Why Snape is a good teacher

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 165714

List Elves please note:

This is *not* a sixth post for today but an old one from February
28(!) that bounced, (I just received the notice today.) The actual
post follows:

k12listmomma wrote:
>
> > I have a question on this topic: If the HBP's methods were
superior to what was being taught, why didn't Snape teach those
methods, and keep using them himself while he was the Potions
professor? Plot hole?
> >
Draeconin responded:
><snip>
> All this talk about how Harry uses this (HBP's copy of the textbook)
I think is a distraction from some points we may have missed. I
haven't read all of this thread, so it may have been brought up
before, but something significant comes through when we see Harry
using the HBP's notes to great success.

Carol notes:
If you'd read all the posts in the thread, you would have noted that
many of us believe that Snape *is* teaching his own methods in the
Potions classes he teaches. He never assigns potions from the only
Potions text Harry is required to buy before sixth year, "Magical
Drafts and Potions" by Arsenius Jigger. Not once does Snape ask the
students to refer to their Potions texts. Nor do the class lists ever
include a Potions book after first year. Evidently, he doesn't use
one. He writes the potions directions on the board (casts them there
with his wand, according to OoP). He knows the instructions by heart,
knows every step of every potion and exactly what can go wrong when a
student adds too much leech juice or more than one rat spleen or
leaves out a key ingredient. And he tells the students who make
errors, or at any rate, Harry and Neville, exactly what they've done
wrong.

IMO, Snape, whose walls at Spinner's End are lined with books,
probably continued his potions experiments long after his last year as
a student at Hogwarts. And he apparently uses those improved
directions in his classes; otherwise, there would be no point in
writing them on the board. He could just tell them to open their books
to page 394. His students, particularly Hermione and others who care
about the subject, clearly benefit from his improved directions by
having no problems with them, in marked contrast to the problems that
even Hermione encounters with her unannotated version of "Advanced
Potion-Making."

Draeconin:
Slughorn hasn't been teaching potions for a while- he hasn't been
using the Standard Book of Spells text for years on end to know if
they are particularly "good" potions, but he knows when he sees the
results that Harry's potions better than the other students. I think
of these "book of spells" as a cookbook. <snip>

Carol:
Erm, "The Standard Book of Spells" is the Charms textbook, the only
class for which a new textbook is required each year. (Harry in HBP is
using "The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 6"--for Flitwick's class,
not Slughorn's.) Slughorn is using "Advanced Potion-Making" by
Libatius Borage, the same book he used twenty-one years earlier when
Severus Snape was his student, and quite probably, given the
publication date, when Tom Riddle and Eileen Prince were his students
as well. "Advanced Potion-Making" may or may not be a "cookbook." It
certainly contains Golpalott's Third Law along with the potions
directions (HBP Am. ed. 376) though the book doesn't explain the law:
presumably, Borage, like Slughorn, assumes that students in an
advanced class can figure it out for themselves, as Hermione does and
the HBP must have done). So the book apparently contains a bit more
than just the unimproved directions for the potions though exactly
what is not clear. I agree that the book is out of date, but we don't
know whether a better one is available. I doubt that there's one that
meets Snape's exacting standards, however. (If Snape ever gets the
opportunity, he should publish his improved versions of the potions,
both NEWT-level and below. It would be a great service to the
school--and to the lazy Slughorn, assuming that he's still the Potions
Master at that point.)

Draeconin:
> Slughorn hasn't been teaching potions recently, so maybe he hasn't
really evaluated this text thoroughly. If he did, and compared it with
other items on the wizard book market, he might find a potions book
that is more updated to include the tricks of the trade to get better
results. But, since he steps in last minute and reuses the same text
as the previous teacher, he really has no way of telling that Harry is
obviously using some "better source" to enhance that textbook. <snip>

Carol:
Slughorn is perfectly familiar with this textbook. It's the same one
he's always used. Otherwise, the HBP (teen!Snape) wouldn't have been
using it. Quite possibly, Severus Snape's old book has been lying
around the classroom since he left Hogwarts. When he became Potions
Master, Slughorn having conveniently retired just at the point when
young Snape applied for the DADA position, as far as I can determine,
Snape didn't use his old book because the improved versions were
already in his head. (I'm surprised that he assigned a Potions book at
all, even to the first-years. Maybe they needed it to write essays
before school began, or maybe the MoM required him to assign one.) 

