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Contemplating past history
Feb. 16th, 2010 10:24 amFirst -
As noted to students yesterday, observation sessions for astronomy are limited to students preparing for OWLs and NEWTs as scheduled. Thank you for your cooperation, and do see me if you have any questions.
Second -
As you may know, I generally keep up an energetic correspondence with my family by owl, but that's stopped since Mum's donated the family owls to Ministry use. But in the last one she sent, she asked a question I've been thinking about ever since, and thought might be of interest to others.
As you may know, my last year at Hogwarts was the year our Lord Protector came to power - and it was a time of great uncertainty in many ways. Mum asked how I felt about being here now, compared to being here then.
Back then, it was - well, scary. You'd hear scraps of news, or see someone being pulled out of class by a teacher, reappearing hours later pale and teary. There were rumours of all kinds about who was doing what, and who was helping which side. There was great tension not only between the four houses, but between members of many of them. All of us - purebloods included - worried about what might be coming for us and how that would affect not only us, but our friends. Not that different from now, though the reasons for nervousness are different.
Like now, we felt quite isolated. News was filtered before it reached us, to avoid panic in the school. Trips outside Hogwarts were rare in those last few years. And yet, the world inside Hogwarts was painfully limited, for everywhere you went, there was a possibility of an argument, or a messy conversation, or news you just didn't want to hear. No matter how big the castle, you find other people eventually.
Two things were especially hard. One was the news of people you'd thought you knew, doing things that didn't seem possible Any number of deaths, especially for those recently out of Hogwarts, who were still remembered by their housemates and siblings and cousins and extended families: people we remembered vividly and clearly as laughing and joking and living. Most shocking, I think, were the Head Boys, Head Girls, and prefects who came to bad ends. How confusing to have looked up to someone for years, and then find out, all in a rush, that they were dead or disgraced, often for something no one would discuss in detail.
The other hard thing was that we had very little guidance. Now that I'm in a teacher's shoes, I understand the difficulty. All rumour to the contrary, I did not get presented with some magical device to help me guide students wisely through complex decisions when I returned as a teacher.
But I do wish there'd been something. Of course, I asked my parents, my aunts and uncles and older cousins for advice. But those people - as loving as they are - also remembered me as a tot, and as a silly ten-year-old, and all sorts of other things that shape memory.
As I look back, I wish more and more for guidance from other adults in the community as we left school and cast about in those first few years about how to make our way in our new lives. We went from the protection of Hogwarts to the deep waters of a strange new world, and had nothing to help us keep our balance. And again, some of us succeeded more than others, and all of us remember those of promise who fell along the way. And yet, without knowing why those others fell, all of us feared doing the same, for some reason we didn't know to avoid.
As a teacher, I have no wish to stick my nose into a student's personal affairs, unless those affairs directly affect their learning or other students. And, like all the staff here, I certainly have enough other things on my mind that I'm scarcely looking for more things to fill my day. And yet, I keep wondering what might be different if we did make more time for these things.
But I am glad, these days, to see that more staff here make some attempt to reach out . Poppy has made it easier and easier for students to seek her out. While Professor Slughorn's gatherings are legendary, I'm delighted to see more staff opening their doors for similar gatherings or sponsoring clubs of interest.
To that end: students who are interested in general conversation, I am glad to open my office to you on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday nights, after dinner until eight. No particular agenda, and no butting into your decisions, but a chance to have conversations somewhere about topics other than school
I would also - for any students who read this far - encourage you to take time to find things that engage you in multiple ways. Find time to be quietly alone and think. Find time to spend with friends. Spend time on both your studies and your hobbies. Be gentle with each other - you may not know the pressures someone else or their family is under right now. Get to know others - the people you meet now will continue to intersect your lives for decades to come. I'm excited about steps students have already taken - the new proposed clubs and organisations for example - and I hope to see still more in future.
As noted to students yesterday, observation sessions for astronomy are limited to students preparing for OWLs and NEWTs as scheduled. Thank you for your cooperation, and do see me if you have any questions.
Second -
As you may know, I generally keep up an energetic correspondence with my family by owl, but that's stopped since Mum's donated the family owls to Ministry use. But in the last one she sent, she asked a question I've been thinking about ever since, and thought might be of interest to others.
As you may know, my last year at Hogwarts was the year our Lord Protector came to power - and it was a time of great uncertainty in many ways. Mum asked how I felt about being here now, compared to being here then.
Back then, it was - well, scary. You'd hear scraps of news, or see someone being pulled out of class by a teacher, reappearing hours later pale and teary. There were rumours of all kinds about who was doing what, and who was helping which side. There was great tension not only between the four houses, but between members of many of them. All of us - purebloods included - worried about what might be coming for us and how that would affect not only us, but our friends. Not that different from now, though the reasons for nervousness are different.
Like now, we felt quite isolated. News was filtered before it reached us, to avoid panic in the school. Trips outside Hogwarts were rare in those last few years. And yet, the world inside Hogwarts was painfully limited, for everywhere you went, there was a possibility of an argument, or a messy conversation, or news you just didn't want to hear. No matter how big the castle, you find other people eventually.
Two things were especially hard. One was the news of people you'd thought you knew, doing things that didn't seem possible Any number of deaths, especially for those recently out of Hogwarts, who were still remembered by their housemates and siblings and cousins and extended families: people we remembered vividly and clearly as laughing and joking and living. Most shocking, I think, were the Head Boys, Head Girls, and prefects who came to bad ends. How confusing to have looked up to someone for years, and then find out, all in a rush, that they were dead or disgraced, often for something no one would discuss in detail.
The other hard thing was that we had very little guidance. Now that I'm in a teacher's shoes, I understand the difficulty. All rumour to the contrary, I did not get presented with some magical device to help me guide students wisely through complex decisions when I returned as a teacher.
But I do wish there'd been something. Of course, I asked my parents, my aunts and uncles and older cousins for advice. But those people - as loving as they are - also remembered me as a tot, and as a silly ten-year-old, and all sorts of other things that shape memory.
As I look back, I wish more and more for guidance from other adults in the community as we left school and cast about in those first few years about how to make our way in our new lives. We went from the protection of Hogwarts to the deep waters of a strange new world, and had nothing to help us keep our balance. And again, some of us succeeded more than others, and all of us remember those of promise who fell along the way. And yet, without knowing why those others fell, all of us feared doing the same, for some reason we didn't know to avoid.
As a teacher, I have no wish to stick my nose into a student's personal affairs, unless those affairs directly affect their learning or other students. And, like all the staff here, I certainly have enough other things on my mind that I'm scarcely looking for more things to fill my day. And yet, I keep wondering what might be different if we did make more time for these things.
But I am glad, these days, to see that more staff here make some attempt to reach out . Poppy has made it easier and easier for students to seek her out. While Professor Slughorn's gatherings are legendary, I'm delighted to see more staff opening their doors for similar gatherings or sponsoring clubs of interest.
To that end: students who are interested in general conversation, I am glad to open my office to you on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday nights, after dinner until eight. No particular agenda, and no butting into your decisions, but a chance to have conversations somewhere about topics other than school
I would also - for any students who read this far - encourage you to take time to find things that engage you in multiple ways. Find time to be quietly alone and think. Find time to spend with friends. Spend time on both your studies and your hobbies. Be gentle with each other - you may not know the pressures someone else or their family is under right now. Get to know others - the people you meet now will continue to intersect your lives for decades to come. I'm excited about steps students have already taken - the new proposed clubs and organisations for example - and I hope to see still more in future.
