Gender in the WW

[Geoff Bannister]

No: HPFGUIDX 143621

Geoff:
I feel I must take issue with Krista on a couple of points.

In message 143593, you wrote:
"Women at Hogwarts teach herbology, transfiguration, divination 
(mocked as *not* a hard science), and run the library; only Hooch as, 
basically, the gym teacher has ajob that isn't traditional."

My view would be that Transfiguration takes a very high profile in 
the Hogwart curriculum. 

'"You'll want to know which subjects you ought to take, I suppose?" 
she (Professor McGonagall) went on, talking a little louder than 
before.
"Yes," said Harry. "Defence Against the Dark Arts, I suppose?"
"Naturally," said Professor McGonagall crisply. "I would also advise-"
...

...Professor McGonagall... continued as though nothing had happened.

"I would also advise Transfiguration, because Aurors frquently need 
to Transfigure or Untransfigure in their work....

...Then you should do Charms, always useful, and Potions. Yes, 
Potter, Potions," she added with the merest flicker of a smile.'

(OOTP "Careers Advice" p.584 UK edition)

So it seems that there are four fairly important disciplines to 
follow for to be an Auror and it therefore seems rather cavalier to 
dismiss Transfiguration as a non-entity when McGonagall specifically 
names the subject more than once as being essential.

Then, in message 143598:

"First of all, I was attempting to point out a.) the plethora of 
female teachers is consistent with the view that teaching children is 
a "female" job"

Speaking as a teacher of 32 years' experience in a South-west London 
school teaching mainly teenagers, that remark verged on the 
ridiculous. I worked in a school where the balance of male and female 
staff was generally held aound the 50:50 mark. I worked for 22 of 
those years when I taught Maths under a female Head of Department (I 
was also a male HoD responsible for Computer Education for the last 
10 years).

I therefore feel that your point (a) is, in my view, indefensible.