Snape, Harry, Dumbledore, and flaws in the books

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No: HPFGUIDX 105953

Pippin: 
>  If Harry and Neville were showing some sign that they were 
> suffering "emotional torment " from Snape, I agree Dumbledore 
> would have to intervene. But they aren't. Dumbledore doesn't 
> know that he is goodness, so he can't *know* that his values are 
> superior to Snape's, though he doubtless believes they are. 
> 
> In the absence of empirical evidence that Snape's teaching 
> methods are causing harm, what right has Dumbledore got to 
> experiment on the students by demanding that the teachers 
> abandon what are, in the WW,  accepted ways of teaching?
> 

The right of someone who believes strongly in their principles and is 
willing to stand up for them.  Power is there to be used in what one 
believes to be a moral way.  If Dumbledore does indeed believe Snape 
to be in the wrong, standing by on the basis the "everyone else 
agrees with him" isn't very admirable.  And he has shown himself to 
be more than willing to impose his will on people for the "greater 
good" in other contexts (i.e. leaving Harry with the Dursleys).  

Does the wizarding world favor Snape's teaching methods?  We only 
have evidence of ommission, that is that no one complains that we 
know of.  I would be more convinced if we saw people, even Slytherin 
parents, actively praising Snape's methods.  Then I would be willing 
to believe that Dumbledore faces a political block (for instance on 
the Board of Governors) he might not be able to openly defy.


As for the point about empirical evidence, the test of this will be 
how Dumbledore acts or reacts in the next two books.  I think the 
disaster of Occlumency provides plentiful evidence that Snape's 
teaching methods have resulted in a very unfortunate and dangerous 
situation.  Granted Harry is to blame for looking in the pensieve.  
But Snape's methods and attitude set the stage for the train-wreck 
that Harry's action put in motion.  Not only did the failure of 
Occlumency result in the disaster at the MoM, it now leaves us in a 
situation where arguably the two most important members of 
Dumbledore's coalition despise one another with something that, on 
Harry's side at least, approaches glacial hatred.

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