Why I Don't Like Hagrid

[L. Inman]

No: HPFGUIDX 28463

Cindy wrote:

> Indeed, your assessment is quite charitable and forgiving, as 
> Hagrid also assigned the Monster Book of Monsters because it 
> was "funny," he wasted the students' time caring for flobberworms, 
he 
> compromised security surrounding the Sorceror's Stone, among other 
> things.

About the Monster Book:  I'm not so sure the Monster Book was a bad 
choice for COMC.  After all, the whole point of the class is to learn 
to a) be alert, not afraid, and know what to do with recalcitrant 
creatures; and b) once that's mastered, know how to care for them.  
Hagrid could have used the students' reaction to the Monster Book to 
make his point:  that once you know what to do with certain 
creatures, you don't have to be afraid of them, and your relationship 
with them can turn to both your advantage and the creatures'.  
Hagrid's mistake (a common first-year teacher's mistake, and I should 
know) was to assume that because the students didn't figure this out 
on their own, he was a failure from the start because they just 
didn't like his subject.  When Malfoy sneered, "Oh, we just have to 
*stroke* them.  Why didn't we think of this before?" Hagrid could 
have said, "That's right, Malfoy; that is the first thing to learn in 
caring for magical creatures -- how to get past their defenses."

There are any number of things Hagrid could have done in the two 
years he's taught to turn bad situations into object lessons -- but 
he hasn't developed the teacher's sight for that yet.  And I agree 
with Malfoy and the Trio about the Blast-Ended Skrewts.  Surely it 
said something to Hagrid that these things were used as deadly 
obstacles in the Third Task??

As for the rest of it, I like Hagrid very much, but I see his 
weaknesses all too clearly.

Lisa