Snape-tember - Week 3 - Discussion

[Prof. Tarma Amelia Black]

I wrote this in the top of Week 3's Sudoku puzzle.  If you saw it there, before coming to this topic, you might have had an internal response ....     The question written is:

 

"Who all wanted to be in Snape's Potions class?"

 

Here you can write your reaction to that question!   Say what your response is, and why.

 

Write at least 100 words and earn 15 Diamonds!  If you write another post of at least another 100 words, you can earn another 15 Diamonds, too (so remember to leave some information from your first post if you want the additional Diamonds!) 

 

Note:  Do not post twice in a row!  Wait for someone else to post, or 24 hours, before posting again.

You have until the end of September to earn your Diamonds. If you respond within a week of this being posted, though, you earn an additional 3 bonus Diamonds. 

[Emily Spencer]

Seriously?!  is this even a question?!  That would be a resounding yes!!!!!  

 

Why? 

 

Well, for starters, just look at these nice green/grey robes I'm wearing.  I'm a proud member of House Slytherin, and Professor Snape was Slytherin's Head of House, so it goes without saying that I would wish to support him.  But, believe it or not, Slytherin Pride is not the only reason I would choose to take his class.  Underneath these robes of green there lies a lining of blue and bronze.  I have enough Ravenclaw tendencies that I enjoy learning, and I enjoy a challenge while doing so.  Snape seems like he would have been an exacting Professor, one who demanded the very best from his students.  I can respect and admire that.

 

In Muggle terms, I love chemisty, and Potions is rather the magical equivalent of that.  If not for my calling as a Healer (paramedic), I do believe that I would have loved to pursue the career of Potioneer (chemist).  It rather suits my nature, I believe.  Who knows, maybe one day when I'm old and grey, I just might do that!

 

And I won't even try to lie.  One of the real reasons I would love to be in Snape's class can be summed up in two little words...

 

"Page 394"

 

Shallow, I know, but there you have it!

[Ellie Vernez]

I think i would like to be in snapes potion class but then i also think i would be a bit scared. He is an amazing teacher but he is hard to impress and he only seems to tolerate his slytherins and he's  a big guy and all in black so i think to a first year he would look terrifying 

 

But i would love to be in potions it sounds like such an interesting class and snape is a teacher that knows a lot. And even though he is hard to impress he is someone who will give credit when due.

 

 

[Astor Arensin]

While I would love to attend Potions class, I would not want Snape as my professor, nor would I want Slughorn. Professor Snape is an astounding master potioneer, yes, but he is an awful teacher. He does not have the patience or compassion to teach young children. I think he would have done much better teaching only the OWL and NEWT level Potions classes, which would only consist of people who have a passion for potions and wish to further their career in it. Those classes also consist of students who know better than making silly mistakes, such as incorrectly preparing an ingredient or forgetting a crucial step in the brewing process.
Younger students (first through fourth years) would benefit so much more from someone explaining how to do something a certain way and why.
I understand Professor Snape's intolerance for mistakes as in potion-making; mistakes can be deadly or have other dastardly consequences. But he should have taught and explained the potions, ingredients, and methods better beforehand. He should have focused on the theory and proper techniques first and tested every student to know enough to brew a potion.

[Ellie Vernez]

Im also a person who has always enjoyed making things. From making bath bombs, perfumes and even candles. To also cooking and baking. And science was something i always enjoyed especially chemistry. 

 

And i think it would be an honour to be taught by professor snape. Because even though he can be scary and a bit abrupt he know what hes taking about and what he's doing. I just think he needs  to adjust his teaching ways as he can be harsh and he doeant have the patience to treat young children without them thinking they cant do anything properly. When all they need is someone to teach them the proper technique 

[Astor Arensin]

As stated before, I would love to attend Potions class. I am very interested in herbology and magical creatures, where most (if not all) of the ingredients in potions class comes from. I would love to brew my own potions using my own ingredients and see the results and how the different qualities of the ingredients can affect the results, whether it be how mature the plant or creature is, the gender, if it is a hybrid of some type, when it is harvested, how it is prepared, etc. I believe my one hard line with potions class is that I don't think I could use ingredients if I'm unsure if they were harvested ethically. Potions ingredients are supposed to be harvested without causing harm to the creature, but you can't always verify that, and that concerns me. That is another reason why I would want to use my own ingredients.

[Prof. Tarma Amelia Black]

This is sort of a Catch 22 in many ways. When I wrote the question, my own immediate response was 'Yes, of course I'd want to be in his class'.  Then I remembered how it was for the students in his class, and how he was to different members of the class, often basing his manner towards them on into which House they had been Sorted.

 

But, overall, yes.  I'd love to take the Potions class with Professor Snape. I'm quite sure that a lot of my learning would be from the textbook(s) and from the actual experiments I'd do.  I'm also sure that being aware of Professor Snape and his teachings, lectures, comments and other methods of communication would be a great learning experience, too, both of the subject matter and of 'how to be' as well as 'how not to be'.

