JK Rowling announced last week that she regrets pairing up Ron and Hermione. They didn’t make sense as a couple. Hermione should have hooked up with Harry.

I’m not going to weigh in on the nuances of the Harry Potter novels. The geeks have written enough on the plot and character development in these books, and I’m not a Harry Potter-geek. But I do think it’s interesting to see the variety of opinions on this topic from friends and strangers on social media.

Hermione is the stereotype of the smart, straight A girl, who is also humorless and unimaginative. Ron is the stereotype of the boy who struggles in school, probably is on ADD meds, plays too many video games, and goofs around with his friends. Parents of girls relate to Hermione. Parents of boys relate to Ron.

Sometimes it is difficult to be a feminist and a mom of boys. I have to cheer at the success that girls are finding in schools and college, but I do worry how the school system treats boys. I worry that boys, who lag behind girls developmentally, are traumatized by a school system that prizes perfectionism over other character traits.

Most kids aren’t a pure Hermione or a pure Ron. My oldest son is some days a Hermione, and other days a Ron. But on his Ron days, I worry.