Teaching Potions

[Margaret Dean]

No: HPFGUIDX 32983

Elizabeth Dalton wrote:
 
 
> But I still don't think [Snape]'s a good teacher. As I wrote earlier, I
> evaluate this by the lack of evidence that any of his students are
> learning much about potions except Hermione, and since she does so
> much self-study, I'm not sure we can count her. 

My rejoinder to this is "Absence of evidence is not evidence of
absence." IOW, I think we don't get enough data to know this.

> Ron and Harry are quite blunt about their lack of attention in
> Potions. 

Is that Snape's fault or theirs?  You can lead a girl to
Vassar...  Okay, maybe a bit of both.

> Neville certainly isn't learning anything, other than how to cringe.

Granted.

> And though we see various instances of kids using charms or spells like
> Accio to do things on their own time, no one (again, except Hermione)
> ever seems to make a potion for any purpose of their own. (Although, I
> admit, I don't know how Fred and George made the Canary Creams. That
> might have involved a potion. Even if so, I doubt they learned it from
> Snape.) 

On what grounds do you doubt this?

> Neither Harry nor Cedric try to
> duplicate the fire-freeze potion when facing the dragon, or even use the
> shrinking potion, which they learned in class. Eloise Midgen tries to
> hex off her acne, rather than attempting to make the bubotuber potion,
> and this is evidently a pretty common problem, so even though the kids
> know Madam Pomfrey has a huge store of magical potion remedies, they
> still don't think of potions first. There is probably a potion that lets
> one breathe underwater (likely involving gillyweed), but the kids don't
> even bother researching potions when trying to help Harry with his tasks
> in GoF. (For the most part, they seem to be looking at Charms. See below.)
> They have little knowledge and less interest in the subject, in or out
> of Snape's class.

Could this possibly have anything to do with the fact that the
only equipment needed for a Charm is a wand, whereas in order to
make a Potion you have to obtain a variety of ingredients?  Not
to mention the time involved, where do you set up your cauldron
where it will be safe to let it simmer for hours, days, or weeks,
what if your roommates complain about the smell, etc., etc.  You
can't always count on having a disused lavatory to work in.

And hey, let's face it, teenagers as a group are not into delayed
gratification.  :)


--Margaret Dean
  <margdean at erols.com>