Snape's teaching style

[horridporrid03]

No: HPFGUIDX 147820

> >>Alla:
> Oh, I am not asking that at all. How about proving that Snape IS a 
> good teacher, if you wish of course, I understand if you don't.
> <snip>

Betsy Hp:
This sort of question seems silly to me, because the bar is always 
being moved.  

1)"If Snape's so good, why does no one praise him?"  Well, Umbridge 
calls his classes advanced, and not as a suck up.  And suddenly that 
doesn't count.  

2) "If Snape's so good, why don't the students see him as a good 
teacher?"  Well, Hermione, JKR's chosen judge of good vs. bad 
teaching (except for the Lockhart moment, which if you want to argue 
that Hermione is hot for Snape, be my guest <g>), has consistently 
said Snape is a teacher worth listening to, and in HBP says he's 
like Harry.  But, no, suddenly *that* doesn't count (though I can't 
remember the reason that gets dismissed, off hand).

3) "I will judge Snape's abilities on the number of students 
achieving an O in potions."  HBP comes out, we've got a classroom 
made up of 1/4 of Harry's class.  But suddenly that number is no 
good because... well, I seem to recall a whole new maths was 
invented to throw this one out.  Plus it was decided that Harry's 
class is actually *much* bigger than we've seen.  (Tons of unknown 
Hufflepuffs I assume).

4) "I will judge Snape's abilities on the number of Slytherins that 
become Death Eaters."  There was one, and he was incredibly 
reluctant.  So much so his family needed to be threatened to get him 
to obey.  I'm sure the usual Slytherin bias dismisses this one.  
(The only good Slytherin is a dead Slytherin, etc., etc.)

You've brought up a new one, Alla, so lets tackle that.

> >>Alla:
> Really, IMO all that Rowling needed to do if she wanted to show   
> that Snape is a good teacher for anybody except Slytherins is to   
> let ANY older Gryffindor make a passing remark, about his class    
> being good, challenging, interesting. 
> <snip>

Betsy Hp:
A neat little trap, this, Alla.  Because we do know that Snape 
doesn't like Gryffindors, and we also know that Gryffindors don't 
like Slytherins.  

However, if we accept that Hufflepuffs are not total duffers, the 
fact that Ernie Macmillan says of Snape's first DADA class, "Good 
lesson, I thought," (HBP scholastic p.182) should fit the bill.  
(Only, of course it won't <g>.)

> >>Alla:
> <snip>
> And I never said that Snape should have praised Harry for not      
> following instructions, but that it would have been nice if Snape 
> acknowledged that Harry won the exercise, even if using the verbal 
> spell.

Betsy Hp:
Right.  Just as I'm sure your law professors would have been pleased 
if during mock court one of the students pulled out a gun and broke 
his client out of the courtroom.  Because, hey, the client is now 
free so the exercise was won.  Or, to keep it on a Hogwarts level, 
Flitwick should give points to a student flinging his feather into 
the air, because, hey, it floated, after all.

> >>Alla:
> Irene brought the bezoar example and I think the analogy is right 
> on point, although I make the opposite conclusion from her. I     
> don't think that Slughorn praised him because he had special       
> relationship with Harry, but because Harry achieved the GOAL of    
> the exercise, which was to find antidote to all those poisons.

Betsy Hp:
Ooh, not even *Harry* agrees with you here.  Harry *totally* relied 
on Slughorn's liking him.  That's why he told Ron the *trick* 
wouldn't have worked if he'd given Ron a bezoar.  Harry *cheated*, 
and he knew it.  Heck, that's why Slughorn praised him for his 
cheek.  

Betsy Hp