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Chapter 60: William Reveals the Carrot
Author: I'm Just a Pigeon
“The new professor is coming!”
“How do you know?”
“The portrait by the doorway said so! It also said the professor is carrying a thick paper bag. I bet our course will have something new!”
“Brilliant!”
“I wonder what kind of game he’ll start with for us—making the wand disappear like nothing even happened was so cool!”
A group of fifth-year students were excitedly discussing what their class would be like, their words filled with anticipation for the future.
The well-informed students had long since found out from the sixth-years what had happened in yesterday's Defense Against the Dark Arts class, which made them arrive at the classroom early, eager for it to start.
---
In the corridor, William was earnestly thanking the portrait of the knight who had guided him all the way from downstairs. This enthusiastic knight had traversed over thirty portraits just to lead the way and was now panting from exhaustion.
“You’re welcome, Professor William. It is a knight’s duty to help those in need.”
The charming knight answered William with a straight face, then spurred his horse and began to gallop back the way he came.
Waving goodbye once more, William glanced at the watch on his wrist and saw that he was right on time.
By the time he pushed open the classroom door, all the students were already present.
“It looks like all the students have arrived. I’m the last one again. I have to say, the stairs at Hogwarts really do enjoy a game of hide-and-seek.”
William said with a smile as he walked briskly to the podium.
“Good morning, everyone. Hmm,” William said, his eyes sweeping across everyone’s desks, “it seems you’ve all prepared your textbooks—but we won’t be needing those for now.”
A cheer instantly erupted.
“Ah, you might have misunderstood. Please hold your cheers. Ahem, what comes next is a not-so-welcome activity.”
As he spoke, William opened his paper bag and pulled out a thick stack of exam papers.
“My apologies, but it’s time for a short test.”
The air turned cold in an instant. The muscles on the faces of the students in the front row seemed to freeze.
The small stack of exam papers was handed to the first row of students and then passed down. William could see them whispering to each other as they passed the papers along.
Only when all the exam papers were distributed did William return to the podium and smile at the students.
“Now, I know having an exam on the very first day of school is a bit much, but this exam isn’t for nothing. There’s a reward.”
“Professor, what kind of reward?”
“It’s not candy, is it?”
“House points?”
…
“Shh.”
William raised a finger to his lips, making a gesture for silence.
“If I were you, I would take this exam paper very seriously—even more seriously than the end-of-term exams.”
William took out one of the remaining exam papers, holding it up for all the students to see.
“I imagine that yesterday, quite a few professors emphasized something to you: Fifth Year is the Ordinary Wizarding Levels year for Hogwarts students. And this, the paper you’re holding, contains original questions I’ve selected from past exams.”
“Of course, the exam is supposed to test your practical spellwork, but I’ve changed it to theory; otherwise, a single class period would certainly not be enough time. However, I don’t think it makes much of a difference. If any student feels their practical skills are better than their theory, they can apply for a practical exam—”
William noticed many eyes light up in an instant. Clearly, these children found a practical exam much more interesting—but William already had a contingency plan.
“Of course, this is not encouraged. Any student who does so and fails to achieve an Acceptable level will be expected to voluntarily take on the task of cleaning the classroom for the rest of the term.”
The ill-advised notion was instantly quashed.
“The exam is one hour long. The grades will be determined using the OWLs grading method. Students who receive the highest level, ‘O’ for Outstanding, can earn fifty points for their House—which is a bit high, I’ll admit, but I will write a special request to the Headmaster.”
“Students who receive an ‘E’ for Exceeds Expectations or higher will receive a course exemption permit for one term—you heard me right. For the first half of the academic year, you can choose whether or not to attend my class. At the same time, during these six months, you may apply to sit in on the sixth-year course.”
The students below began to buzz with excitement—a course exemption permit! A legitimate way of skipping class!
Sitting in on the sixth-year course was also an incredible opportunity, something they could brag about for more than half a month outside of class.
“Oh, right, there’s also a small financial reward, from my own pocket. Seven Galleons each—seven is a magical number, after all.”
