DADA Role Model

Harry Potter is finally over. Throughout the books we saw many DADA Teachers, some more flawed than others.

For this Class I want you to compare and contrast the 6th DADA Teachers Harry Potter had. What were their flaws? Their assets? Were they good or bad DADA Professors?

Then to finalize your essay I want you to gather several aspects of each Professor and put it all in one person that'd make for you the perfect DADA teacher.

You're required a minimum of 300 words but I strongly adivse more. You can win up to 100 points.

The best student
will get an award point plus their name in the Hall of Fame and the
house with most students taking part will get 100 points at the end of
every term.

One thing I can say about the Defense Against the Dark Arts classes is, I’m glad I didn’t take any in Harry Potter’s time. I don’t think I could have handled the instability of having a new teacher every year. In fact, I really think that were it not for Harry, not many people would have done very well on their owls. However, each professor did lend their own unique styles, and some of the aspects of each of these teachers were quite good. Some, naturally, were not very optimal.

Let’s start from the beginning. In Harry’s first year, he studies the subject under Professor Quirrel. We do not know much about his teaching methods, because we don’t encounter him in class very often. My understanding of it is that he was quite a well-informed teacher. However, his classes had become something of a joke by the time Harry came along. There was, however, the slight problem of the fact that he was in the dark lord’s service the whole time and was even transporting his essence. I have a feeling he was once a good instructor, but had gone just a tiny bit corrupt.

Moving along to Harry’s second year we are introduced to Gilderoy Lockheart. Although he is one of my favorite characters, I have to admit he is one of the worst teachers not only in Hogwarts, but possibly in imagination. There is very little I can say good about him. Perhaps the best thing I can say is that he wanted people to be happy. He attempted, however disgustingly, to bring a little love into the school on Valentine’s Day. He also attempted to bridge gaps between people who wouldn’t typically get along. Of course, that may have been due to an unfortunate obliviousness to others’ feelings. However, his arrogance was annoying at best and his willingness to deceive the wizarding world just to become famous is inexcusable.

Remus Lupin came along in Harry’s third year. Most would say that he was the best teacher, and I must say, I quite agree. He brought to the class many methods that were rather impressive. He made D.A.D.A. fun by bringing in fascinating creatures, taking a hands-on approach to the study, and making obstacle courses instead of more traditional examination methods. He did have his faults, though. The fact that he was unwilling to tell Dumbledore about Sirius animagus capabilities, while understandable, was not very responsible. Also, although there’s no direct evidence, he seems to be a little more laid-back than he should be. Well, except to Harry, of course. But, I think that has more to do with his friendship with Harry’s parents than his relationship with Harry as his teacher. However, his willingness to admit his mistakes is a greatly redeeming quality.

In Harry’s fourth year, he thinks he meets Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody. However, as we all know, the person teaching the children was actually Bartemius Crouch Jr. I’m not sure how much of the teaching style was an imitation of Moody and how much was Barty’s personality shining through. Regardless, I feel he was, for the most part, a skillful teacher. His willingness to demonstrate and even use unforgivable curses on students may have been unwise; nonetheless, one cannot deny that it was helpful. Harry even uses the ability a death eater taught him to resist the Imperius curse Voldemort intended to put on him. I have a feeling that, had he gotten the opportunity, Mad-Eye would have made a wonderful teacher.

Along comes Harry’s fifth year, and with it, the largest demonstration of the corruption that has developed in the ministry. The students have one of the most evil women imaginable thrown at them as a teacher, in what is arguably their most crucial year. Delores Umbridge has very little to her that I would consider qualities of a good teacher. I do feel, however, that the students did need to go back to the basics. Even Harry agreed once he realized how feel people could actually pull off a decent shield charm. Her tendency toward cruelty, her many bigotries toward “half-breeds”, and her unhealthy obsession with Fudge, made her a horrendous teacher.

The final teacher Harry had was one who was not good for him, but one that I would have probably wanted. While I didn’t approve of Professor Snape’s tendency to be biased against anyone student not in Slytherin, I think he was an amazing teacher for someone who had a natural inclination to the subject. He exhibited a passion for the subject that I think could have inspired even the laziest of students. He also commanded respect with ease. However, he was far too much of a bully to be a truly good teacher. His methods were extremely unfair, and that injustice is something no teacher should have.

If I were to invent my ideal teacher, I would start with Quirrel’s ability to understand his subject. From there I would combine Lockheart’s jovial spirit and add Professor Lupin’s creativity to the mix. I would throw in a pinch of Moody/Crouch’s audacity and willingness to introduce non-traditional topics, and a dash of Umbridge’s love of theory. Then I would blend that all together with a healthy dollop of Snape’s enthusiasm for the subject. That, I think, would create an excellent teacher who would be able to instruct nearly any willing pupil.

