Hogwarts Classes

[career advisor]

No: HPFGUIDX 180796

Clipped from DS
<<It seems to me that the Hogwarts classes are a little lacking. You
have the core classes and then the very few electives, i.e. Ancient
Runes, Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures, Divination and Muggle
Studies. And yet the magical world is so rich with different types of
magic and applications of magic and you can see the basics of the
advanced forms in the other classes, but it just seems strange to me
that other classes aren't offered.>>
 
To me most of the classes that are taught are very broad classes. In other words the Transfiguration class is the equivalant of English 101. And magic seems to be able to be broadly categorized into a few broad types, just like in the muggle world 'real learning' can be categorized int certain broad categories of knowledge.  English, Math, Science, History, Arts, a few others.  Perhaps magic can be as broadly defined. Also you need to remember the purpose of the school which is similar to the purpose of real schools to provide the basic knowledge needed by the average witch or wizard to survive everyday life in the muggle world. They don't need the advanced stuff most of them. There are plenty of spells they learn that are just as useful to the average wizard as calculus is the to the average muggle. Or the sonnets of Shakespeare. Really the number of spells they need are very little. Apparation, basic summoning charms, perhaps simple transfiguration to
 hide themselves from muggles mostly, or to prepare food. Charms, to change their appearance, simple wards to keep away danger etc. Most of what they really need they probably know by fourth year.
 
DA Jones   .  
 
Snipped for DS:
 
<<Magical theory and magical ethics seem as though they should be taught
in some form, given how you're basically equipping every child with a
fully loaded weapon in teaching them how to use their wands. Warding,
protective magics, ritualistic magic all seem like they're used in the
wizarding world and yet you don't hear much about them in any of the
classes.>>


As in many muggle societies perhaps magic schools teach little about ethics. That is expected to be taught by the parents; also what little ethics there are are probably usually taught in History of Magic and one reason the Slytherins are so ethically challenged is like everyone else they never pay attention to Binns. We do know that a few 'ethical things' are taught in the other classes. For instance in Transfiguration they are taught that human transfiguration is prohibited. 
 
DA
 
Snipped from DS:
 
<<I also find it quite strange that they don't have an introduction to
magic and basic household and everyday magic class option for those
coming from a non-magical background who can't pick up the normal way
of doing things in the magical world as far as care of house and self
is concerned.>>
 
One reason for this, is that about half of wizarding society is very reluctant to teach muggle-born at all. 
Also, I'm sure most of this is in the Miranda Goshawks worls. But also remember they don't want the muggle borns doing magic at home, at least until 17. I think they would pick up most of these very quickly from their friends anyway. There doesn't seem to be much need for household spells. As most witches and wizards eventually acquire house-elves to do all that for them anyway. Even the muggle-borns I suspect. I also suspect that many muggle-borns end up marrying muggles and don't end up with much use for magic after school anyway. At least some probably rarely travel into the world once learning their basic craft in Hogwarts. Maybe they keep an owl and prophet subscription and that's about it. 
 
Snipped from DS:
 
<< It also seems strange to me that the school is so understaffed. The
teachers barely have enough time in the day to teach, let alone grade.
There certainly can't be any form of supervision.>>
 
Others have noted it as well. It all depends on the school size. If they're are thousands of students yes, but most erstimates place the population at between 600-800 in good years, but Harry's year seems a little smaller then the average year (perhaps do to the war. Normally you'd expect about 100 students per year, didivied into four houses times seven years (and the seventh year is optional so the classes are much smaller.) 
 
So you have seven years time four house or 28 classes to teach normally. Divide that by 5 days and you end up with slighly less then five and half classes classes a day. If each class is an hour and twenty munites or so you still have an hour for lunch and another half hour or so for the professor to still have time for themselves. 
 
The class size would be 20-25 per class, but in Harry's year the houses are perhaps smaller so they seem to be combining houses in order to make up classes. But there is no canon evidence one way or the other. Is it normal in others years to combine houses or were classes taught stickly by house?
 
Also there are other staff besides the teachers. A librarian, a caretaker, a nurse (normally a groundskeeper or keeper of the keys (can we assume Hagrid was at least offically replaced in his old job by an unnamed character?). Plus hundered of house-elves and ghosts to help keep an eye on things. People always forget the house-elves when counting staff. I'm sure they would inform a teacher of staff member of any truly horrendous thing that is happening. The teachers also have thw whole weekend to grade exams, since they don't teach and live at the castle. 

If there are about thirty staff (I think we can safely assume about twice the amount of staff mentioned in the books) and six hundered students, the teachers are outnumbered by about the same ratio as when they teach class, which I don't think is odd at all. 

DA Jones


      ____________________________________________________________________________________
Be a better friend, newshound, and 
know-it-all with Yahoo! Mobile.  Try it now.  http://mobile.yahoo.com/;_ylt=Ahu06i62sR8HDtDypao8Wcj9tAcJ 


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]