Teaching Styles

[Bruce Alan Wilson]

No: HPFGUIDX 147764

Justcarol67:
"And it's a bit ironic that McGonagall can see the effects of 
Gran's sternness on Neville, but not of her own. At any rate, 
steering Neville toward Charms and getting him to see it as one 
of his strengths could well have consequences, not only for the 
development of Neville's independence and self-confidence but 
also for the fight against the DEs. (Could it somehow tie in 
with Bellatrix? It would be funny if he used a Hover Charm or a 
Banishing Charm against her. I have a mental picture of Bellatrix 
somehow at Neville's mercy and his choosing *not* to Crucio her. 
A knowledge of interesting Charms might enable him to do that.)"


BAW:
I see McG. & Neville's Gran--I can't, somehow, bring myself to 
call her "Mrs. Longbottom"; to me she's "the Lady Augusta", even 
though there's no evidence of titles in the WW; remember that 
"Augusta" means in Latin--as two sides of the same personality.  
I'm sure that the Lady Augusta loves Neville in her own way,
and that Prof. McG., bless her heart, would never act with 
deliberate malice or cruelty against any of her students, much 
less one in her own House; yet Neville is obviously only a little 
less intimidated by both of them than by Prof. Snape.

BTW, didn't you just love Snape's pulling out of the cracker a hat 
like the Lady Augusta's at the Christmas Feast?  While Prof. Lupin 
wouldn't have told any of his colleagues about Neville's Boggart 
or how he dealt with it, there were several students who saw it, 
and I bet it was all over the school before the day was out; it is 
impossible to keep any sort of secret in a closed community like
that.  I can imagine Prof. Flitwick hearing some Ravenclaws 
giggling over it in their common room, casually mentioning it to 
(say) Prof. Sprout and. . . ..

Which brings me to Prof. Snape.  His two fields are DADA and 
Potions. What is distinctive about those subjects?  This--if you 
don't do it right, you can get yourself or someone else killed.

Has anyone here been in the military?  Was your drill instructor 
in any way cuddly?  

Anyone here in the Health Sciences? Any doctors, nurses, 
pharmacists?  Were your instructors cuddly?

Anyone here studied the Martial Arts?  Were your instructors 
cuddly? 

I would say NOT.  Why not?  Because if you didn't learned what 
your DI had to teach you , you could get yourself or your comrades 
killed in combat.  Because if you didn't learn your lessons 
properly, you might poison your patient. Because if you didn't 
learn your techniques properly, you'd get pounded to a pulp on the 
mat.  In English or History or some other soft subject, if you 
don't learn your lessons, it is no big deal--you flunk your test; 
while it may make a difference in your academic career or your 
future professional plans, nobody will get hurt or killed; I 
suggest that the consequences of not learning Potions or DADA are 
far more serious.  Snape is a lot harsher than other teachers
because he feels he has to be.  Perhaps he knows of someone whose 
Potions or DADA teacher WASN'T that harsh and who got himself or 
someone else killed or injured thereby?  Perhaps Snape himself 
got someone hurt or killed because of some error or omission that 
he (thinks) he would not have made if his teacher hadn't been a 
little tougher on him.