Sadism or not ? McGonagall and her punishments

[a_svirn]

No: HPFGUIDX 186677

> Pippin:
> Luna is a Ravenclaw and her appearance is therefore Flitwick's responsibility. If he chooses to be lax that does not mean that McGonagall has to be lax also. I agree that McGonagall's irritation shows she is tense about the situation, and she may normally be inclined to let minor lapses pass. But she is acting 'in loco parentis' and you'd better believe that parents have the right to educate  their childrens' taste and to demand a certain standard of appearance on formal occasions. 

a_svirn:
I wasn't discussing teachers' rights (though I don't believe they are equal to those of parents); I was merely saying that McGonagall's behaviour in this scene is petty. Parents can be petty too. I'd say ridiculing a teenage daughter's taste in jewellery is not the best strategy to improve it.  

> Pippin:

> I don't understand the insistence that Neville had no other means of coping with the situation. If it was too embarrassing to ask for help outright, he could have traded for it. Surely somebody in Gryffindor Tower must struggle with herbology? 

a_svirn:
He could, but he chose the way that didn't involve any additional embarrassment. He had enough of that as it was. He had no reason to suppose that anyone in Gryffindor would steal the list, and he made sure that it stayed in the dormitory. All in all, he made best of a very bad situation. If his best was not good enough, it was McGonagall's fault, not his. Just because she refused to recognise that he had memory problems didn't mean that they would go away.

> Pippin:
> Anyway, why so insistent that McGonagall should have recognized and known how to compensate for Neville's learning disabilities? The whole concept was unknown in the real world until relatively recently, and the wizards seem to be as far behind us in their theories of mental function as they are ahead of us in their ability to manipulate it.

a_svirn:
It was Shaun, who came up with the diagnosis; I only said that Neville had shockingly bad memory. McGonagall was certainly aware of that: she alluded to his bad memory often enough in and out of the classroom. Despite this awareness she refused to recognise the need for adjustments and in this particular instance her neglect compromised her House's security.