Hogwarts Student Population

[Jackie]

No: HPFGUIDX 45326


--- GulPlum  wrote:
> I'm not sure if that was clear, but to put it
> another way, assuming there 
> are, say, 20 second-year pupils in each of
> Gryffindor and Hyfflepuff, 
> rather than have the 20 Herbology pupils made up of
> one set of 10 
> Gryffindors and 10 Hufflepuffs in one lesson and
> another 10 Gs and 10 Hs in 
> another, it would have been easier to simply have
> all 20 Gryffindors in one 
> class, and the 20 Hufflepuffs in another.
 
Now, I went to an American school, not Brittish, but
my experience is that easier isn't always how schools
do things.  All through Elementary school, we were
assigned a class with a teacher.  However, every year,
we mixed classes for at least 1 subject.  In the
beginning, like 1st and 2nd grade, this was just math,
and based on your level of comprehension, so you
studied with people more at your own level.  By 5th
grade, we had a regular class, and aptitude-based math
and reading, and a mixed history/current events
course.  Now, it would have been much easier for the
school to just put all the better math and/or reading
students in one class and have the same teacher work
with them all the time, but they didn't.  Why? Well, I
can't say for sure, but I think it was because then
the 'smart' kids would never learn that they have to
be patient sometimes, and the 'dumb' kids would always
think they're 'dumb' and worthless.  It also helped a
lot with socialization.  I think this would be a key
reason why Hogwarts would mix classes, even though it
is more difficult:  To prevent prejudices between the
houses in witches and wizards that might have to work
and/or live together someday.  Otherwise, it would be
too easy for the Department for Magical Law
Enforcement to become totally filled with Gryffindors,
for example, because the people in charge were
Gryffindors and always associated with Gryffindors and
only saw the other houses at meals, therefore how can
we be sure that they will ever measure up to our
(Gryffindor) standards?  Mixing the houses up in
classes allows all the students to get to know others,
make connections, and learn that wizards may have
different skills, but they are all equally nice,
qualified, learned, etc. 

 
> The one piece of canon we have which is unequivocal
> about the number of 
> boys in Harry's year is that each year, his dorm
> in
> the tower is "the [X] 
> years' boys' dorm" implying that the five boys
> in
> Harry's dorm are all the 
> Gryffindors for each year. 
 
This may just be a difference between England and
America, and I am fully open to corrections if I am
wrong, but can you prove that there are only 5 boys in
Harry's *dorm*?  I know that there dorm is pointed out
as being on one side of the hall, but who says that
that door doesn't lead to a hall full of doors to
rooms?  We only know the 5 boys in Harry's room, but
there could be other rooms attached to that hall. 
This is a less-stable arguement, however, because here
in America, in colleges, a Dorm is a building as well
as a room.  When I say 'I am going to my Dorm' I could
mean my room, but I could just mean the building,
which houses 800 other students.  Please, someone in
England correct me if this is not the case there.

~Jaye


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