Private message to Antonin Dolohov
Sep. 22nd, 2012 03:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alt_sinistraAntosha -
Thinking back over last night, you know, I'm very sorry. That was one of the least coherent explanations I could have managed. Some of what we talked about, over the projections, clearly threw me a bit more than I'd realised.
And of course, we didn't actually get into talking about the meat of some of it: you've the barest bones, now, but not the emotional implications. (I know you can fill in a fair portion of it, of course, but that's not the same as actual discussion.) Kept me thinking, some of last night. (And goodness, realising how much I'd entirely glossed over.)
What I did mean to say, and didn't manage at all (beyond the above), was that if you'd like to pick my brain about any of the students where you're deciding between the theoretical and practical, I'd be glad to help - especially for the fourth and fifth years, I've seen them in YPL settings, and for all those who tried for the CCF, there's all sorts of other metrics and measures. (Some of them far more useful than others, mind.) And I've still got my own personal notes on those, even though I turned all the official ones over to Dolores.
I did think of a couple of other things you might find of use - can I stop by just before supper, or would you rather I send them down with one of the house elves? They include eight and nine of American Witches but also a few of my earlier sample projection stones. And something that might help you feel a touch less of the chill.
A.
Thinking back over last night, you know, I'm very sorry. That was one of the least coherent explanations I could have managed. Some of what we talked about, over the projections, clearly threw me a bit more than I'd realised.
And of course, we didn't actually get into talking about the meat of some of it: you've the barest bones, now, but not the emotional implications. (I know you can fill in a fair portion of it, of course, but that's not the same as actual discussion.) Kept me thinking, some of last night. (And goodness, realising how much I'd entirely glossed over.)
What I did mean to say, and didn't manage at all (beyond the above), was that if you'd like to pick my brain about any of the students where you're deciding between the theoretical and practical, I'd be glad to help - especially for the fourth and fifth years, I've seen them in YPL settings, and for all those who tried for the CCF, there's all sorts of other metrics and measures. (Some of them far more useful than others, mind.) And I've still got my own personal notes on those, even though I turned all the official ones over to Dolores.
I did think of a couple of other things you might find of use - can I stop by just before supper, or would you rather I send them down with one of the house elves? They include eight and nine of American Witches but also a few of my earlier sample projection stones. And something that might help you feel a touch less of the chill.
A.
no subject
Date: 2012-09-22 08:05 pm (UTC)To be quite honest, I did not expect coherency from you at first blush, given that the past few years have clearly been a tangle of tangles and you have clearly not been given much chance to process your thoughts on each incident before the next one came calling. You've given me a start, and a good sense of whose feet I should glue to the floor to demand further answers from; that alone is incredibly valuable. Thank you.
I would like to pick your brain, meanwhile -- the children will be selecting their own course of study, but I may overrule a few of them if I feel their presence in the practical would be too disturbing to the learning of others. (Mr Nott, for instance, is a leading candidate for being remanded to the theoretical class, where hopefully he will learn the theory behind why you do not cast curses that not only are not on the approved list, but require a dark-magic-specialist healer's intervention to undo, on your teacher in class, no matter that he has invited you to hex him.) At very least I will want to discuss those in fourth and fifth year who are taking the practical class with no background in the subject to see what methods they might best respond to -- though, the more I learn about prior instruction, the more I realise that is perhaps not as much of a disadvantage as it might otherwise be.
As for the rest -- come down whenever you'd like; I have been picking through your notes on the projection stones all afternoon rather than doing any of the marking I should be doing and I do have a few questions, and possibly a few suggestions, if you had not already tried and discarded the idea. There are also a few techniques my mother taught me, generally unknown in
Britainthe Protectorate, that might make some portions of the process slightly less exhausting for you, though I can't venture a guess whether they might affect the fidelity of the image.(I will say it again, having dug more into the details: this is astonishing, and if I ever hear you downplaying it so strongly in my hearing again, I shall hex you so that you are only able to answer compliments on the work with "Thank you very much; I am rather proud of it, yes.")
In researcher's heaven,
T
no subject
Date: 2012-09-22 08:27 pm (UTC)Still, as someone who seems to repeat the principles of organised reporting every other minute when I'm class, I do wish I'd given a better account of myself there. Ah, well. Time will mend, and as you point out, a great deal of it was pointing you at other people.
On the students, yes. Raz is out watching the Slytherin Quidditch trials (naturally, given Harry's participation), and while I poked my head out, I decided warmth and getting some marking done would be better for me. (And I am definitely staying out of public view while Dolores launches her exercise plans.)
As to Mr Nott - well, yes. There are reasons we didn't accept him for CCF, either. I do rather agree you may have an easier time with the fourth and fifth years without prior practical experience - at least those without parents to guide them at home.
Look, let me finish up this round of marking. I'm almost done with my fourths, and that just leaves me the 2nds and 3rds to do sometime tomorrow. Twenty minutes, maybe thirty? And then I'll come down bearing things for you. (Something for the chill, a couple of the test stones I did, and a few other things. I think I've one or two of the "experiments using different materials" handy here, too.)
As to your last, well. Few enough people think to compliment it, mind. Barring you. I'd certainly be glad to listen to ideas, and I'd love anything that improved the process for the full sky images - they take so long and require such recovery time that they're very hard to do, even though they're extremely useful.
A.