[HPforGrownups] Re: Sadism or not ? McGonagall and her punishments

[Shaun Hately]

No: HPFGUIDX 186668

a_svirn:

> But Parvati was wearing uniform, presumably. Otherwise McGonagall
> would have commented on that too. Parvati hadn't violated any rule or
> code by securing her hair with a clasp. Just because Hermione couldn't
> bother with taming her hair, doesn't mean that other girls in Hogwarts
> didn't wear bands, hairpins or clasps. Or boys for that matter - we
> know that Jordan, for instance, sported dreadlocks at some point.
> McGonagall is not reprimanding her for infringing the rules here, she's
> disparaging her taste. Petty thing to do, in my humble opinion.

School uniform isn't just about being required to wear certain things. Quite 
often school uniform rules also set restrictions on ornamentation.

And that often includes what girls put in their hair.

Just a couple of examples from Australian schools which have put their 
uniform requirements on the web (I'm sure I could find similar citations for 
British schools, but I have the Australian ones easily to hand).

St Hilda's, Western Australia:

"Hair must not be dyed beyond natural colourings. Hair should be neat and 
tied back once it reaches the collar of the uniform. Hair ribbons, head 
bands and scrunchies must be regulation blue. Only brown/blue hair ties, 
alice bands, or clips are to be worn"

Hurlstone Agricultural High School, New South Wales:

"Ribbons, hair ties, clips must be in school colours of red, yellow, blue or 
white."

I could provide a lot more examples. Schools with uniforms often do set 
rules on these things.

a_svirn:
> Actually he didn't lose it: it was stolen from him. Poirot McGonagall is 
> not.
> But never mind that. So you wouldn't forgive him for losing the list? Even 
> if you
> knew full well that his memory disability was the reason of his losing it? 
> And that
> *your own arrangement* put him into an untenable position?

Shaun:

Actually, I would forgive Neville for losing the list - provided immediately 
he realised he'd lost it, he'd reported its loss. Anyone can make a 
mistake - but if you make a mistake, you need to take steps to correct it. 
Neville's "misbehaviour" in this case involved three separate incidents - he 
wrote the passwords down, he lost them (yes, they were stolen, but I think 
the fact that he apparently left Gryffindor tower without realising they'd 
gone missing indicates he wasn't taking care of them - also, at the time she 
punished him, Professor McGonagall did not know they'd been stolen - she 
assumed, as Neville did, that he had lost them. I do think it would be 
entirely reasonable to expect Professor McGonagall to apologise to Neville, 
if she ever became aware that the passwords had been stolen rather than 
lost - but at the time she punishes him, she has a honest and reasonable 
belief that he lost the passwords. Teachers aren't omniscient.), and then he 
failed to report that loss despite having two days to do so.

If he'd gone to Professor McGonagall - or to Percy for that matter (Head Boy 
and in Gryffindor House) or to any other person in authority and said: "I've 
lost the passwords, the tower's security could be compromised," yes, I'd 
readily forgive him. But he didn't do that.

> Shaun:
>
> > First of all, Neville does achieves adequate results in Professor
> > McGonagall's class - he does get an Acceptable OWL. It's not his best
> > subject but he does do well enough to pass.
>
a_svirn:
> But not enough to be admitted to her NEWT class, even though her 
> requirements are considerably less stringent than Snape's.

Shaun:

I'm assuming that the names of the grades applied at Hogwarts mean what what 
they say. An 'A' grade is called 'Acceptable' so I'm assuming it is 
acceptable. An 'E' is called 'Exceeds Expectation' so I'm assuming a student 
who gets an E does better than normal.

Some teachers assign higher requirements for NEWTS - Nastily Exhausting 
Wizarding Tests - note that name as well. NEWTS are meant to be very 
difficult. They're not meant to be accessible to every single student.

We only have limited knowledge of Neville's marks at OWL. We know he got an 
O in Herbology, an E in DADA and Charms and an A in Transfiguration. I think 
we can very safely assume that Neville got some form of failing grade in 
Potions.

What did he get in Care of Magical Creatures? What did he get in History of 
Magic? What did he get in Astronomy? What did he get in Divination? I think 
the text strongly suggests he got a bunch of As at most - McGonagall 
suggests Charms to him - and no other subject - because he got an E.

A seems to me Neville's 'normal' grade. There's a couple of areas he does 
better than normal in, and one he most definitely does worse in. Blaming a 
teacher for the fact that Neville got his typical mark in their subject 
seems odd to me,

a_svirn:
> Yes, but does the male in question need to be a student with disabilities?
> Which is more to the point in this particular case.

Shaun:

He doesn't need to be a student with disabilities, but the fact that he is 
does not preclude this approach. Again, the pages I cited from Leonard Sax's 
work address this in detail, but he does specifically discuss this in terms 
of its positive effects on boys with LDs.

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