What do you think about McGonagall?

[melodypottersnape]

Pros- I like how she is a quidditch lover, stern, and competitve. I actually do love her I just don't like some actions

Cons

First Year -

She never said a thing about a baby left on a doorstep(I understand Dumbles is more powerful, but what about ringing the bell, giving the light s back, and leaving before the Dursleys get downstairs)

I personally think she is guilty of thinking Harry is like James. She automatically came up and believed the idea that Harry set Malfoy up. If they were going to set him up why would they be out of bed too? Fifty points is too much and was just asking him to be bullied. Forbiddon Forest?!

Not even checking up the claim of the stone

Second year-

Did not try to help Harry about the Parsel mouth talk. That situation could have easily gotten out of hand.

As soon as it was verified that the same monster that killed before was back they should have questioned everyone and if nothing was found then they should have closed the school down. Even if Dumbles wouldn't then she should have once she was put in charge. If she didn't because of pride than I' so glad to know a womans pride is more important than a kid's life.


Third Year-

It really took that long to check a broom. Oh why doesn't a head of house explain the extra classes?

Fourth Year-

When the teachers called Harry a liar; she defended Dumbles magic and not Harry's innocence. She let the rest of the school bully him. She did not help him one bit to that he would survive.

Fifth Year-

I believe she said that she would help Harry become an auror to get back at Umbridge.

She attempted nothing with Helping Harry about Umbridge harrassing him.

She told Harry to keep his head down when the last time I checked it was the toad that was going after him not the other way around.

[Kitty279]

Yeah, that's pretty much it. I actually mostly like her, but I was not happy with her quite a few times, and you listed most of them.

Add:
First year: Personally, I suspect she saw Harry as James from the word go, as she bowed to Dumbledore's idea of 'safe home' the moment he mentioned he'd otherwise get a big head. Great reason to leave a baby on a doorstep *grumbles*
To me, five points each for defeating a Troll is inexcusable when at the other hand taking 50 just for being out of bed. There's something seriously wrong with that point system and how the teachers handle it.

Though there are some pro points as well:
Fifth year - she went to help Hagrid when Umbitch tried to have him arrested.

Seventh year - I loved how she dealt with Snape, Slughorn and Parkinson before the battle.

Sometimes I wonder - was she just too overworked to do her job properly? She was Transfiguration teacher, Head of House and Deputy Headmistress, after all. And I suspect that as the later, she had to do lots of Dumbledore's work as well. He was Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and Supreme Mugwump of the ICW as well, so busy with politics. Not to mention orchestrating Harry's whole life and later the Order.

[melodypottersnape]

I've always wondered why they have Head of House/teacher being a Deputy Headmistress. To me that doesn't make her a neutral party that in my opinion should be in that position.(Past alumni is okay because they do not have another position that is supposed to have them in the corner for a section of the students)

I've also wondered about how there is only a teacher per subject. Each teacher reads probably seven hundred essays a week.(Some of those essays are 13 ft long) It's not feasible. There should be a teacher a grad and each teacher should have a student assitant who's sole job is to help grade work. I know my school teachers used them enough.

As for Head of House. The Head of house in my opinion should be a counselor. Someone they can talk to and do the these duties.
1) count heads every night
2)Call in students atleast once a month to talk about their grades, school life, and home life. (also adjustment to magical world for those who grew up muggle)
3)Should have ofice hours for a student to come to them for anything.
4)Should have a house meeting every week to see if there is any problem in the house.

This is just my opinion.

[physicssquid]

Sept 11, 2012 7:00:38 GMT -5 melodypottersnape said:

I've always wondered why they have Head of House/teacher being a Deputy Headmistress. To me that doesn't make her a neutral party that in my opinion should be in that position.(Past alumni is okay because they do not have another position that is supposed to have them in the corner for a section of the students)

I've also wondered about how there is only a teacher per subject. Each teacher reads probably seven hundred essays a week.(Some of those essays are 13 ft long) It's not feasible. There should be a teacher a grad and each teacher should have a student assitant who's sole job is to help grade work. I know my school teachers used them enough.

As for Head of House. The Head of house in my opinion should be a counselor. Someone they can talk to and do the these duties.
1) count heads every night
2)Call in students atleast once a month to talk about their grades, school life, and home life. (also adjustment to magical world for those who grew up muggle)
3)Should have ofice hours for a student to come to them for anything.
4)Should have a house meeting every week to see if there is any problem in the house.

