Abuse, etc., was Snape, Apologies, and and Redemption--Lupin vs. DD

[leslie41]

No: HPFGUIDX 152564

> BAW:
> And where in canon do we see Snape abusing children?  I've read 
> the books several times, and I can't see it.  He is mean, nasty, 
> and rude--but mean, nasty, and rude do not in themselves 
> constitute abuse.  Umbridge, yes--she's definitely an abuser; 
> Snape, as unpleasant as he is, is not.  I've seen real
> abuse, and nothing that Snape does comes anywhere close.
> And, for all his flaws, Snape's students LEARN.  Those who aren't 
> complete morons like Crabbe and Goyle at least pass their OWLS--
> maybe not with O's or E's, but at least A's; I think that Neville 
> even managed to scrape an A. (Haven't the book handy.)
> 
> In another post, I mentioned that I had a rather Snape-like 
> teacher; one of his catchphrases was "Teaching is not a popularity 
> contest."  I also had teachers who were as sweet as pie, but 
> couldn't teach their way out of a wet paper bag. Which would you 
> want, for yourself or your child--a mean but effective teacher,
> or a sweet but incompetent one?  Assuredly the former. (Ideally 
> you'd want one who was nice AND effective, but we can't get 
> everything we want in this world, can we?  And that's another life 
> lesson.)

Leslie41:

I don't think Snape abuses his students, but that issue has been 
hashed over a lot with people siding for and against and not a lot 
settled.  I think a lot of the problem comes from the fact that we 
cannot agree on the definition of "abuse".  Abuse is actually 
sometimes in the eye of the beholder, I think, in cases like 
Snape's.  He doesn't physically harm his students, or take advantage 
of them sexually or otherwise (incidents which I think we all could 
agree qualify as abuse).  But he does often treat them 
adversarially, and he has zero tolerance for incompetence.   

I also had a teacher in jr. high that I realize in retrospect was 
quite like Snape.  And a friend who was very Neville-ish, in 
personality if not in ability (she was a high achiever).  I hated 
this teacher, and so did she.  He wasn't a particularly good teacher 
either.  She felt terrorized by his imposing personality, and it 
made her physically ill.  I just thought he was a complete jerk, but 
he didn't scare me at all.  If you ask her whether or not she 
felt "abused," she might say yes.  If you ask me, I would say 
absolutely not.

Truthfully, I think it diminishes the authentic cases of the abuse 
of children to classify what Snape does as "abuse". I was a child 
once, I have a child, and I'm an educator myself, so I kind of 
understand all sides of the issue, I think.  My opinion is also 
colored by my belief that the purpose of education, especially after 
a student becomes an adolescent, is not necessarily to provide the 
student with self-esteem, but rather with knowledge and discernment 
in hopes that they will develop a critical mind, and the ability to 
reason soundly and logically.  The end result is, hopefully, a 
productive and informed human being who is capable of contributing 
something to society.