Draeconin:

> Snape, on the other hand, knows better [that Harry is not a Potions
natural]. Had it been him teaching that year, he would have KNOWN that
the Standard Book of Spells produces mediocre results, and that
Harry's results weren't typical at all. He would have recognized that
Harry was getting "help" from an additional source. <snip>

Carol:
Or rather, Snape would have known that the instructions in "Advanced
Potion-Making" could be improved upon, and that the improvements Harry
was using were his (Snape's) own. Harry might have gotten away with
using the flat edge of the silver knife to crush the sopophorous bean,
although the sharp-eyed Snape would have been immediately suspicious
had he seen him do it, but the moment he started stirring
counterclockwise on every sixth stir, producing the correct results
ahead of Hermione, Snape would have swooped down like a bat and
confiscated the book. He would not, after all, want Harry to learn his
own Dark spell, Sectumsempra, any more than he would want Harry to
have an advantage over the rest of the class. And yet, the scenario
would never have happened in Snape's class since he doesn't assign
potions from the book. JKR has to bring in a different Potions
teacher, one who allows E students in the class so that Harry would
need a book he hadn't bought, for the subplot to work. And, of course,
she needs the irony of Harry learning from and identifying with young
Snape without realizing what he's doing.

Draeconin:
> I think there is an explanation for why he does this, why Snape
plays this "slightly less than Superbly Brilliant Snape" in public,
and it revolves around my view of who Snape is. I hate to say that,
because I detest all the theories of "Dumbledore's Man" Snape or "Pure
Evil" Snape, because I think none of them even come close to hitting
the mark. We have it in canon that Snape is a double agent, and has
been the entire series. Dumbledore thinks Snape is working for him.
Voldemort thinks Snape is working for him. To be a successful double
agent, one must never give away the full truth, and one must always
retain cards up your sleeve or tricks in your hat that you can use to
get out of sticky situations when someone asks you to explain
discrepancies in your behavior. A double agent is never fully
truthful to either master, for that would end the double agent role.
Thus, Snape would not have the incentive, as another teacher would, to
really help the students succeed to their fullest. His loyalties lie
elsewhere.

Carol:
I think that Snape would want the Slytherins, at least, to learn as
much as possible, and since the Slytherins and the Gryffindors are
together, he has to use the same potions instructions for both.
Moreover, the essays he assigns (in contrast to Slughorn, who, AFAIK,
never assigns essays, nor does he take unfinished potions to his
office to mark, as Snape does, force the students to do research on
key ingredients and to learn a bit of Potions theory in spite of
themselves (which is perhaps how not only Harry but Ron managed to
scrape an E on the Potions OWL when Snape himself wasn't there to
distract them and they had nothing on their minds but the exam
itself). Snape's loyalties need not be revealed by his teaching
methods, which to me seem rather rigorous. He certainly expects his
students to pass their OWLs even though he wants only the very best,
those who care about Potions and excel at it, in his NEWT Potions
class. Umbridge, you'll recall, criticizes him for teaching the
students potions that she considers too advanced for their year. It's
clear from the moment that Snape gives his "shimmering cauldrons"
speech in SS/PS that he loves Potions and has no tolerance for
"dunderheads" who don't understand and appreciate the subject.

Draeconin:

A real teacher would teach the kids all he or she knows, and would
impart ALL of their knowledge, but Double Agent Snape can't afford to
give that much away.

