There’s a fan page on Facebook called “I’m still waiting for my acceptance letter into Hogwarts.” It sits at nearly 10,000 fans. Yeah, let’s face it. Being a wizard would be pretty awesome. Going to Hogwarts seems like it would be really awesome on the surface level. You get sorted into a house, you get to eat all this great food and you get to have a level of independence most 11-year-olds would never dream of. However, when you dig a little deeper, Hogwarts has its problems.

There are some real jerks on the staff. You have good characters that are cruddy teachers. You have teachers who play favorites. You have teachers who don’t even know what they’re doing.

10. Rubeus Hagrid

Hagrid is a wonderful groundskeeper. Except for that whole “I’m raising a dragon in my hut” thing. And the “let’s split up in the Forbidden Forest” thing. And the “when I get drunk I spill my secrets to a hooded man” thing. And the “I tell Harry everything I’m not supposed to because of he outsmarts me” thing. By the way, did I mention that all that’s just in one book?When Hagrid becomes a teacher, Draco Malfoy manages to mangle himself in Hagrid’s first class. Yeah, Draco brought it upon himself, but there’s this little teacher trick called “proximity control.” If you have a jerk kid, you stand near him, so he’s not given the opportunity to be the jerk kid.

Hagrid is the perfect example of a good person, terrible teacher.

9. Sybill Trelawney

Trelawney has talent, but I can’t stand her method of instruction. “Tell me what you see… no, you’re wrong; that’s not what you see at all.” The fact that Harry and Ron completely BS her homework by predicting awful things will happen to them shows you how little they learn from her.Umbridge tosses her out for that very reason: Sybill Trelawney cannot prove what her students have learned.

8. Cuthbert Binns

Binns is the only professor at Hogwarts who is a ghost. He died and woke up the next day to continue teaching. That’s dedication. However, he is as dull as the day is long. History in the magical world should be the most interesting thing in the world. Goblin Uprising? Hell yeah. Give me all those gruesome details! Witch burning? Oh yeah, tell me all that information about the witch who enjoyed it!That’s not how that class is though. In Chamber of Secrets, he is shocked to see anyone raising their hand to ask questions, shocked to see the class engaged. It seems like that would be the class where you doodle for what seems like forever and then you realize only three minutes have passed by. Ugh.

7. Argus Filch

He’s a jerk. Does he have a reason to be a jerk? Well. Yes. He only sees the bad sides of students. He has to clean up after their messes. He has to deal with the problem students. He has to live in a world where he doesn’t fit because he’s a Squib.However, he takes delight in punishment. He has shackles in his office (just in case he’s allowed to use them). When Umbridge came on board, he enjoyed her power trips. He only assumes the worst even if something completely innocent is going on.

He’s a bitter man who hates everything around him. That’s not exactly who I want to be around.

6. “Alastor Moody”

I like Moody as a teacher. His class did seem like one of the more interesting Defense Against the Dark Arts classes. It was really good for Harry to be able to go to him with questions. However, that whole “putting Harry Potter in danger so the Dark Lord could use him” thing makes him deserves a spot on this list.

5. Quirinus Quirrell

It is no good to have a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who is scared of his own shadow. It also doesn’t help that he is hosting Lord Voldemort inside his headgear and killing Unicorns during his lunch break.

4. Alecto and Amycus Carrow

They were probably really good at their “Dark Arts” class. They were really hands-on from the description we get from Neville Longbottom. They also seemed to be good at handing out punishments. Muggle Studies probably had a little bit of a bias slant to it but it is all perspective.

But. Uh. You know. Death Eaters and all that. Evil. Not exactly the school experience you’d want as a student.

3. Gilderoy Lockhart

This guy has to be my favorite character in the series because he is just so darn ridiculous. Everything from his required reading to his outfits to his tests just cracks me up. That’s because I’m not one of his students, though. I don’t think I’d appreciate being attacked by cornish pixies. I also don’t think I’d appreciate all the bones in my arm being magically whisked away.Also, that whole “being a fraud” thing is definitely a negative.

2. Severus Snape

Snape is one of the best characters in the book, but he is also the epitome of a bad teacher. He insults students, he plays favorites, he intimidates students while they’re trying to work, he gives out mounds of homework, he puts down other teachers, he sets students up to fail. He’s also a terrible headmaster.Let’s be honest, unless your name is “Draco Malfoy,” Potions would be a terrible class to be in.

1. Dolores Umbridge

On the surface, Umbridge is an ideal teacher. She follows the learning schedule; she’s involved in improvements in the school, she’s a firm disciplinarian. The only problem is that she takes all those things to the extreme.She doesn’t allow any outside knowledge to even seep into the classroom. If it isn’t approved learning, it isn’t in her classroom. That’s a problem when the government is trying to repress information.

Her “improvements” are insane. Perhaps the students at Hogwarts did have too many freedoms for teenagers (look at Fred and George), but you can’t take all rights away from them, or it will backfire (look at Fred and George). It also didn’t help that she didn’t consult the other teachers.

Plus, the whole “I shall not tell lies” punishment that she gives Harry is pretty downright evil.

The cat thing is pretty freaky, too.

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