[HPforGrownups] Re: Snape, Harry, Dumbledore, and flaws in the books

[Jocelyn Grunow]

No: HPFGUIDX 106105

> "Agnes Raggett"  <aggie at r...> wrote:
> 
> I'm with Huntergreen.  This was never going to work, as DD
> realises in the end (but too late!).  If the tutor and the student do
> not appreciate each other then it will NOT work.

People can be strangely blind about this sort of thing.  I have a friend
with an extraordinarily high IQ whose staff at work had done some serious
undermining of her.  Immediately after the fallout from that she decided
that the ringleader needed a new skill and SHE was going to teach it to him.

I pointed out to her that he might not be able to learn it from her, but she
just couldn't seem to understand that.  She kept saying things like "But it
will be to his advantage to learn this!" and "He has been told that I am his
boss and he has to do what I say." and "He's not stupid... just annoying"

Sure enough, none of these logical reasons made the slightest difference.
This chap was not able to learn from her because he detested her very
existence!  She had to do what I had suggested in the first place - set
another of her staff (who was not nearly as skilled as she was) to teach
him.  I never heard any more about this, so I assume it worked.

Perhaps my friend is more a Hermione type than a Dumbledore type, but I
don't think it was an unreasonable blunder to ask Snape to teach Harry.
Those who work primarily from logic often assume that others can do so if
they choose.

Jocelyn