Teaching is not and never has been a popularity contest.

[Bruce Alan Wilson]

No: HPFGUIDX 157900

>> Shaun:
It isn't Snape's job or role to 'reach' Neville. It is his role 
and job to 'teach' Neville. They are not the same thing at all. 

It would be nice if Snape was able to 'reach' Neville, but the 
simple fact is that virtually all teachers have some students they 
cannot reach effectively. Every child is different, every child 
has a different personality and it's really not reasonable to 
expect every single teacher to always be able to find a way of 
connecting to every child. It is great when they can - it really 
is - but it isn't reasonable to expect total success all the time. 

And when it doesn't happen - when a teacher cannot 'reach' a child 
should they just give up on 'teaching' the child as well? In my 
view, while it's wonderful to do both, if you can't manage one, 
then trying to accomplish the other is still worth while. 

I've been teaching a class of 26 recently. With 25 of the children, 
I had absolutely no problem getting them to learn without having to 
resort to any real unpleasantness. But #26 was a different matter. 
Nothing I tried worked with him - and I tried quite a few different 
things - until I started taking a heavily punitive approach. 
Basically, I found myself forced to scare the poor kid in order to 
get him to take care and pay attention to instructions in class. 
And that works with this kid. 

With regards to Neville and his toad - in my view (and I've outlined 
the evidence why I hold it on previous occasions), Trevor was never 
in any real danger. Snape let Neville think his toad was in danger 
to frighten him, but that is all. And considering the class I have a 
hard time seeing that as unreasonable. If students misbrew potions 
they *could* kill themselves or others. There are *very* serious 
consequences for carelessness in that class, and students must learn 
to take the risks seriously. So far that doesn't seem to have 
happened with Neville. <<


BAW:
A nurse I used to date told me that when she was in nursing school, 
she made a math error on an assignment that involved giving the 
correct dosage of a drug to a patient.  Had it been a real patient, 
she would have killed him.  The teacher made her write an essay 
explaining what she would have said to the patient's family.  That 
seems very like something that Snape might do, does it not?

A cousin of mine teaches carpentry in a vocational course.  A 
student of his submitted a design for a back deck for a house.  The 
design was 85% correct.  He failed the student.  Why?  Well, if he 
had PASSED him, the student might have actually built a deck to that 
design.  Would you want anyone you cared about to walk on a 
structure whose design was only 85% correct?  In a subject like 
French or English or History, 85% is not a bad grade at all--in 
electrical wiring or bricklaying or auto mechanics, it is a very 
poor grade indeed. 

I submit that Potions is more like carpentry than it is like Latin.

Whatever you may say about Snape as a person, as a teacher you have 
to give him this--his students LEARN THE SUBJECT; on the principle 
that 'the proof of the pudding is in the eating', we have to admit 
that he is a good teacher.  

BAW