Another cheer erupted. Shiny gold Galleons, obtained legally and reasonably from a professor!
It wouldn’t even be an exaggeration to write a special letter home about it!
“Students who receive an ‘A’ for Acceptable or higher can engage in practical training while the others attend theory class. However, to accommodate the students who need theory education, most of this time will likely be self-study.”
“All the exam questions are original questions taken from past exams. I will point out their sources when I go over the answers later,” William said, clapping his hands. “So, what are you waiting for? Time starts now!”
Everyone immediately threw themselves into the great undertaking of answering the questions.
Even the reward for an Acceptable grade or higher would allow them to avoid the dull and tedious theory lessons to come. The differential treatment, in particular, sent these fifteen-year-old children into a frenzy.
As for William, he took advantage of the quiet time to sit at his desk and seriously prepare for the upcoming course.
He had found the questions, and he had dangled the carrot.
Seeing how few of the sixth-year students had passed even when he went easy on them, he knew just how abysmal this course at Hogwarts was.
He had checked the teaching history of the class for the seventh-year students over the years and found that in the last six years, there was only one year where they had completed two full terms. In the other years, the professor had left for various reasons, resulting in the final parts of the textbook being mostly left to the students for self-study.
Furthermore, due to the frequent changes in professors and textbooks, there was a significant discrepancy between what the students had learned and what the exam syllabus required.
Many of the questions on this exam were from topics these students had missed over the years. Unless someone had collected all the textbooks from a single professor and self-studied for five years, even the most thorough students would still find questions they couldn’t answer.
This was also why William chose to use questions from past exams.
Only by using real exam questions would no one complain that the questions were too difficult or obscure. Since they were all real questions, nearly all the students would calmly accept their grades and strive to study diligently in their future lessons.
Although William would immediately honor his promise no matter which student reached the goal, he already knew the outcome of this exam without even needing to grade the papers—a total wipeout.
‘Using tricks to improve students’ grades is a noble virtue for a professor!’
(end of chapter)
Author: I'm Just a Pigeon
“The new professor is coming!”
“How do you know?”
“The portrait by the doorway said so! It also said the professor is carrying a thick paper bag. I bet our course will have something new!”
“Brilliant!”
“I wonder what kind of game he’ll start with for us—making the wand disappear like nothing even happened was so cool!”
A group of fifth-year students were excitedly discussing what their class would be like, their words filled with anticipation for the future.
The well-informed students had long since found out from the sixth-years what had happened in yesterday's Defense Against the Dark Arts class, which made them arrive at the classroom early, eager for it to start.
---
In the corridor, William was earnestly thanking the portrait of the knight who had guided him all the way from downstairs. This enthusiastic knight had traversed over thirty portraits just to lead the way and was now panting from exhaustion.
“You’re welcome, Professor William. It is a knight’s duty to help those in need.”
The charming knight answered William with a straight face, then spurred his horse and began to gallop back the way he came.
Waving goodbye once more, William glanced at the watch on his wrist and saw that he was right on time.
By the time he pushed open the classroom door, all the students were already present.
“It looks like all the students have arrived. I’m the last one again. I have to say, the stairs at Hogwarts really do enjoy a game of hide-and-seek.”
William said with a smile as he walked briskly to the podium.
“Good morning, everyone. Hmm,” William said, his eyes sweeping across everyone’s desks, “it seems you’ve all prepared your textbooks—but we won’t be needing those for now.”
A cheer instantly erupted.
“Ah, you might have misunderstood. Please hold your cheers. Ahem, what comes next is a not-so-welcome activity.”
As he spoke, William opened his paper bag and pulled out a thick stack of exam papers.
“My apologies, but it’s time for a short test.”
The air turned cold in an instant. The muscles on the faces of the students in the front row seemed to freeze.
The small stack of exam papers was handed to the first row of students and then passed down. William could see them whispering to each other as they passed the papers along.
Only when all the exam papers were distributed did William return to the podium and smile at the students.