This is just my opinion.

Yes, that would be a good idea, but I doubt that it would be put into effect in Hogwarts. Given how behind the times the magical world is, and how isolationist they seem to be, I bet a modern idea like that would not be considered to be proper for Hogwarts.

[Kitty279]

It sounds like a good idea to do that, or at least parts of it. They really need a head of house who isn't teacher at the same time. But as it would be the sensible thing to do, I have my doubts. Maybe when you make Hermione headmistress ... Dumbledore would definitely not care. Otherwise he'd throw Snape, Binns and Trelawney, at least, out of the school.

And why do they always hand out essays as homework? Is there no other way to learn? Why not just answer some questions or just practice, for once? Would be much quicker to correct.

[melodypottersnape]

I some times wondered if they have a quill embedded with the personality of the teacher made to correct tests, quizzes, homework. That's the only way I can think of them getting any of that done.

[Miss Wings]

the time turner has always been one of my annoyances(?) why, oh why would you give a 13 year old a time turner? Anyone could have gotten hold of or a spray spell could have caused damage and so forth..

[melodypottersnape]

I wish Hermione could have kept it. Imagine the possibilities and I'm not talking about the ones with them interfering with time. The next year Harry could have used it to train for the tasks. In fifth they could have used it for the DA club in some way or just training that year, sixth they could have again trained.

Seventh

they could have constantly gone back in time to spy on ministry workers and could have learned more.

Could have caused a destraction somewhere gone back in time and gone somewhere else in the chaos.

[Chameleon]

Well, I think it was rather irresponsible that they handed a 13-year, a soon-to-be 14 year old a Time Turner. No matter how mature she was, it is simply not right to hand a child that kind of responsibilities, which is one of the actions I disliked with McGonagall. She should have known better.

I never took it serious, when McGonagall told Harry she would do everything in her power to help him become a Auror. It was Umbridge, to be crying loud. (She could have been helping him for all we know, and it wasn't mentioned.)

I loved her in DH and GoF. I'll know you say that teachers are supposed to help students, and I stand by it. But how can McGonagall change a entire school's mind about Harry. If an entire school thinks something, then it isn't easy to sway them. We saw how difficult someone (*cough* Seamus) had to change their minds.

[Miss Wings]

If McG was going to do everything in her power to help Harry become an Auror then wouldn't that mean going over all his grades? Finding out WHAT he stuggled on and helping him to improve on those parts? It's what any sane teacher does.

[Chameleon]

Ehm... Isn't there like 700 students in that school? McG can't show favoritism, although she did it kind of with Harry some times. And I think she said it more in spite of Umbridge's threat.

McG was busy enough. She's Transformation teacher, Deputy Headmistress and Head of Gryffindor, and Harry was for his sake busy too in his sixth year with his homework, Quidditch and everything else. And what was left of the fifth year... Well, not so much. Umbridge was there. Imagine that addition too.

[Miss Wings]

McG's head of Gryffindor, thus she could help the Gryffs. My Head of year managed it for over 100 students then she was head of English and and English teacher, thus more work.

It can be done in a way if she did look at his work and then went to either the Professors or students. I was a student tutor in school for the ickle firsties..

[melodypottersnape]

About Fourth year I'm not saying she could have stopped everyone. I'm mainly talking about the badges. I think it would have been very acceptable for her to confiscate badges and say they are a banned object to wear. (Filch bans things even if noone really cares) I'm not saying people wouldn't wear them but they couldn't in front of a teacher and if a teacher allowed it then a student would only have to report that teacher.

Fifth I didn't really find that much wrong with how she handled students just staff mainly. It just ticks me off that after Umbridge takes Harry's player time she tells Harry to keep his head down. It was like she was saying IMO that the only reason Umbridge would go after him was if he asked for it. I'm not saying that is what she meant only what it could have been taken as.

[G. Novella]

See, I like McGonagall, but I think she's terrible to teach kids below the age of fifteen. She reminds me more of a good university professor, or upper level high-school teacher. She instills zero confidence in kids that are falling behind (cough Neville cough) and doesn't seem able to have a high tolerance for minor mistakes. For kids, that's a huge confidence blow, and well, in some ways, she was just as bad as Snape. The only difference is she could actually teach, whereas Snape didn't.

