Harry Potter Lessons Learned, Year 2, Chapter 6: Gilderoy Lockhart

Welcome back to our chapter-by-chapter reading of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. We are going back to classes today and that means I say with a deep sigh, that we can't avoid Gilderoy Lockhart. Let's see what happens next. And again. And again.

An insufferable know-it-all

I once had a friend who really wanted to be an expert in everything. This ranged from the amusing where she claimed to be a professional flower-arranger after learning the basics at one class to correcting me about the rules of a language she didn't speak and i had studied for years. You get the idea. Gilderoy Lockhart is a strong reminder of this person who took it personally that I said Latin was a real language. He knows little, but 'splains much. I can't blame Professor Sprout for being brusque when he takes over her duties to care for the magical plants at Hogwarts.

He wants to be given credit and accolades for existing with self-confidence and a little research and that just doesn't work. While the quiz that he administers at the beginning of term is absurd, it's revealing. The entire thing establishes a baseline of how much in awe the students are of the teacher,, while not expecting any actual learning.

It was exasperating when Flourish and Blotts was packed to capacity with people who admired someone for his good looks and incredible stories, but it's good to see the students develop an awareness of how incredible it actually is. Harry and the other Gryffindors start early in this book to think more critically and that is a good foundation for what needs to happen in the rest of the plot.

Lesson Learned: Don't take anything at face value

It is sometimes a frustrating thing to be literate in the world today. For one thing, I'm constantly being told to read more by one side of things and to not believe more than one source by another. It's also common to hear, "Don't believe anything you read."

It's our duty to live a life of conscience and to do so by exploring what we think. It's not only natural to explore, but it's also a way to lead a better life. Use everything you read to think about how it agrees or challenges what you already tink. See where that thought takes you. And never stop thinking for yourself.