Carol:
Are you sure? How is it that eight students out of forty got an O on
their Potions OWL if he's not teaching them? And why is he so critical
about following directions and getting every step right if he's not
teaching to the best of his ability (favoritism and unfair
point-docking aside)? Why has he made sure that Harry Potter, of all
people, knows about Bezoars from Day One (though, being convinced that
Snape made his scar hurt, coupled with Snape's annoyance with
Neville's melted cauldron, rather detracts from the intended lesson)?
As for a double agent not giving much away, Voldemort is vaporized two
months into young Snape's teaching career; Lucius Malfoy would be
extremely provoked if he thought that Snape, whom he knew as a child
prodigy, is giving his son less than the best Potions education
possible; and Dumbledore is also watching the results of Snape's
teaching. He surely knows that Snape cares about the scores the
students receive on their OWLs, and he surely knows what those results
are. McGonagall knows the results that the Gryffindors are achieving
in Snape's class, at any rate, since she does career counseling. So
would Flitwick and Sprout. And if Snape's teaching weren't up to
scratch as determined by the results of the students OWLs and NEWTs,
he would hear about it. (On a side note, Barty Jr., no double agent
but a loyal Death Eater, nevertheless taught DADA in a way that those
who regarded the real Mad-Eye as a half-mad paranoid fanatic
determined to catch Dark wizards considered effective. A little too
eager to demonstrate Unforgiveable Curses, true, but he certainly
showed them what they were facing. So a teacher's loyalties are no
sure indication of his abilities or his willingness to teach.)

Draeconin:
> He's trying for a different position- the DADA job, so why show off
to be the "Best Potions Teacher That Ever Was"? That would be counter
productive. We know he has the talent for that, but in demonstrating
that level of knowledge in the classroom would hinder the desire to
get the other job, and maybe even hinder the direction that has been
keeping Voldemort's trust in him.

Carol responds:
As I noted, Voldemort was vapor from Snape's first year to his
fourteenth. It's Dumbledore's opinion that matters during those years.
And we see no change in Snape's teaching tactics, or his attitude
toward Harry, even after Voldemort's return, when Snape has had to
explain his absence from the graveyard and his saving of Harry's life
in his first year. Snape, fortunately for him, is a master of
half-truths and Occlumency, the only person we know of who can lie to
the Dark Lord undetected. And he has the perfect excuse for still
being at Hogwarts as Potions Master rather than DADA teacher; DD is
(ostensibly) keeping him out of prison (*we* know that he's been
cleared of all charges for being DD's spy, but he'd be a fool to tell
that to Voldie--let him think that he pleaded the Imperius Curse like
Lucius Malfoy) and DD (ostensibly) thinks that DADA will lure Snape
back into his old ways (*we* know that DD knows the position is cursed
and is keeping Snape out of it as long as possible, probably to keep
him safely at Hogwarts, valuable as he appears to be to DD's long-term
plans).

Draeconin:
He can't love his students, love his job without compromising
Voldemort's tough stares that probe into Snape's loyalties. To be that
> involved with the students would betray that Double Agent position.

Carol:
I can't see Snape "loving" his students (with the possible exception
of Draco, whom he clearly does care about) under any circumstances.
The only difference between his attitude toward his DADA students and
his Potions students is that he allows anyone who has passed the DADA
OWL to take that class (clearly, he thinks it's important for everyone
to learn it now that Voldemort is back--even Crabbe and Goyle
evidently get remedial lessons), whereas he won't tolerate
"dunderheads" in NEWT Potions, which is for hard-working intellectuals
like himself. As for Voldie's tough stares probing Snape's loyalties,
how does that relate to Snape's teaching? Voldie is more concerned
with why Snape thwarted Quirrell and other matters directly related to
himself, which is where being a skilled actor ("Where would I be if I
didn't know how to act?") and a superb Occlumens comes in.

Draedonin:
I can see Voldemort saying to an attached Snape, "Your loyalties
belong to ME- not your students, not to Hogwarts, and not to
Dumbledore! You shall love me, and none other!"

Carol:
Erm, I don't recognize this Voldie. The guy operates through fear and
coercion and torture. He doesn't recognize the existence of love, and
he doesn't care whether the loyalty is real or not as long as his
servants do what he wants them to do, as we see with Wormtail.
>
Draeconin:
> I think this shows up in more than just the Potions class. He never
gives his caring concern to Harry in Occulemency lessons, either. He
certainly hides his skills and talents there, and I don't think
messing Harry up in that subject was pure accident.