To be honest, Flitwick and Sprout were far better teachers than Snape and McGonagall, what with the fact that you see Flitwick offering assistance and demonstrating more than McG, and Sprout is actually always watching her students, offering confidence to them, and being rather fair.

So, she's a good teacher, but not for kids.

[Kitty279]

Agreed. She expected a bit too much with too little encouragement. A "well done" now and then and some tips how it might go better instead of an essay would do so much more good.

[G. Novella]

Exactly! Not to mention what kind of woman yells at eleven year olds and sends them to a forest for detention?

[Kitty279]

Ah yes, that detention was stupid beyond reason. As punishment for being out after curfew she gives them a detention at 11pm, which is most definitely way after curfew, and sends first years somewhere where even seventh years aren't allowed to go. To top it off, she sent them with Hagrid, who can't do magic and split them up, when they knew that there was something out there dangerous and fast enough to kill unicorns - which not even werewolves could do, which seem to be both fast and strong. That's bordering on criminal. What if they hadn't encountered the dead unicorn, but the thing that hurt them in the first place? As in the end happened? Really, you have to wonder what McGonagall was thinking.

[Chameleon]

Well, I prefer to think that McGonagall didn't know about it, but I would understand it if the detention started at 7pm or something like that. Not 11pm. And which kind of school gives children detention at 11pm? I can understand staying late, but not start then.

[Kitty279]

The same kind of school who teaches Astronomy at midnight to eleven-year-olds.

[Chameleon]

Ehh. Yeah. When I was eleven, I wasn't allowed to be up that late, maybe a little later in the weekend, but yeah.

I certainly hope that they allowed the students sleep longer if they had Astronomy the night before.

[melodypottersnape]

Kitty you post just triggered a nice little idea for a oneshot story. What if the centaur never came and Harry died. McGonagall and Hagrid would be facing legal charges. Dumbledore would be investigated as they tried to find out if he knew anything. They would find evidence of past abuse on Harry's dead body. The Dursleys would be arrested and the fact Dumbledore put him with them would give them probable cause to give him a truth serum. It could contain the schools reaction.

Heck the more I write here the more I believe It could be turned into a small little chapter fic.

[Miss Wings]

oooh i would soo love to read that! have fun writing it..

[melodypottersnape]

thx. Though even though I don't hate McGonagall I'm bashing her quite often in my fics. lol

[Miss Wings]

meh not everyone can be an Angel, everyone has flaws..

[Kitty279]

Sept 12, 2012 13:36:34 GMT -5 melodypottersnape said:

Kitty you post just triggered a nice little idea for a oneshot story. What if the centaur never came and Harry died. McGonagall and Hagrid would be facing legal charges. Dumbledore would be investigated as they tried to find out if he knew anything. They would find evidence of past abuse on Harry's dead body. The Dursleys would be arrested and the fact Dumbledore put him with them would give them probable cause to give him a truth serum. It could contain the schools reaction.

Heck the more I write here the more I believe It could be turned into a small little chapter fic.

That's a bit depressing in regards to Harry, but it would certainly be an interesting alternative scenario.
Btw, tried to review your recent update on YFF, but it wouldn't let me log in. That will have to wait for another time. Let's just say I liked it

[melodypottersnape]

Are you talking about 'When will my opinion matter?'. Thank you.

Right now I'm kinda working on three. The next in my series for third year, the one I mentioned above, and one were Harry changes school.

[Kitty279]

The one with Harry telling Remus off, yes.
Wow, then you are busy!

[melodypottersnape]

Yeah I finally stopped try ing to force myslef to try to finish my chapter on another story and write what i want and to go back after I get the rest out of my system. Though I admit I was reading more than to was writing that chapter.

Did anyone think it was odd that there wasn't that in fifth less students picked on Harry than the other years.

In first they treated him badly for losing points. In second they harrassed him and thought he was the attacker. In fourth they treated him badly for his name coming out. In fifth the only time a student treated him bad from what we see is Seamus.

[Chameleon]

Well Harry got treated badly by the other students, but I think he learned to push it away. There were several indications in the book, that the students thought he was mental and crazy, not just Seamus.

You forgot Zacharias Smith, but I don't know if he counts, he's rude to everyone. I think Harry only talked with his friends and the D.A., when it was created.