Canon Celebration: Classes and Teachers!

Before we head back into the next Harry Potter novel, The Prisoner of Azkaban, we’re going to take a little detour and talk about education. Seems fitting, since school is starting up again in the US right about now. What sort of education does Harry and his friends receive at Hogwarts? What are the classes he takes and who are his teachers? We’ll explore all of that this week.

Podcasts:

OP15: Secrets in the Years by Steve VanderArk

OP31: The Problem with Astronomy by Steve VanderArk

Arithmancy by Selena Gallagher

Feelings About Snape by Eileen Jones

Episode 15: The One who is Both Brave AND Clever by Steve VanderArk

About Snape and Love by Rosie Payne

Pince and Prince by hpboy13

Reader’s Guides:

In this section we have collected Reader’s Guides of chapters from across the seven books that, in keeping with this week’s theme, focus on classes and teachers.

PS, Chapter 8: The Potions Master, in which Harry begins his first ever day of classes

PS, Chapter 9: The Midnight Duel, which features the famous flying lessons that make Harry Seeker

PS, Chapter 10: Hallowe’en, where Hermione teaches Ron (and us all) how to properly Levitate an object

CS, Chapter 6: Gilderoy Lockhart, in which the chapter’s namesake sets loose a set of destructive Cornish Pixies

CS, Chapter 9: The Writing on the Wall, where Hermione convinces Prof. Binns to stray from his usual lecture onto an interesting subject matter

CS, Chapter 11: The Duelling Club, where Harry creates a diversion for Hermione to get supplies for their Polyjuice Potion

PA, Chapter 6: Talons and Tea Leaves, which introduces us to the Divination professor Trelawney and to Hagrid’s disastrous first class as instructor

PA, Chapter 7: The Boggart in the Wardrobe, one of the first useful DADA lessons we’ve seen thus far in the series

PA, Chapter 9: Grim Defeat, which features Prof. Snape substituting as DADA professor and assigning homework about werewolves

PA, Chapter 12: The Patronus, the summoning of such being the featured lesson of this chapter

PA, Chapter 15: The Quidditch Final, where we see Hermione finally having enough of Divination

PA, Chapter 16: Professor Trelawney’s Prediction, the second-ever true prophecy the professor’s ever given

GF, Chapter 13: Mad-Eye Moody, the chapter’s namesake getting involved in a dispute and turning a particular student into a ferret

GF, Chapter 14: The Unforgivable Curses, the subject of which is the first lesson with Prof. Moody. Also notable in this chapter–Hermione begins her work with S.P.E.W.

GF, Chapter 24: Rita Skeeter’s Scoop, where Hagrid is temporarily replaced as teacher for Care of Magical Creatures

GF, Chapter 27: Padfoot Returns, in which Prof. Snape reads aloud Skeeter‘s article about Hermione’s “love triangle” with Vickor Krum and Harry

GF, Chapter 29: The Dream, in which Harry once more connects to Voldemort‘s mind during Divination lessons

OP, Chapter 12: Professor Umbridge, against whom Harry has his first battle for the truth this chapter

OP, Chapter 15: The Hogwarts High Inquisitor, aka Umbridge, who takes it upon herself this chapter to sit in on and review every professor’s teaching performance

OP, Chapter 17: Educational Decree Number Twenty-Four, the new school rule that disbands all student groups and teams immediately

OP, Chapter 24: Occlumency, the skill of which Prof. Snape attempts to pass on to Harry in this chapter

OP, Chapter 25: The Beetle at Bay, in which professors are now banned from sharing with students any information that does not pertain to their class material

OP, Chapter 26: Seen and Unforseen, in which Firenze the centaur replaces Prof. Trelawney as Divination instructor

OP, Chapter 28: Snape’s Worst Memory, where we catch our first glimpse of the Marauders, Harry’s mother and Prof. Snape in their school days

OP, Chapter 29: Career Advice, in which Harry first reveals to us that he would like to become an Auror

OP, Chapter 31: O.W.L.S., in which the fifth-years take the eponymous exams and Prof. McGonagall is Stunned trying to protest Hagrid’s firing

HBP, Chapter 5: An Excess of Phlegm, where Harry receives the results of his O.W.L.s exams and discovers he is barred by Prof. Snape from taking N.E.W.T.-level Potions, one of the requirements for Auror training

HBP, Chapter 8: Snape Victorious, where the Trio feel guilty for deciding not to continue with Hagrid’s Care of Magical Creatures

HBP, Chapter 9: The Half-Blood Prince, the chapter in which Harry receives detention for defending himself in DADA and uses an old Potions textbook to brew his class assignment perfectly

HBP, Chapter 12: Silver and Opals, where Harry accidentally levitates Ron with another spell from the Prince’s textbook

HBP, Chapter 18: Birthday Surprises, in which, among other occurrences, the sixth-years have their first Apparition lessons

HBP, Chapter 20: Lord Voldemort’s Request, where Prof. Trelawney is asked to leave her teaching post

HBP, Chapter 22: After the Burial, in which we see Ron and Hermione take their Apparition test

Schedules and Class Information

For information on students’ daily and annual routines, see The School Year at Hogwarts.

To compare school holidays at Hogwarts with those at a real-life British school, see School Holidays.

For the schedule of expected classes by year, and for those taken by Harry and friends in each book, see Hogwarts Classes.

For information about the grading scale used for classes and exams, see Grades at Hogwarts.

For information about special training available to those students who have come of age, see Apparition Lessons.

Essays

Minutes of Hogwarts Staff Meeting- 15 November 1995 by Caius Marcius

Quirrell’s Leave of Absence by Melissa Erin Friedline

Shaken, Not Stirred: The Allegiance(s) of a Certain Potions Master and Spy Extraordinaire by CheshireCat

Snape’s Eyes by Edmund M. Kern

The Marks of a Villain by Beth Welsh

Snape’s Change of Allegiance by Cherry

How is Professor McGonagall in Crimes of Grindelwald? by William Silvester

Those Unpredictable Defence Against the Dark Arts Professors by Louis F. Badalament II

20 Heads Are Better than One: 1000 Years of Headmasters by Zachary Seymour

British Schooling in the 1970s by Diana Summers

N.E.W.T.S and O.W.L.S: An Explanation for Non-British Folks by Jenna

A Hogwarts Education: Well-Rounded or Not? by Neil Ward

Teachers and Curriculum: Would You Want This for Your Child? by Steve VanderArk

A Magical Worldview by Steve VanderArk

How Do They Do It?: An Attempt at a Model for the Physics of Magic by Dr. Immo Garrn

Spells and Charms: The Nature of Magic by Amy Z

Divination: Two Approaches by Estelle Daniels

Divination: The Theory and Practice of Prediction by Paul Dionne

Astronomy in the Harry Potter Series by Mike Weinstein

The Curious Incident of the Flobberworm in the Night-Time by Professor Koniphorous Swamp

Familiarity: The Key to Understanding Spellwork by Paul Dionne

Movement Magic by Steve VanderArk

Vanishing Magic by Steve VanderArk

Summoning Charms by Abby Koop

Interesting Artwork

We have hundreds and hundreds of pieces of fan artwork in our collection. Some subjects get a lot of depictions — Diagon Alley is a favorite topic, for example, and, well, of course it is! But today we will be looking at rendered portraits of Hogwarts’ most respected (or, in some cases, reviled) residents, the professors!

Artwork Challenge

Snape and Potions lessons are a very popular topic. We also have a wealth of renderings of our favorite gamekeeper and the Head of Gryffindor House. Let’s show some love to the rest of the Hogwarts staff! Our Artwork Challenge for all you fan artists out there is to depict the lesser known professors in the series, like Sinistra and Babbling, and to show them (or any staff member!) hard at work giving lessons.

If we really like your work, we may feature it in the Lexicon!

Send your artwork to [email protected]. By submitting it, you are giving us permission to display your work on the Lexicon. We would like to include your name with your artwork so you are properly credited, so when you send your work let us know what name to use. Please also include a way to get a hold of you so that if we decide to feature your work as part of our regular collection we can contact you for more details. All artwork we display remains the property of the artist and they retain all copyright.

Special Feature: Did You Know…?

…that Prof. Dumbledore began his career at Hogwarts as the Transfiguration professor?

…that before Hogwarts, Prof. McGonagall had a job at the Ministry of Magic?

…that Prof. Flitwick’s favorite drink is cherry syrup and soda with ice?

…that Prof. Snape was only 21 when he began teaching?

…that Prof. Slughorn‘s full name is Horace Eugene Flaccus?

…that Prof. Binns likes to call Harry “Perkins”?

….that Prof. Sprout is named after the Roman goddess of fruit trees?

…that Prof. Trelawney is a published author?

…that Firenze the centaur has an Italian name?

…that Hagrid has been a resident of Hogwarts for over fifty years?

…that Prof. Kettleburn, Hagrid’s predecessor in Magical Creatures, was put on probation a record 62 times?

…that Prof. Sinistra and Prof. Moody danced together at the Yule Ball?

…that one of Prof. Quirrell‘s hobbies was pressing flowers?

…that Prof. Lockhart is the only character seen to use a peacock-feather quill?

…that Prof. Umbridge, out of shame for her father’s maintenance-man profession, paid him to retire?

…that the Carrow siblings are both named after Greek deities?

From the Atlas

Many artists have worked hard over the years to put to paper how the school and its surrounding environs are laid out. Here is a sampling of the Hogwarts Atlas collection below.

Coming up next week…

We will begin exploring the third installment of Harry’s adventures, The Prisoner of Azkaban. Come and celebrate with us!