Teachers and fairness (WAS Is Snape unfair with House Points? )

[bluesqueak]

No: HPFGUIDX 56490


> > Mel wrote:
> > 
> > > I'd have taken ten....
> > >
Bill replied: 
> > Why?
> > 
> > Snape asked a question of the class.
> > 
> > Hermione raised her hand.
> > 
> > Snape ignored her, and made a sneering comment to the class.
> > 
> > Hermione answered the question.
> > 
> > Snape insulted Hermione, and deducted 5 points for answering the 
> > question he had asked.
> > 
> > And you think he should have deducted 10 points????
> > 
> > I really hope that you are not a teacher.
> > 
> 
Mel replied:
> 
> Not at the moment. 
> But I honestly wish I had a dollar for every time I have had to 
> say to the same student something along the lines of "Yes, I'm 
> sure you have the answer, but why don't we give someone else a 
> chance this time?"
> 
> 
> Say what you want, Snape told Hermione exactly what he was going 
> to  do and Why, then did it.

Yup. I agree with Mel on this one.

Hermione, in PoA, is portrayed as a *pain* when it comes to 
answering teacher's questions. There's a scene in Ch. 7 where Lupin 
has specifically asked *Harry* to answer the question. The 
description reads:
'Trying to answer a question with Hermione next to him, bobbing up 
and down on the balls of her feet with her hands in the air, was 
very off-putting, but Harry had a go.' [PoA, p. 101, Ch.7]

Hermione is acting like a know-it-all. She doesn't want to give any 
of her classmates a chance to show what they know, or to learn by 
trying to answer the questions. She just wants to show off *her* 
knowledge.

Worse, she's actually *discouraging* them from answering. Poor old 
Harry has to struggle to concentrate. How many other kids in the 
class think 'why bother, Hermione will know it'? 

Snape in his class is using a very old teacher's trick. He asks a 
question to which [he expects] the class will *not* know the answer. 
He directs the classes attention to the fact that they can't answer 
the question. Then, when he's got their complete awareness that they 
can't answer this question - he teaches them how to answer it.

Trouble is, Hermione is just about to ruin his lesson plan...

This would be forgivable if it were a one off, but as the earlier 
PoA example shows, it isn't. People on the list have previously 
described Hermione as a 'perfect student'. She isn't. 

Hermione's a problem student - a problem because she is *so* bright, 
she's generally well ahead of the other students. And a problem 
because she isn't willing to let the teacher teach the lesson their 
way. She does it to Snape, she does it to Lupin, and she's probably 
done it to every other teacher.

Lupin deals with it by refusing to let Hermione have a turn with the 
Boggart. Hermione doesn't want others to have their turn, she 
doesn't get her turn. Actually, I think this is not as helpful to 
Hermione as Snape's (much nastier) approach. The Lupin approach 
requires that Hermione work out for herself why she was left out. 

As Mel says - Snape tells Hermione to let him run the class, takes 
points off her when she disobeys, and tells her *exactly* where 
she's gone wrong. It's sharp, nasty and probably very effective. 

After all, Hermione's improved hugely by GoF. ;-)

Pip