“Now, I know having an exam on the very first day of school is a bit much, but this exam isn’t for nothing. There’s a reward.”
“Professor, what kind of reward?”
“It’s not candy, is it?”
“House points?”
…
“Shh.”
William raised a finger to his lips, making a gesture for silence.
“If I were you, I would take this exam paper very seriously—even more seriously than the end-of-term exams.”
William took out one of the remaining exam papers, holding it up for all the students to see.
“I imagine that yesterday, quite a few professors emphasized something to you: Fifth Year is the Ordinary Wizarding Levels year for Hogwarts students. And this, the paper you’re holding, contains original questions I’ve selected from past exams.”
“Of course, the exam is supposed to test your practical spellwork, but I’ve changed it to theory; otherwise, a single class period would certainly not be enough time. However, I don’t think it makes much of a difference. If any student feels their practical skills are better than their theory, they can apply for a practical exam—”
William noticed many eyes light up in an instant. Clearly, these children found a practical exam much more interesting—but William already had a contingency plan.
“Of course, this is not encouraged. Any student who does so and fails to achieve an Acceptable level will be expected to voluntarily take on the task of cleaning the classroom for the rest of the term.”
The ill-advised notion was instantly quashed.
“The exam is one hour long. The grades will be determined using the OWLs grading method. Students who receive the highest level, ‘O’ for Outstanding, can earn fifty points for their House—which is a bit high, I’ll admit, but I will write a special request to the Headmaster.”
“Students who receive an ‘E’ for Exceeds Expectations or higher will receive a course exemption permit for one term—you heard me right. For the first half of the academic year, you can choose whether or not to attend my class. At the same time, during these six months, you may apply to sit in on the sixth-year course.”
The students below began to buzz with excitement—a course exemption permit! A legitimate way of skipping class!
Sitting in on the sixth-year course was also an incredible opportunity, something they could brag about for more than half a month outside of class.
“Oh, right, there’s also a small financial reward, from my own pocket. Seven Galleons each—seven is a magical number, after all.”
Another cheer erupted. Shiny gold Galleons, obtained legally and reasonably from a professor!
It wouldn’t even be an exaggeration to write a special letter home about it!
“Students who receive an ‘A’ for Acceptable or higher can engage in practical training while the others attend theory class. However, to accommodate the students who need theory education, most of this time will likely be self-study.”
“All the exam questions are original questions taken from past exams. I will point out their sources when I go over the answers later,” William said, clapping his hands. “So, what are you waiting for? Time starts now!”
Everyone immediately threw themselves into the great undertaking of answering the questions.
Even the reward for an Acceptable grade or higher would allow them to avoid the dull and tedious theory lessons to come. The differential treatment, in particular, sent these fifteen-year-old children into a frenzy.
As for William, he took advantage of the quiet time to sit at his desk and seriously prepare for the upcoming course.
He had found the questions, and he had dangled the carrot.
Seeing how few of the sixth-year students had passed even when he went easy on them, he knew just how abysmal this course at Hogwarts was.
He had checked the teaching history of the class for the seventh-year students over the years and found that in the last six years, there was only one year where they had completed two full terms. In the other years, the professor had left for various reasons, resulting in the final parts of the textbook being mostly left to the students for self-study.
Furthermore, due to the frequent changes in professors and textbooks, there was a significant discrepancy between what the students had learned and what the exam syllabus required.
Many of the questions on this exam were from topics these students had missed over the years. Unless someone had collected all the textbooks from a single professor and self-studied for five years, even the most thorough students would still find questions they couldn’t answer.
This was also why William chose to use questions from past exams.
Only by using real exam questions would no one complain that the questions were too difficult or obscure. Since they were all real questions, nearly all the students would calmly accept their grades and strive to study diligently in their future lessons.
Although William would immediately honor his promise no matter which student reached the goal, he already knew the outcome of this exam without even needing to grade the papers—a total wipeout.
‘Using tricks to improve students’ grades is a noble virtue for a professor!’
(end of chapter)
