[HPforGrownups] Snape as A-hole Drill Sargeant [was: Re: Harry, Snape,Occlumency]

[Shaun Hately]

No: HPFGUIDX 94402

On 29 Mar 2004 at 17:40, cubfanbudwoman wrote:

> Are 
> 11- or 12-year-olds who see themselves as boarding school students 
> able to *learn* under the Asshole Drill Sergeant methods the way an 
> 18-year-old army recruit is?  [Don't jump down my throat anyone, 
> please, it's just a question!]  *I* think that kids that age would 
> have to know *something* of why they're being treated this way in 
> order for them to not "pull a Neville" [be so frightened he can't 
> learn] or "pull a Harry" [be so angry he won't/can't learn].  

Well, let me say this. I had teachers who were *very* Snape like. 
Very much so. Two of them. My school certainly didn't encourage 
them to be that way - but the results they achieved were so 
spectacular that they were allowed to get away with it. And I'd say 
95% of their students benefitted *incredibly* from their method of 
teaching - though most of us hated it at first, and most of us 
feared and hated those teachers at least to begin with (one of 
them, I was fortunate enough to have for a number of years - and as 
you got older and more competent, he became much more reasonable to 
work with). 

So, yeah, I think kids are able to learn under that method. Whether 
they should have to - well, that's another questions. But it really 
would be hard to argue with the results these teachers obtained.

To an extent, what we see at Hogwarts is a selective school 
environment - kids don't seem to automatically get in - Neville, we 
are told, only just made it (that's his perception - we don't know 
it's true, but it's certainly possible). If you're on the edges of 
the selection criteria for a school, I think it's almost inevitable 
that sometimes the methods commonly used in that school aren't 
going to be perfect for you. What we seem to see from Neville is a 
boy who does adequately in most subjects, very well in one, and 
very poorly in one. Overall, that sounds like a fairly average 
performance - maybe he could do better in potions with a different 
teacher - in fact, I'm sure he could - but that doesn't mean Snape 
might not be a highly effective teacher for others in the class.

Even if Harry and Neville don't do as well in potions as they could 
- there may be even more kids in those classes doing far better 
than they would with another teacher. We just don't know.


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
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