Professor Quirinus Quirrell

The first Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we met, Quirrell appeared to be a nervous, stuttering man, but this was revealed as an act. In reality, he was cold and calculating, and attracted by power that was offered to him by Lord Voldemort. Hagrid, did, however, describe him as having a “brilliant mind”, and indeed, he must have been for he was able to fool most of the Hogwarts staff into thinking there was nothing of the dark magic kind about him. Quirrell’s assets include his mind, his magical prowess-he was able to bewitch Harry’s broomstick all the way from the ground, and his ability to handle trolls very well, but his flaw was his gullibility. This allowed him to be drawn in by the Dark Lord, and cost him his life. Overall, he is not a good Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, as he did not, in the end, defend himself from it, but succumbed to it.

Professor Gilderoy Lockhart

There is not really much to say about Gilderoy Lockhart. Indeed, nowadays there is not much anybody wants to say about the wizard currently being treated as a permanent resident of St. Mungo’s. Vain and obnoxious, Gilderoy Lockhart has few assets. Fabricating stories and combing one’s hair do not count in the position he was given, but, the one thing he did seem to be good at were Memory Charms, as this was his method for erasing the memory of the people he stole heroic deeds from. However, as this is hardly valuable in the subject of Defense Against the Dark Arts, it is not a highly valuable talents. His flaws can all be summed up in the fact that he had no clue what he was doing, the man couldn’t even handle a cage full of Cornish Pixies and had three twelve-year olds round them up for him. Not surprisingly, Gilderoy Lockhart is not an example of a good Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

Professor Remus J. Lupin

Remus Lupin is often described as the “best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher (the students) ever had”. He certainly has a good many assets that he used while teaching, and in defending students. He is an intelligent, powerful wizard-he manages to summon fire without a wand and hold it in his hand, and was in the Order of the Phoenix during both of the wars, which allotted him much experience that the previous two professors seemed to have lacked. During his classes, he also gave his students experience, by designing his classes as “hands-on”, so that they would learn more from dealing with the actual creature than by reading from a book-much to Hermione Granger’s surprise. He was even able to teach a thirteen year old boy, Harry Potter, a patronus, which is “NEWT level”, or, very advanced magic. Another example of his teaching success is how he managed to have Neville Longbottom, who was not known for his magical prowess, defeat a boggart. His method of teaching was very effective due to the fact that he was always calm, tolerant, gentle, and good-natured. He never spoke harshly to any of his students, or intimidated them, so they were more at ease when performing magic against dark creatures in front of classmates. His main flaw was the fact that he was a werewolf, and this made him miss classes, and eventually lose his job. Had he not been a werewolf, he most likely would have stayed as a professor for quite some time. Professor Lupin was definitely a good Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

Professor Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody, or “Barty Crouch Jr.”

I shall have to compare two people in this section, only one shall be speculation and the other shall be how we know a Professor Moody taught. I will begin with the actual Moody, who never taught at Hogwarts, and will guess as to what sort of teacher he might be.

Moody certainly threw himself whole-heartedly in his defending against the dark arts. So much so, he is missing parts of his body-an eye, some of his nose, and a leg, most notably. He was a very cautious man, but did not ever shy away from danger. The eye that replaced the one he lost could see through invisibility cloaks, walls, and behind his own head. He probably would have encouraged his students to “keep an eye out for danger”, though not in precisely the same way he did. His assets include being very well versed in dark detectors, and other rare magical items. He was in possession of a Foe Glass, Secrecy Sensor, and Sneakoscope. All of these would have been incredibly helpful to teach the students about. In fact, Harry, Ron, and Hermione use a Sneakoscope to detect danger while on the hunt for horcruxes. He was in the Order of the Phoenix during both wars, like Remus Lupin, so he certainly had enough experience on his hand. Ron once said that “most of the cells in Azkaban were full thanks to him.” This clearly indicates that he has a lot of skill in fighting and capturing Dark Wizards, something he could have taught his students. His flaw is most likely his slight jumpiness when being caught unawares. When he was startled by Barty Crouch Jr., he did not defend himself quickly enough to prevent capture. But, I believe that overall, the real Mad-eye Moody would have been a good Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor.

Now, onto the man that startled him. Barty Crouch Jr. impersonated Mad-Eye Moody so that he could get close to Harry Potter, and led him to his demise. We know that he was a very intelligent young man, as he received 12 O.W.L.s when he attended Hogwarts. Barty seems to be good at what I’ll call “shady” magic. It is known that he is able of performing a powerful Imperius Curse, as he was able to control his own father with one, and he, along with Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange, tortured the Longbottoms via the Cruciatus Curse into insanity. Another instance of his magical prowess is his ability to brew copious amounts of Polyjuice Potion, which he does throughout the year of 1994. He even managed to overpower Alastor Moody, confund the Goblet of Fire, and transfigure his father’s body into a bone. However, young and impressionable, he was, like Quirrell, drawn into the power of Lord Voldemort’s regime of Death Eaters. He was a rash young man, always seeking to please those he thought of as father figures, since his own father never paid much attention to him. This can be considered a flaw of his, because it was when he didn’t think his actions out that he ended up making the most costly mistakes, such as being sent to Azkaban at the age of 19. However, the methods with which he taught his students caused them to learn a lot-ironically, his teaching Harry to throw off the Imperius Curse helped to save Harry from being killed by Lord Voldemort. So, in spite of his sometime recklessness and devotion to following the Dark Arts instead of defending against them, Barty Crouch Jr. was a good Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

