I *HATE* Hagrid! (kinda long)

[subrosax99]

No: HPFGUIDX 73034

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Lady Macbeth" 
<LadyMacbeth at S...> wrote:
> Lady Macbeth:
> Actually, the "try it and find out" lesson is likely the most 
important
> lesson those kids will ever get in Care of Magical Creatures.  Do 
you
> remember every detail about every person, place and thing you 
learned about
> in school?  Did you have practical, first-hand experience with most 
of what
> you learned about?

Of course I agree that practical, first hand experience is useful. 
But the teacher ought to know exactly what is going on, even if he 
leaves the students to discover certain things on their own. If 
Hagrid thought blast-ended screwts were a worthy subject, he should 
have worked out the particulars before he presented them for study.
As it is, I think he just came across some repulsive creature, and 
let the class work out what the h*ll they were.

> If dragons are so illegal, I doubt very much that Charlie Weasley 
had any
> firsthand experience with them before going into his career as a 
dragon
> handler.  

I also doubt Charlie had any first-hand experience with dragons, at 
least at Hogwarts. Maybe that's something that requires advanced 
study. But I'd wager he had at least some theoretical knowledge about 
dragon care, and that he was instructed by someone who was operating 
on something a bit more substantial than trial and error. And I 
suspect that he was not in mortal danger from his own textbook, as 
HRH clearly are.

> The blast-ended skrewts were a good example of just WHY you can't 
accept
> that you'll never run into something you have no clue about.

What, I ask, was the purpose of the blast-ended skewts? Hagrid spent 
the better part of a year "teaching" about these things, to no end in 
my opinion. Considering that he had no idea what they were, how can 
one argue they they were a valuable part of the curriculum?
 
> While he does let some things slip, he also CAN keep a secret - he 
kept
> Grawp a secret, even as he fended off questions about why he was 
always
> injured.  He only told Harry and Hermione about him when it became 
apparent
> that he was NOT going to be at Hogwarts much longer, and that other 
staff
> were in danger too 

He shouldn't let anything slip! In my opinion, he should never have 
brought Grawp to live in the forest to begin with, and he certainly 
should never ask HRH to care for him. The fact that he has been 
beaten to a pulp by that thing should have been enough. This is just 
a further sign that Hagrids judgement is poor and bears directly on 
his unsuitability as a teacher, never mind a role model for children!


> Maybe he doesn't have the "formal education" that others have, but 
he has
> many, many years of first-hand experience.

He should have some formal education! What else would qualify him to 
teach? It's true that Potions, for example, is a dangerous class, but 
at least Snape has antidotes at the ready in his lessons. Hagrid 
strikes me as ill-prepared to deal with any unexpected mishap. Sure, 
he can send people to the hospital wing, but that should be a last 
resort. 

  Percy Weasley is WONDERFULLY
> book smart (all of his OWLs, his job at the Ministry) and where has 
that
> gotten him?  Right up there with the OTHER wonderfully book smart 
types who
> know that the best way to handle anything you can't find in a book 
is to
> stick your head in the sand.  (The titles out of Umbridges DADA 
book ringing
> bells with anyone?)

I'm not saying that children (or teenagers) should be protected from 
danger in a hermetically sealed bubble. But Hagrid and his lessons 
present an unnecessary risk. 

Anyone else with me? I'm new, so cut me some slack. Forgive me also 
if any of these points have been brought up before.

Allyson from Los Angeles