Hermione and Snape. Was: Re: Accio 2005 press releaseTrial of Snape
horridporrid03
horridporrid03 at yahoo.com
Sun May 1 23:55:52 UTC 2005
No: HPFGUIDX 128377
>>SSSusan:
<snip>
>At what point do we draw the line and say, "This teacher reaches
*enough* students that we can consider him a GOOD teacher"?<
Betsy:
But isn't a statement like this once again ignoring Snape's high pass
rate? After all, if a larger than average number of students pass
the Potions' OWL, and if the entire class is being taught a higher
level of Potions than required, how can you reconcile that with the
suggestion that Snape's teaching style reaches only a few select
students? I will agree that Snape is probably only *liked* by his
Slytherins (though have there been any comments made on Snape from
the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws we've met?) but that doesn't translate
to his ability to teach.
>>SSSusan:
>I think there is plenty of evidence that Snape's style is not
effective with Harry & Neville, and I believe that Hermione learns in
spite of him.<
Betsy:
So this is three students, out of the entire Hogwarts student body,
and frankly, I'd argue them. Both Neville and Harry gave the
appearance of doing better then they expected on their OWLs (I'm
pretty sure Harry did well enough to get himself into the NEWTs level
class) and if they did that is because Snape taught them what they
needed to know. Which would mean that his style with them - though
not perfect - is effective.
As to Hermione, Pippin did a great job pointing out all the extra
tidbits Snape dangled in front Hermione, encouraging her towards
further exploration.
>>Pippin (message # 128311)
>Certainly she wishes Snape would be a bit nicer. But
bearing in mind that this is the girl who would rather
undergo an illegal curse than miss an important lesson, I
think Hermione must think she's getting something special
out of Snape's lessons. What is she learning?
>I think it's the little asides that she finds valuable,
the things Harry and Ron pay no attention to, either
because they're not part of the regular course work and
won't be on the exam, or because they think it's just Snape
being horrible. Like, where to find the recipe for
polyjuice potion. Or the fact that the ingredients for
Shrinking Solution can be used to make a poison. Or that
the Draught of Peace, with certain alterations, will put
the drinker into an irreversible trance. The kind of thing,
in other words, that might be useful to know if you were
planning to fight Voldemort, but wouldn't need to know
to pass your OWLs or NEWTs.<
Betsy:
And don't forget that Hermione, per canon, is quite picky about her
teachers. When Trelawny failed to meet expectations, Hermione
decided she didn't need Divinations anyway and left the class. When
Hagrid failed to meet expectations, Hermione helped him with his
lesson plans. And when Umbridge failed to meet expectations,
Hermione formed a study group to cover what Umbridge was failing to
teach. Not once has Hermione suggested that Snape was failing to
meet her expectations. Instead she constantly encourages Ron and
Harry to do their potion assignment.
The only time Hermione has held back her true feelings about a
teacher is with Hagrid, and that's only because of her loyalty and
compassion for both Hagrid and Harry. Even then, we the reader know
that she's fully aware of Hagrid's teaching faults. Is there anytime
in canon when Hermione question's Snape's teaching abilities?
>>SSSusan:
>It may be that Snape's methods work well with some of the members of
his class. The students are passing and getting decent marks on
their exams, indeed. But what I always come back to is, "Could the
students be doing BETTER with someone else?"<
Betsy:
Oh, there's definitely room for improvement. Probably the best
teacher at Hogwarts, IMO, has been Lupin. He not only taught his
students, but he got them enthusiastic about his subject and excited
to learn. And yes, Snape has a long way to go to achieve that level
of teaching, but I haven't seen any hard evidence put forward that
points to him being a sub-par teacher. And seeing how hard its been
for Dumbledore to get a decent DADA professor, I imagine a competent
Potions professor would be just as hard to find.
Betsy, who's also looking forward to a NEWTs level Potions class.
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