Professor Dolores Umbridge

Dolores Umbridge did what many Harry Potter fans thought was imposible-be a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher more hated than Gilderoy Lockhart. She did not ever let the students actually practice defensive spells, opting instead to let them read about them in a “secure, risk-free way.” What she was really doing, however, was making sure that Dumbledore wasn’t building up an army to oppose the Ministry, which she had a comfortable job at. To ensure that she had order, and to make sure that no one spoke against her, she tortured Harry Potter, after he did just that, by having him carve I Must Not Tell Lies into his hand by using a quill that wrote in his own blood. Her only asset is that she was able to cast a strong enough Patronus that kept her and anti-Muggleborn interrogators safe from numerous Dementors. Her flaws are nearly as numerous as Gilderoy Lockhart’s, but the fact that she is a prejudicial control freak who would rather look out for herself and the Ministry than help students defend themselves in a dangerous world leads me to label her as not a good Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

Professor Severus Snape

After many years, Severus Snape was given the position that he so greatly coveted: Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts. As much as any Gryffindor would like to say otherwise, Snape is a talented wizard. While still at school, he made corrections in his Potions text book, and made up hexes and curses that were successfully operational. He also is said to have known “more curses and hexes than most seventh years”. Some of these charms include “Levicorpus” and “Sectumsempra”. Further evidence of his prowess at useful Potions is evident in that he could brew a “Wolfsbane Potion” for Remus Lupin every full moon. He could also perform a counter-curse on a broom from all the way in the stands while another man, with the added power of Lord Voldemort, attempted to curse it. He is also a very skilled Occlumens, as he was able to keep his status as a double-agent secret from Lord Voldemort. He is also a gifted Legilimens, which is one of the reasons why Dumbledore asked him to teach Harry Occlumency in his fifth year. He also managed to remove a curse that had been inflicted upon Dumbledore when he put on the Resurrection Stone ring, which was also a horcrux, although he could not save the old man from death via the curse. He is a very talented duelist, and could fly without the usage of a broom, something that we have only heard one other wizard do-Lord Voldemort. Snape was, unfortunately, very biased towards those of his own house, and this prevented him from giving other students the kind of help they may have needed-as is the case with Neville Longbottom, or anyone who wasn’t Hermione Granger. This instance was a tough one to call, but I believe that had Snape not been biased and a very bitter man, he would have been a brilliant professor. So, in all, Severus Snape was a good Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

Amycus Carrow

While he wasn’t a Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, he still must have taught his students in some way. He did not appear to teach students much, except to have them cast the Cruciatus Curse on students who broke the rules. This is not something I would consider an asset, but the fact that he could have students perform such advanced, dangerous, illegal magic is somewhat impressive. However, everything else about his teaching is a flaw. Instead of defending against the dark arts, he taught about the Dark Arts themselves, something that students should never learn. It is unknown how much experience he had as a Death Eater, but knowing what he knew about the Dark Arts would have given an interesting outlook on the Dark Arts from the view of someone who, like Snape, followed them. However, he is definitely not a good Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, as he didn’t teach students how to defend against them, and might not even have taught them at all.

The Perfect Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor

From Quirrell, I would take the brilliant mind, because as we learned from Lockhart, a dumb professor will get you nowhere. From Lockhart, I would take knowledge of previous defeats of Dark creatures. Because although he did not perform them himself, he knew precisely what happened, and one can learn from previous ventures. From Remus Lupin I would want everything, including his werewolf status. While it certainly hurt his career as a professor, the fact that he was able to communicate with other werewolves, some of whom were considering joining with Voldemort, he learned the mentality of many dark creatures. As a previous H.E. Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher once said, “Know Thine Enemy”. From Mad-Eye Moody it would be necessary to know about Dark Detectors, as well as his skill at fighting dark wizards. From Barty Crouch Jr., his skills at harmful spells would be useful in teaching students what some dark wizards would throw at them, and how to react. Dolores Umbridge has many qualities that I dislike immensely, but one of hers that I would like to have in my perfect professor would be her ability to not flinch in the face of Dark Magic. Severus’ Snape’s ability to come up with new spells would be a wonderful thing to teach students so that they can deal with complex situations in duels, as well as his proficiency at Occlumency and Legilimency, and knowledge of the Dark Arts-as stated before, “know thine enemy”. From Amycus Carrow, I can’t say I would want anything, as he wasn’t even a DADA Professor.

But in conclusion, my perfect Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor would have all of the above, and in fact sounds a lot like Raistlin the Wizard, my current H.E. DADA Professor.

…Maybe.

Sources
http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki

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Gryffindor

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Ravenclaw

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Hufflepuff

Just_Ginny - 100

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