[HPforGrownups] Snape as teacher

[Horst or Rebecca J. Bohner]

No: HPFGUIDX 17016

Lea wrote:

>So I think the question of Snapes teaching qualifications and
>qualities should be settled - there are none, thats all.

I disagree.  Agreed that Snape is not a nice person.  He's cruel to his
students, he bullies and terrifies them, and he certainly does not create a
positive learning atmosphere in his classroom.  However, this is not the
same as being a bad teacher.

A teacher's job is to teach -- that is, to impart knowledge to the students.
If a teacher possesses thorough knowledge of the subject he is required to
teach, and is capable of expressing that knowledge to his students in a way
that they can understand, and if as a result those students are able to
demonstrate that they have learned the skills required of them, then that
teacher is qualified.

Does Snape have a thorough knowledge of his subject?  Undoubtedly.  Is he
able to express that knowledge clearly and effectively to his students?  If
you look at his opening speech in SS, he's positively eloquent.  Do his
students learn?  Well, as others have pointed out, Hermione & Co. made a
Polyjuice potion in their second year -- no mean feat -- and even Neville
manages to get a passing grade on his Potions exams.  So obviously they are
learning *something*, regardless of whether or not they enjoy the
experience.

It is no doubt true that some of Snape's students would learn more, and
learn better, if they were not terrified of him.  Some students find that a
high-pressure, demanding atmosphere interferes with their ability to learn.
On the other hand, other students actually learn *better* in such an
atmosphere, even though they may hate it.  The history of learning is full
of examples of harsh taskmasters who drove their students to excellence.

I don't blame anybody for disliking and disapproving of Snape's teaching
methods.  I don't even blame people for disliking Snape himself -- he's
hardly gone out of his way to endear himself to the reader.  But to say that
he is not only "a bad teacher" but "no teacher at all" is, I think,
unwarranted by the evidence.

If you really want to talk about "no teacher at all", look at somebody like
Gilderoy Lockhart.  Very nice, very polite, very attractive, and liked by
many of his students (albeit for superficial reasons).  What did he actually
know about DADA?  Nothing.  What did he teach his students?  Nothing.
Whatever they learned that year was *in spite of* Lockhart rather than
because of him.  Even in his worst moments, that could never be said of
Snape.
--
Rebecca J. Bohner
rebeccaj at pobox.com
http://home.golden.net/~rebeccaj