Teaching is not a popularity contest.

[smaranda ionesco]

No: HPFGUIDX 152264

Leslie41:
>> But Rowling doesn't "approve" of Snape's behavior. When asked why 
Dumbledore allows Snape to teach, she basically said that "there are 
all sorts of lessons in life; horrible teachers like Snape are one of 
them!" Snape's behavior towards children is at the very least mean-
spirited, but one of the lessons children learn from Rowling is that 
mean-spirited teachers and students and all sorts of other people 
exist in the world, and they don't always receive the punishment we 
think they should. <snip> <<

BAW:
>> <snip> I had a teacher somewhat like Snape once. But, for all his 
faults, his students LEARNED THE SUBJECT. The man I am thinking of 
frequently was heard to say, "Teaching is not a popularity contest." 
So, while given a choice between a nice and effective teacher and 
a mean and effective one, I'd certainly choose the former. But 
between a nice but ineffective teacher and a nasty but effective
one, I'd probably choose the latter. <<


scrisoareaatreia (scrisoareaatreia at yahoo.fr) wrote :
   
    I can't believe we are still discussing Snape's teaching methods 
when we had UMBRIDGE as a counter-example. She manhandled Marietta, 
forced Harry to etch lines in his own flesh, tried to give him 
Veritaserum, was about to Crucio him, and had sent Dementors after 
him ! And she had no intention to teach anything useful to anyone.
    
    Snape may not be pleasant, but he never laid hands on a student, 
never caused them any physical harm, not even any durable 
psychological harm (Neville is coming along nicely, and I think that 
having survived Snape is a victory for him and contributes to his 
increasing self-confidence). Even his nastier remarks are based on 
(unpleasant) truths : Harry is famous without having really earned 
it, Neville is a dunderhead, Hermione's teeth are too big (and after 
that infamous reply, she wakes at last to the fact that outward 
appearance is important). And of course he's competent in his subject 
matter, and he's even an efficient teacher considering that Harry who 
hates him and hates the subject manages still an "exceeds 
expectations".