[HPforGrownups] re: teachers / Snape / Diary / WOMBAT / Wolfsbane Potion / Sorting

[Shaun Hately]

No: HPFGUIDX 170392

From: "Catlady (Rita Prince Winston)" <catlady at wicca.net>

> I've always believed that the message IS "I hate you for being smart.
> You must be forced to be stupid in the name of all students being
> equal. I will give you a very low grade because I grade on Improvement
> and you improved very little because you knew so much to start with."
> I have been reinforced in this opinion by some posts on list, from
> alleged teachers praising the way Snape deals with Hermione.

Shaun:

Well, I'm writing here as a teacher who specialises in teaching the 
brightest kids - kids like Hermione. And, yes, I have to say that it is very 
common for teachers to deliberately not call on these children in classes, 
because they want to give other children the chance to answer questions. And 
some of these teachers do hate these children for being smart, but that's 
generally not the reason most do it. The fact is, as Bart alluded to, the 
theory behind it is normally that other children will just coast if they 
know there's somebody in the class who answers all the questions, while 
other children will be intimidated. And while I certainly believe it is of 
critical importance that teaches give the bright kids what they need, they 
do still have to consider the impact that child's behaviour has on the class 
as a whole.

Personally, I don't think Snape handles Hermione particularly well on this 
issue. He basically ignores her, and acts like she isn't there - statements 
like "Can't anybody answer my question?" when you have a student with their 
hand up is not the way I would handle this. Rather, "I'd like to hear to 
hear from some different people this time" or something similar is better. 
And you can't do it all the time - you have to give the child some chance to 
show their strengths, as long as they don't overly dominate the class.

The thing is, though, while I don't think Snape handles this well, my 
impression is that many of the other teachers don't either. They seem to me, 
in many cases, to go to the other extreme and let Hermione answer nearly all 
the questions. That's not a good approach either and in that environment, I 
think Snape's actions are less likely to be problematic for Hermione - but 
only by accident. He's certainly not giving her what she needs deliberately.

I should also say though, that I think Snape's classes *do* give Hermione 
something that a child like her does need. Genuine challenge. And that is 
something way too many gifted children miss out on in schools. The work 
needs to be hard enough to challenge them, and it does seem that Hermione 
gets that in Snape's class (and not just Snape's class - this seems to me to 
be a common strength of Hogwarts, missing from too many schools - high 
standards - and not marking on things like 'Improvement' but rather on 
results (Note - I'm not saying there's anything wrong with considering 
whether a student has improved, when they have, and acknowledging that - but 
all too often, that measure is treated as more important than actual 
achievement and that can cause serious problems for children achieving at a 
high level). And I certainly will praise Snape for delivering a challenging 
classroom environment - because that is a positive. A major positive. It 
doesn't mean I think he's doing *everything* right.


Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought
Shaun Hately | www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html
(ISTJ)       | drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200
"You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one
thing in common. They don't alter their views to fit the
facts. They alter the facts to fit the views. Which can be
uncomfortable if you happen to be one of the facts that
need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who: The Face of Evil
Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia