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Riding Acromantulas and Understanding Magical Biology (harry potter/worm)

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Given his research skills and level of competence at anything involving casting except a specific family of charms, History of Magic may well have been Gilderoy's best subject.
 
Ursine said:
Very true, he sucked as a teacher. And as a human being. And at not being a racist prick. And at being an effective spy.

But he was good at magic.
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So... At least there's that?

I got the feeling he might have been better at teaching if he only had students that already knew all the stuff he considered basic and way beneath him. Graduate-level stuff essentially.

Even then, he'd obviously have much rather been doing his own thing, preferably in a remote location that didn't require him to interact with people unless it was on his own terms.

Snape was born to be a hermit.:D
 
Mook said:
He wouldn't unintentionally put his students to sleep. :p
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That's only because they're terrified of him. From what I remember of the books, Lockhart is arguably a better teacher. Snape doesn't teach anything, just puts the directions on the board and goes around glaring, snapping, and psychologically sabotaging his students. Lockhart at least tries to do something, even if he's useless. The one thing Snape has in his favor is knowledge, both in his head and in the textbooks.
 
MadGreenSon said:
So... At least there's that?

I got the feeling he might have been better at teaching if he only had students that already knew all the stuff he considered basic and way beneath him. Graduate-level stuff essentially.

Even then, he'd obviously have much rather been doing his own thing, preferably in a remote location that didn't require him to interact with people unless it was on his own terms.

Snape was born to be a hermit.:D
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Reminds me of a fic I read once, where another potions master ripped Snape a new one after he called his students incompetent.

Paraphrased:
"Of course they're incompetent! They're eleven! They haven't been taught yet; your job is to make them not incompetent! At this age I wouldn't expect them to handle anything more dangerous than apple juice!"
 
I read one fic where it was explained that if you were able to get through Snapes classes, you could easily pass the tests for a Potions Mastery.
But that none of the Slytherins did, because he made the classes so easy for them, they could not handle the pressure of the tests.
 
Ursine said:
I read one fic where it was explained that if you were able to get through Snapes classes, you could easily pass the tests for a Potions Mastery.
But that none of the Slytherins did, because he made the classes so easy for them, they could not handle the pressure of the tests.
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Slightly off-topic, but there's a hole in that explanation.
Slytherins take Potions with Gryffindors. How is Snape supposed t make the subject material easier for only half the class?
(This ignores that there isn't evidence of him making it easier on Slytherins in canon, just him being harsher on Gryffindors.)
 
Grue said:
Slightly off-topic, but there's a hole in that explanation.
Slytherins take Potions with Gryffindors. How is Snape supposed t make the subject material easier for only half the class?
(This ignores that there isn't evidence of him making it easier on Slytherins in canon, just him being harsher on Gryffindors.)
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Not easier academically, but less pressure. Gryffindors got used to brewing in a hostile environment, while the Slytherins did not. Besides, it was from a crack fic, by Dogbertcarrol I think.
 
Grue said:
Slightly off-topic, but there's a hole in that explanation.
Slytherins take Potions with Gryffindors. How is Snape supposed t make the subject material easier for only half the class?
(This ignores that there isn't evidence of him making it easier on Slytherins in canon, just him being harsher on Gryffindors.)
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Private tuition in the Slytherin common room by their Head of House. Who just so happens to be their Potions Professor.
 
Daimah said:
:o

Maybe that's why he "taught" his class like he did. He was trying to get fired but Dumbledore never got the hint.
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I'm pretty sure Dumbledore wasn't going to fire him no matter what. Which would explain a lot really.

Imagine you were a deeply disagreeable ass and basically had carte blanche as long as you didn't kill or badly maim any of the little bastards and at least made gestures at teaching the class. You might be a lot like canon Snape too.
 
Solitare said:
That's only because they're terrified of him. From what I remember of the books, Lockhart is arguably a better teacher. Snape doesn't teach anything, just puts the directions on the board and goes around glaring, snapping, and psychologically sabotaging his students. Lockhart at least tries to do something, even if he's useless. The one thing Snape has in his favor is knowledge, both in his head and in the textbooks.
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Eh... On the 'teaching' side of things, Snape does send and correct essays, so the kids do have some idea of what each ingredient does before they try to use it. Not like they'll turn in a blank essay to Snape, of all teachers.

But I'd say Snape's job is more about keeping the students alive than anything else.

Would you like to be the only adult on charge in a room with 40 to 80 eleven years olds using dangerous substances? Explosive substances? Toxic substances? Corrosive substances? That all work magically so you can only barely predict how the kids are gonna mess up themselves and others if you're a Master at the subject?

I've never seen a chemistry lab without all the safety equipment and at least 3 people overseeing things. And that's for 20, maybe 30 people, adults or close to adults.

Now think about how the House 'rivalries' and the fact that the classes are mixed mean the Slytherins and the Gryffindors attempt to 'sabotage' each other by throwing random ingredients into each others potions.

Really, even if Snape hadn't been such an asshole as a youth, I wouldn't blame him for being one now. Mind, Slughorn seemed to do OK, though I don't quite remember just why he didn't really want to go back...

At the end of the day, Snape's obvious deficiencies (bullying kids, thought that fit quite well with the themes before HP tried to 'grow up') aside, he's always caught potions 'accidents' right after they happened. Most of the time he's in class he's thinking of all the ways things can and will explode and ready to take care of it before it gets too bad.
 
Onmur said:
Would you like to be the only adult on charge in a room with 40 to 80 eleven years olds using dangerous substances? Explosive substances? Toxic substances? Corrosive substances? That all work magically so you can only barely predict how the kids are gonna mess up themselves and others if you're a Master at the subject?
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When you put it like that its hard to believe that we didn't realise what a badass Snape was till the end of the series.
 
A question I asked earlier that was never addressed: Does everyone think that Amy and Taylor are still parahumans in the Worm sense of the word?

Their powers didn't really kick in until they got their wands, so they may be more along the lines of unusual magical abilities now.

This could have weird implications if true, like maybe the lives they remember aren't as real as they think?
 
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MadGreenSon said:
A question I asked earlier that was never addressed: Does everyone think that Amy and Taylor are still parahumans in the Worm sense of the word?

Their powers didn't really kick in until they got their wands, so they may be more along the lines of unusual magical abilities now.

This could have weird implications if true, like maybe the lives they remember aren't as real as they think?
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Please don't get into that old existential debate. It just gives us headaches.
 
MadGreenSon said:
A question I asked earlier that was never addressed: Does everyone think that Amy and Taylor are still parahumans in the Worm sense of the word?

Their powers didn't really kick in until they got their wands, so they may be more along the lines of unusual magical abilities now.

This could have weird implications if true, like maybe the lives they remember aren't as real as they think?
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They could both fake strokes over the next holiday and see if they still have the extra brain lobe. Or Amy could touch Taylor and tell us.
 
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