[HPforGrownups] Re: Impossible timetable

[Bernadette M. Crumb]

No: HPFGUIDX 38370

"grey_wolf_c" <greywolf1 at jazzfree.com> wrote a nice discussion on
classes on Saturdays and so forth...

One thing I haven't seen mentioned was something that happens in
my daughter's school.  She goes on what is called a "block
schedule."  All of her classes are an hour and a half long, but
instead of having the same classes every single day, they are on
a six day rotation.  She has some classes on days 1, 3 and 5,
others on days 2, 4 and 6, and a couple of electives that are
held only once in the 6 day cycle.  Using a 3 day cycle might fit
in enough class hours, or may not... but would explain how they
could have Potions on Thursday this week and again on Monday...
Also, I remember having scheduled "Study Periods" when I was in
school too (I hated them unless I could get a library pass!  It's
hard to study when the idiot across from you is jabbering with
his mate and tossing spit wads at you...)

Example using HP classes:

Day 1
Divination/Arithmancy
Transfiguration
Lunch
Care of Magical Creatures

Day 2
Double Potions
Lunch
DADA
possible elective classes or study period

Day 3
Charms
Study Period
Lunch
Ancient Runes

Etcetera...

I'm not going to try to work out the whole schedule to include
Saturdays, but it might help explain the problem.  Also, while I
know that there's disputes about the actual number of teachers at
Hogwarts, it wouldn't surprise me to find there are other
instructors who have not yet been named.  Who teaches Muggle
Studies?  I don't recall seeing a name attached to that
instructor.  Who teaches Ancient Runes?  Until we see Harry
having to interact with these people, they'll probably not be
identified.  Also, who can say that there's not more elective
classes for the more senior students that haven't actually been
mentioned?  While we read quite a bit about Fred and George and
Percy in the first four books, we don't see anything about the
classes they are taking.

Remember, just because we haven't actually SEEN more than eight
or nine named students at the sortings doesn't mean that there
aren't 75 to 100 new kids every year... we are only seeing what
Harry sees.  Frankly the idea of having to wait for the Hat to
Sort out that many kids makes the anticipatory waiting for the
Sorting Feast make a LOT more sense to me... I remember sitting
there, saying "Get on with it!" when I was watching my sister
graduate from college a few years ago!  And there wasn't a huge
number of students going through the ceremony....

Overall, we'll just have to accept the inconsistencies unless JKR
gets around to fixing the FLINTs... but it's still fun to figure
them out!

Bernadette
(who really ought to create some sort of class schedule for the
HP RPG she's involved in now that we're playing both Fourth and
Fifth years...)
"Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art. It has no
survival value; rather it is one of those things that give value
to survival."
-- C.S. Lewis (1898-1963).