Carol:
Of course he doesn't show "caring concern" for Harry. He either hates
or intensely dislikes him, not only because he's James's son but
because, in Snape's view, he takes after James both in "arrogance" and
rule-breaking. There's some truth in this view, but it's also in a
sense a self-fulfilling prophecy--if you expect an arrogant,
rule-breaking brat, you'll very likely get one. And, of course, it's
Harry, not Snape, who sabotages the lessons by entering the Pensieve.
He also, most inconveniently, wants to keep having that dream.

Nevertheless, until the point where Harry violates Snape's trust,
Snape has been, IMO, doing his best to teach Harry Occlumency,
explaining what Occlumency is and that Harry needs to react quickly to
block the Legilimens spell using any spell he can think of but better
still, using his own mind to block the intrusions as he did with the
Imperius Curse. He actually praises Harry in a roundabout way ("For a
first attempt, that was not as bad as it might have been"). Had Snape
attempted anything closer to friendliness than that, Angry!Harry would
have been immediately suspicious. Fake!Moody was a lot kinder to Harry
than Snape has ever been, and he was a loyal Death Eater. Surely,
Harry hasn't already forgotten that "nice" isn't always good, and any
niceness on Snape's part would cause Harry to think he was either up
to something or Imperio'd.

It's interesting that the few times when Snape becomes openly angry
with Harry (never a full-blown rage until the Pensieve incident)
involve memories that shouldn't be in Harry's head at all--Avery being
Crucioed and the dream of the DoM. It appears from remarks that
Dumbledore makes at the end of the book that Snape has made a full
report of the lessons, and of his concerns about these memories that
don't belong to Harry.

Draeconin:
Dumbledore presumes this "goof" of Snape's is mere trouble over
forgiving, but Snape needs to keep his loyalties to Voldemort in tact
for the Double Agent role to continue to work. <snip>

Carol:
Dumbledore knows perfectly well that Snape as double agent has to
pretend to be loyal to Voldemort. We see in GoF that he and Snape had
intended all along for Snape to return to LV when the time came. "If
you are ready; if you are prepared." "I am." And DD sends him out the
door, quite possibly to death or torture, if the stories and excuses
Snape has prepared are unsatisfactory.

But Dumbledore can hardly tell Harry the full extent of Snape's
duties, nor can he safely mention, given Harry's state of mind, that
the Occlumency lessons would not have ended if Harry had not ventured
into the Pensieve, or that Harry himself has not been making an effort
to learn Occlumency. He merely concedes that the whole thing has been
a fiasco and takes the blame upon himself. Snape's "grudge" against
James serves as always as a convenient excuse for his behavior, from
saving Harry in SS/PS to his rage at Sirius Black in the Shrieking
Shack, but, as always, there's more to Snape than Dumbledore--or
JKR--is willing to reveal. (I think you're underestimating Dumbledore,
who knows Snape much better than we do.)

Draeconin:
Thus, I think all the way through the books, we've never seen the
real Snape to even judge his character. We've only seen what he needs
to propagate his Double Agent role. He's not evil, he's not good- he's
a spy. You will never see his real hand, nor will you ever get to see
all the cards he's holding.

Carol:
I agree that we haven't yet seen the real Snape, but I'll be very
surprised if we don't know exactly where his loyalties lie by the end
of DH. Snape is a central mystery throughout the books, and JKR has
been raising questions about him--in Harry's mind and the
reader's--since the moment he was introduced. HBP was his book, but
it's only the first half of the two-part final volume in the series.
Snape's story has not yet been told, but we'll certainly find out
exactly what was going on in the tower scene and exactly why he took
the Unbreakable Vow. either that, or Snape is nothing but a cheap plot
device whose sole purpose was to kill Dumbledore, in which case I, for
one, will feel throroughly cheated.

Carol, who will be very surprised if Draco Malfoy is right and
Dumbledore is wrong

P.S. I have no clue why this message didn't post on February 28, but
that's the date on the failure notice I received belatedly today..