Ron as prefect

[bluesqueak]

No: HPFGUIDX 91658

Astra writes:
> Hello there.  I was rereading OotP, and I was left with a nagging 
> question.  Maybe some of you more alert people out there can 
> enlighten me.
> 
> Isn't prefect a position of honor, given to excellent students, 
> who can then boast throughout their life, and put on their 
> resume, "I was a prefect"?
> 
> How, then, does Ron deserve the position?  I know he has 
> helped "save the day" with Harry more than once, but he hardly 
> seems to be a really good student--more like one who manages 
> to scrape by with adequate grades.

  
Pip!Squeak:
It depends on the school, but Hogwarts seems to follow the pattern 
of treating Prefect as a 'position of responsibility' rather than 
a 'position of honour'. In which case the only attention paid to 
marks (grades) would be to check that the student isn't doing *so* 
poorly that a prefect's extra duties might make them fail exams.

Ron qualifies on all counts for a 'position of responsibility'. When 
faced with problems or danger, he never ducks out, but instead does 
his best. He rarely breaks rules for the sake of it (the flying car 
being an exception), but has shown that he knows when rules *must* 
be broken. 

Given that Hogwarts is almost certainly heading into a war situation 
Ron is a terrific choice. He's already shown that he's willing to 
risk his own life for the sake of others - if for example, younger 
students found themselves in danger, Ron will very likely be 
prepared to risk himself to save them.

Prefect at many schools isn't about top marks. It's about 'who is 
the most responsible student? Who shows enough maturity to start 
acting as a leader?' The speed with which Ron stops the argument 
between Harry and Seamus shows that Dumbledore and McGonagall are 
right - out of Harry's shadow, Ron can lead.

Pip!Squeak