[HPforGrownups] Re: The Prefect Question & Headship

[Shaun Hately]

No: HPFGUIDX 70445

On 15 Jul 2003 at 2:59, Random wrote:

> 
> On Monday, Jul 14, 2003, at 16:49 EST, bboy_mn wrote:
> >
> 
> > I think Prefects are like assistant teachers;
> ...
> > Head Boy and Head Girl, I like to think of as best boy and best girl.
> ...
> > Perfect are chosen for their level of ability to help the 
> > adminstration maintain order.
> ...
> > Head Boy and Girl are chosen for a combination of mostly academic 
> > excellence and to a lesser but still significant degree quality of 
> > character.
> ...
> > Just a thought.
> 
> I got the impression from other posts on the subject that the concept 
> of prefects and head boy/girl is something that actually exists in 
> boarding schools in britain, not just some made-up Hogwarts thing. Can 
> anyone who's actually been to a boarding school clarify this point and 
> say whether this description is correct?

Yes, it is a real concept - I was a Prefect at my (British model) school 
in Australia, and I know quite a few people who were prefects at their 
schools in the UK and elsewhere.

There's a wide variety of different models - so it's hard to generalise. 
A Prefect is generally *not* like an assistant teacher in any meaningful 
way - rather they are a senior student who has been given certain 
responsibilities and certain privileges. The position can be ceremonial, 
or they can have limited disciplinary powers (historically, they 
sometimes had rather significant disciplinary powers, but over time that 
has generally diminished). They can be selected for all sorts of 
reasons. Sometimes it may be that they are considered likely to be able 
to help maintain order, that's possible, and generally they are expected 
to do something to keep their fellow students under control. They may be 
appointed by the Head of the school, by heads of houses if a school has 
a house system, by a committee of teachers. They may be elected by the 
entire school, or by their fellow senior students.

The Head Boy/Head Girl (who may not always be called that - and just 
because you have prefects doesn't mean you have to have the other 
position (or vice versa for that matter - it's common for them to go 
together, but not universal. I should mention just for the record that 
while Prefect is a common term, some schools have that position under a 
different name as well) - again, there's no single model. They may be 
appointed from among the ranks of the prefects by the Head or some staff 
arrangement, they may be elected, either by the school, by their fellow 
senior students, or by their fellow prefects. Their position may be 
simply that of a more senior prefect with the same basic duties, just at 
an elevated level, or they may have additional powers and 
responsibilities - at my school, the Captain (our term for Head Boy) 
actually sat in on formal meetings of the school administration.

Basically, what I'm saying is, that there's no single, simple model. 
There's lots of variations. There are some commonalities, certainly - 
but it's really hard to pin down what's going on.

I do have some ideas on how I think the Hogwarts system *might* work 
that are compatible with what I know about normal practices - I might 
write them down later if there's interest. But it would be speculative - 
I don't think we have the hard data we need to be sure yet.

Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought
Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html
(ISTJ)       | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200 
"You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one
thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the 
facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be 
uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that 
need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil
Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia