Good afternoon - I admit that I’m struggling with the etiquette here, so I hope you don’t mind my leaping directly into professional-colleague mode. First, welcome to the Hogwarts staff. I had the opportunity to hear quite a lot about you from the Malfoys and Lestranges this past weekend (all clearly delighted at your return, and your new teaching role.)
I do want to ask - having heard half a dozen names used for you the past few days - what do you prefer as a general rule? Generally, the staff are on a first name basis, with a little variation. I’m Aurora mostly, except for Raz, who calls me Rory unless we’re being formal. (You may already know, but Raz and I are recently engaged to be married, rather to the startlement of many of his friends and relations, and our mutual pleasure.)
But I should move on to the actual reasons I’m writing. First, I've been at Hogwarts long enough (this is my eighth year) to both remember all the things no one tells you when you begin teaching, and to know many of the answers. Where the supplies cabinets hide themselves, the best times to make some requests of the house elves, tricks to managing a class of students, and any number of others.
And while I’m far less familiar with your subject than I probably should be, I’ve a good sense of the length of assignment or complexity that may work best a given year of students. (Though you’re spared the generally atrocious spelling and writing skills of the first years, there is an art to creating meaningful assignments that can still be marked in a reasonable amount of time.)
Likewise, I was until recently head of the planning committee for the Young Protectors’ League, so I’ve had the chance to work with many of our students (and particularly our fourth and fifth years) in a variety of settings outside of my own beloved subject. If my experience with any of the above can be of use as you settle in, please do ask.
Second, a delicate matter. While I know you must have excellent reasons for the booklist you chose, I’ve already had a question or two from students whose family finances are carefully planned, wondering how they’ll manage the new lists on such short notice. (And it’s worse for our halfblood students in fostering: the stipends they get are wholly inadequate cover only the barest basics.)
Coming from a large family where money was sometimes delicately balanced, I’m also very aware of the awkwardness children can feel in approaching a professor - especially an unknown one - directly on this topic, so I thought I might inquire. I’m sure you must have some plan (especially given your other apparent supply issues), and I’m glad to help spread the word of your preferred solution with worried students if you’d like.
I hate to take your time further, so I’ll end here. Raz and I intend to be back at Hogwarts either Wednesday or Thursday, but we both have a few final tasks in New London and I’m hoping for a bit more research time in the Astronomy Guild library. Again, welcome, and I look forward to meeting you in person.
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Private message to Antonin Dolohov
Date: 2012-08-27 08:47 pm (UTC)I do want to ask - having heard half a dozen names used for you the past few days - what do you prefer as a general rule? Generally, the staff are on a first name basis, with a little variation. I’m Aurora mostly, except for Raz, who calls me Rory unless we’re being formal. (You may already know, but Raz and I are recently engaged to be married, rather to the startlement of many of his friends and relations, and our mutual pleasure.)
But I should move on to the actual reasons I’m writing. First, I've been at Hogwarts long enough (this is my eighth year) to both remember all the things no one tells you when you begin teaching, and to know many of the answers. Where the supplies cabinets hide themselves, the best times to make some requests of the house elves, tricks to managing a class of students, and any number of others.
And while I’m far less familiar with your subject than I probably should be, I’ve a good sense of the length of assignment or complexity that may work best a given year of students. (Though you’re spared the generally atrocious spelling and writing skills of the first years, there is an art to creating meaningful assignments that can still be marked in a reasonable amount of time.)
Likewise, I was until recently head of the planning committee for the Young Protectors’ League, so I’ve had the chance to work with many of our students (and particularly our fourth and fifth years) in a variety of settings outside of my own beloved subject. If my experience with any of the above can be of use as you settle in, please do ask.
Second, a delicate matter. While I know you must have excellent reasons for the booklist you chose, I’ve already had a question or two from students whose family finances are carefully planned, wondering how they’ll manage the new lists on such short notice. (And it’s worse for our halfblood students in fostering: the stipends they get
are wholly inadequatecover only the barest basics.)Coming from a large family where money was sometimes delicately balanced, I’m also very aware of the awkwardness children can feel in approaching a professor - especially an unknown one - directly on this topic, so I thought I might inquire. I’m sure you must have some plan (especially given your other apparent supply issues), and I’m glad to help spread the word of your preferred solution with worried students if you’d like.
I hate to take your time further, so I’ll end here. Raz and I intend to be back at Hogwarts either Wednesday or Thursday, but we both have a few final tasks in New London and I’m hoping for a bit more research time in the Astronomy Guild library. Again, welcome, and I look forward to meeting you in person.
Aurora Sinistra