feelings. Effective mentors teach students to recognize, manage, and communicate emotions so that they can ultimately learn from them. Dumbledore, the mentor, identifies for Harry that an open heart is the ultimate salvation. Whether confronting dark wizards or self-doubt, the ability to feel for others gives students the greatest power. Rowling suggests and we heartily agree that the learning of the heart must be equal to the learning of the mind.

The final lesson of Dumbledore's philosophy, choice, may be the most powerful.“It is not our abilities that show what we truly are, it is our choices,” says Dumble-dore to Harry at the end of Chamber of Secrets (p. 333). Few messages are better for college students than the Half-Blood Prince's dictum:“You are free to choose your way” (p. 512). The educator's responsibility is to support students in making good choices, even if they sometimes lead to mistakes. Like the greatest wizard of all time, effective educators invite their students to choose to feel; everything else will fall into place, as if by magic.