[Prof. Felicia Hartwick]

hehehehe... As I read some of the replies here I did have to laugh a little. Everyone would like to take Potions but seem quite afraid of the Professor. I'm here thinking, that's the reason I would want to take Potions with Professor Snape. Believe it or not, I do tend to be a bit sarcastic myself. So I think it would be a battle of wits between Snape and myself. I can imagine it, Snape saying something snarky to me and I wouldn't be able to help it, but I would snap back with a snarky remark myself. As my daughter has told me a number of time... my last words probably will be sarcastic!

[Prof. Will Lestrange]

When Severus Snape was teaching Potions, the instruction of students in Potions was NOT his primary job.  Even his task as the Head of Slytherin House was not his primary job.  The most important thing for him was to serve as a spy for Albus Dumbledore - which meant that he needed Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters to be absolutely certain that Snape was on the side of Voldemort.

 

Every action Snape did as an instructor, therefore, would likely be watched closely by children of Death Eaters who happened to be in the classroom at the time.  And his actions, with the Death Eater children as an audience, would naturally not be the ones that were most conducive to being a good teacher.  (For example, bullying a Gryffindor or two from an Order of the Phoenix-supporting family would help convince Death Eater children about what side Snape was on, and those children would naturally pass along the messages to their parents and through them to Voldemort himself).

 

So with Snape as a teacher, I'd know that his teaching was never a priority!  That said, I do get the impression that despite all of that, his Slytherins came out pretty well with him as a Head of House.  As a Slytherin myself, I feel that Snape would really look out for me and for my goals... and in any event, considering my blood status and surname, he has no reason to abuse me to help convey that image!

 

So, this gets us back to his 'regular' teaching methods:  setting us challenging reading, quizzing us to make sure we understand it, writing instructions for how to brew a specific potion, and only giving 'advice' when we were headed for disaster.  I think I'm a good enough student that I could do well in such an environment - so this means I'd probably feel like Snape would encourage me to achieve my full potential (except that there would probably be circumstances when I  knew I fell short of my potential and he'd suggest otherwise...) so probably I'd enjoy his class, though I'd need to be careful not to let his worst mannerisms rub off on me!

[Prof. Tarma Amelia Black]

The time for Bonus Diamonds is up. You may continue to post in here, though, through the end of the month to earn some Diamonds. 

[Louis Walles]

Because there are some advantages and disadvantages to being taught by Snape, let's me separate it into two different posts - one for advantages and one for disadvantages. I guess that would be fair and pretty much give me the opportunity to earn more diamonds.

Let's start with advantages.

I would like to be taught by Snape because he is highly educated and has a very fair knowledge about Potions. He is an amazing teacher and would probably give me all the information I need to be excellent at potions. I am also a proud Slytherin so this should help me out.

[Harry Walles]

I agree with Louis it would be wise to split my answer into advantages and disadvantages because, just like Louis said, there are plenty of them. 

I would like to be a student in Snape's potion class because as most of you have already mentioned, he, despite everything, is still a great teacher. He is very wise and his knowledge is extensive. His harsh behavior would make me try my best every time I were on his lessons because I would really like to impress him at some point and learn more about potions and potions making. He would be truly amazing at this.

[Louis Walles]

When it comes to disadvantages I assume the answer is pretty straightforward, however most people see the downside of being in his class differently so let's talk about my point of view.

I believe he is too hard on students, which makes him very demanding (extremely demanding). I am always a good student (I try to be), and I try to submit all of my assignments on time. But I do have to admit that science related subjects are not my strong side, and I would not probably be very good at Potions. Snape wouldn't be too happy about it and probably result in me skipping his classes.

[Harry Walles]

For me the biggest disadvantage of being in Snape's class would be the way he treats his students. As we all probably know, Snape happens to favor Slytherin students and me being a very proud Hufflepuff...well this may be an issue. I also do not like how harsh he is during the lessons. He never compliments his students (or very rarely) and that would probably highly discourage me from learning more about Potions. I would probably end up avoiding his classes at all costs and would not be happy to participate in my lessons. I believe a good motivation for students is a key to successful education.

[Lucia Dinapoli]

Harry and Louis hit the nail on the head with their responses, and separating their answers into advantages and disadvantages seems like the right way to talk about my opinion on him. I am a gigantic fan of Potions, but even if I wasn’t you would have to be blind to think Professor Snape wasn’t a brilliant and talented teacher when it came to that subject. His teaching style with quizzes, essays, detailed instructions I adore. He was a connoisseur, a star in the field - I mean he even edited his schools textbook…if that doesn’t tell you how much of a genius he was at Potions I don’t know what will. The only thing I think that lets him down is his approach to teaching.
 

There was nothing that made me dislike a class more in school than a rude teacher, and although I am a Slytherin and the harshness towards his own house members was a bit more tame, I do not like seeing others treated without respect or kindness. A part of teaching is kindness, the ability to understand students issues, explain them through their confusions so they leave with more knowledge. Although I like that Snape was harsh in some aspects and that he didn’t take no silliness in his classroom, he could have benefited from a little bit of a softer approach and most likely had students passing much more than failing! That being said I really enjoyed hearing Will’s explanation of his behaviour and it does make a lot of sense!

 

All of that said I do think I would love having him as a teacher considering my love for Potions, I feel I would try my best to appease his goals of me and I would hope that I am a good enough learner to achieve them without letting his harshness of others interfere with my education.