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To Each Their Own

@irrelevantproblems / irrelevantproblems.tumblr.com

Eh.
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cosmicpines
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girldadlalo

snape could’ve been an awesome teacher if he wasn’t a disgusting waste of a human being. he knew from age 16 that the instuctions that the textbooks were giving weren’t as good as they could be. he improved the potions and recorded his methods at age 16. if he weren’t such a shitbag, he could’ve either written the damn textbooks himself, or taught his students his alternate methods. he could’ve revolutionized how potions were being brewed, teaching whole generations a superior method of potion brewing. instead, he spent his time bullying children. 

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deathdaydungeon

What a brilliant point.

Apart from the fact that canon rather hints that Snape did teach the kids the revised instructions.

Prisoner of Azkaban:

Didn’t you hear me say, quite clearly, that only one cat spleen was needed?  Didn’t I state plainly that a dash of leech juice would suffice?

It’s evident from this that Snape wasn’t solely teaching from the textbook; he clearly instructed the class verbally.

Order of the Phoenix:

“The ingredients and method” — Snape flicked his wand — “are on the blackboard”

and, in another lesson: 

Determined not to give Snape an excuse to fail him this lesson, Harry read and reread every line of the instructions on the blackboard

Snape doesn’t instruct them to use the textbook; he puts the instructions on the board.  

Order of the Phoenix gives us some other clues. 

“And I must tell you that Professor Snape absolutely refuses to take students who get anything other than ‘Outstanding’ in their O.W.L.s,”

So McGonagall knows that Snape only takes Outstandings, which means it’s been an ongoing decision - it’s not new for Harry’s year.  And why would Snape get away with only taking the best?  

Well:

“Moronic though some of this class undoubtedly are, I expect you to scrape an ‘Acceptable’ in your O.W.L., or suffer my … displeasure.”

He expects everyone - even Neville, Crabbe and Goyle to gain an A.  That’s his absolute baseline.  He doesn’t anticipate anyone getting a P, T or D - which is a huge ask, expecting his class to attain the three top grades, without any one of them getting one of the three bottom grades.

“I advise all of you to concentrate your efforts upon maintaining the high-pass level I have come to expect from my O.W.L. students”

Yet evidently, he’s been succeeding.  

So doesn’t that rather suggest that he’s teaching them from his own textbook?  Is it really plausible that every student would succeed, and not a single one would fail, if he was only teaching from the textbook?

After all, Umbridge says:

“Well, the class seems fairly advanced for their level,”

And the real litmus test?

Well, in Half Blood Prince,Slughorn doesn’t write on the blackboard at all.  Not once.  Instead, he points the kids at their books:

“Scales out, everyone, and potion kits, and don’t forget your copies of Advanced Potion-Making… .”

So let’s look at Hermione and Harry.  Hermione’s potions are perfect under Snape.  She can follow instructions to the letter, and she always creates a flawless potion.  She enters Slughorn’s class, continues to follow the instructions from the textbook, and she flails.  

In contrast, Harry was continually distracted in Snape’s lessons - usually because of their joint animosity.  Harry was less inclined to concentrate, and Snape made it impossible for him to relax - and for the most part, Harry was preoccupied with other events (e.g. Triwizard Tournament).

Under Slughorn, Harry finally follows the Prince’s instructions to the letter (he can follow Snape’s instructions, as long as he doesn’t realise Snape’s at the helm), and he creates flawless potions.  

It suggests that neither of them is capable of seeing instinctively what’s required; both only succeed when they’ve got the notes before them and follow them to the letter.  Snape, by contrast, was an instinctive Potions maker - it appears Slughorn is teaching in the same way he always did, and we know he taught Snape - so his flair wasn’t taught to him.  

It all rather indicates that Snape was teaching the kids his revised methods.  It’s plausibly less apparent during the early years that we see him teaching, because presumably, the easy potions do not require intense modification.

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im-a-lesbian-superhero

In today’s episode of White privilege

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danielle-mertina

I read the article and he robbed 4 banks and went to federal prison for a mere 11 years, got into prestigious schools and now he’s a law professor at a top law school? Only a white man could have this story.

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