Severus Snape abused his power as a teacher. No amount of past bullying, ‘you have your mother’s eyes’ quotes or death scenes can justify his verbally abusive tendencies towards school children.
Just saying.
Okay so I see some people in the notes saying “he was just a tough teacher,” etc. and I have some things to say. I’ve had tough teachers. And it is true that tough teachers don’t take shit in their classroom and neither did Snape. It is true that they have high expectations and so did Snape. Are there times when Harry, Ron, or other students fell short of those expectations in Potions? Definitely.
BUT. There is a difference between being a tough teacher and being an asshole who abuses his role as an educator.
A tough teacher gives you the grade you deserve, and sometimes that is a failing grade, but they tell you why you failed and what you can do better next time.
An asshole who abuses his role as an educator refuses to help you improve when you are clearly struggling in a class you don’t understand, yet are forced to take for at least your first five years of school.
A tough teacher pushes you to do more than you think you can do because they see your potential and know what you’re capable of, often before you know it yourself.
An asshole who abuses his role as an educator expects too much too soon, then punishes students for not knowing things they have no reason to know yet. Exhibit A: “What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?” he asks a first year who he knows has not had a magical upbringing!!
A tough teacher knows they know more than you, but wants to help you learn.
An asshole who abuses his role as an educator knows he knows more than you, but never lets you forget it and does not provide an environment in which every student can comfortably learn.
A tough teacher will take points off anyone’s work for mistakes or for a poor job done (or will take points from anyone’s House). They will call anyone out in class if they’re being a little shit, and they will discipline anyone when it’s warranted.
An asshole who abuses his role as an educator picks favorites, disciplines certain students and not others because of his own personal preferences, preconceptions, and grudges, and insults students for things that they cannot control.
A tough teacher threatens you with detention if your poor performance in class continues.
An asshole who abuses his role as an educator threatens to test your potion on your pet to see if it survives.
IN CONCLUSION:
Minerva McGonagall is a tough teacher.
Severus Snape is an asshole who abuses his role as an educator.
writing tip: don’t tell us your character’s backstory. don’t tell us what your character is thinking. don’t tell us what your character is doing. don’t tell us anything. the reader should simply look at a blank page and be suddenly overcome with emotion.
Good tip. I know a lot of writers who cry uncontrollably when they see a blank page, so I’m sure that feeling will translate directly to the reader.
little bit of Jewish history: for several centuries, Jews didn’t have fixed, hereditary surnames. they went by “Name son of Father” or similar. Ashkenazi Jews mostly didn’t start taking on surnames until the 18th and 19th century, when surnames were made a condition of being recognized as citizens of modern nations. and apparently there was one Jew in Germany who thought hey, if we’ve got to take it a surname, let’s make it a damn good one.
and the fun doesn’t stop there. roughly translated, this name means “Ages ago, there were conscientious shepherds whose sheep were well tended and carefully protected against attack by their rapacious enemies. Twelve hundred thousand years ago there appeared before these first earthmen, at night, a spaceship powered by seven stone and iridium electric motors. It had originally been launched on its long trip into stellar space in the search for neighboring stars that might have planets revolving about them that were inhabitable and on which planets a new race of intelligent humanity might propagate itself and rejoice for life, without fear of attack by other intelligent beings from interstellar space.”
and then this gentleman’s great-great-grandson was given a 26-word “first name” featuring names beginning with each successive letter of the alphabet: Adolph Blaine Charles David Earl Frederick Gerald Hubert Irvin John Kenneth Lloyd Martin Nero Oliver Paul Quincy Randolph Sherman Thomas Uncas Victor William Xerxes Yancy Zeus.
but of course that’s impractical for everyday use, so he often went by the name Hubert B. Wolfe + 666, Sr. he was born in Germany in 1904 or 1914, emigrated to Philadelphia, and died in 1997.
It was a relief to return to the noise and bustle of the main school on Monday, where he was forced to think about other things, even if he had to endure Draco Malfoy’s taunting. Malfoy was almost beside himself with glee at Gryffindor’s defeat. He had finally taken off his bandages, and celebrated having the full use of both arms again by doing spirited imitations of Harry falling off his broom. Malfoy spent much of their next Potions class doing dementor imitations across the dungeon; Ron finally cracked and flung a large, slippery crocodile heart at Malfoy, which hit him in the face and caused Snape to take fifty points from Gryffindor.
write write write 