The Hourglass 2021-22 Issue I

Design by Trisha Yun ‘24 and Isabela Ahn ‘25 • Graphics by Trisha Yun ‘24
Photography by Amelia Skawinski ‘25
the hourglass | OCTober/NOVember 2021
features | 11
What HOGWARTS HOUSES
are Baldwin’s
Teachers?
The sorting hat will tell you where you belong!
MAKENNA WALKO ‘23
GREYSON WALKO ‘25
Features Editor and Staff Writer
Imagine that you’re a Hogwarts student
entering the Great Hall for the first
time. You gaze in wonder at the four
tables that stretch the length of the room,
each bedecked in a different color: red,
blue, green, and yellow. With mounting
excitement, you place the Sorting Hat on
your head, eagerly awaiting the answer
to the question that will define your next
seven years: what Hogwarts House do you
belong in?
We posed this question to Baldwin
teachers across a range of subjects, and the
answers we received showed an intriguing
pattern. Of the ten teachers interviewed,
six of them listed Ravenclaw as a House
they might be sorted into, though a few
teachers were torn.
Dr. Boger, who teaches history,
has been sorted into both Slytherin
and Ravenclaw. When she first took
the Pottermore sorting quiz, she was
disappointed to land in Slytherin. She said,
“My kids keep trying to persuade me that
that doesn’t mean one is evil, but I’m not
convinced.”
She took the quiz again a few years
later and she “felt relieved and much
more comfortable to land in Ravenclaw.”
However, she added, “isn’t defying
the Sorting Hat just the type of thing a
Slytherin would do…?”
Dr. Boger also thinks that history gets
a raw deal in the Harry Potter world. She
said, “Book 6 reveals how critical figuring
out wizarding history is to Harry’s life and
the wizarding world’s survival.”
How could the History of Magic
class level up? Well, according to Dr.
Boger, “The history teacher should use
the Pensieve to do a little visiting of the
past with the class….Never with time
turners, of course. Too dangerous. But
select use of the Pensieve raises all kinds
of possibilities for projects on memory —
the gap between sources and what actually
happened. Plus, how could history class be
boring with ghosts around to interview for
research projects?”
Surprisingly, though, Dr. Boger
wouldn’t be a history teacher in the
Wizarding World. In her eyes, “Potions
seems to me like the most fun to teach.”
Sr. Mathias, who teaches Spanish,
took an online quiz to discover
which Hogwarts House he
belongs in. He found that
he is a mix of Houses,
predominantly
Gryffindor. “In
terms of what
subject I’d teach,
transfiguration
sounds
awesome,”
Sr. Mathias
commented,
then added: “I
could also coach
Quidditch.”
Ms. Wilson also broke the
Ravenclaw pattern. She told us she has
“used the Leaky Cauldron website to
figure out that I am a Hufflepuff (like
Newt Scamander!) and secondarily a
Ravenclaw.” True to her biology teacher
roots, she “would love to teach Care of
Magical Creatures or Herbology.”
Dr. Goldader sees
himself as a Ravenclaw through and
through. “I expect I’d be a Ravenclaw;
they were the ‘academic’ house, and I have
always enjoyed learning,” he said.
He ruled out each of the
other Houses, explaining,
“I am generally too
cautious to be a
Gryffindor; I’ve
never been
good at plots
and plans, so
don’t think I’d
end
up in
Slytherin;
and I don’t
usually have
the tenacity of
a Hufflepuff.”
If he were a teacher
in the Wizarding World, Dr. Goldader
would teach astronomy. He proudly
declared, “Professor Sinastra’s got nothing
on me!”
Dr. Sullivan was sorted into
Ravenclaw, a House she sees as fitting.
She told us, “I’m not brave enough for
Gryffindor, if I’m being honest!”
What
class would
she teach? “I guess
Transfiguration, since literature aims
to transform how we see the world and
ourselves,” she said. “Really, I suppose
anything but potions. I will leave that one
to Mrs. Davis!”
Dr. Forste-Grupp also fits the
pattern. “I have taken numerous Harry
Potter sorting hat quizzes and I’m always
sorted into Ravenclaw,” she said.
She also said, “I would advise the
competitive club Managing Magical
Mysteries,” and would teach a class
J.K. Rowling never even mentioned:
“Labyrinthine Symbology.” What’s that?
Only Dr. Forste-Grupp knows.
Mrs. Snead, who recently discussed
this same question with her daughter,
says that she definitely sees herself as
a Hufflepuff. “I’m loyal, fair, and hard
working,” she said, “and my profession is
helping people.”
What could be more Hufflepuff than
that? She also said, “And of course, I
would teach Quidditch!”
When asked about her Hogwarts
house, Ms. Greco said, “No need to
speculate—I have been sorted multiple
times, including via Mugglenet. I am a
solid Gryffindor,” referencing a quiz from
a popular Harry Potter fansite.
When asked what class she would
teach, she said, “I would certainly teach
Defense Against the Dark Arts. Professor
Lupin is my energy.”
As Harry Potter fans, we loved
learning what House each teacher would
be in and why. We were left with almost as
many questions as answers, but one thing
is clear: a Harry Potter Movie Marathon
is long overdue, and we’ll be spending the
rest of autumn listening to the Harry Potter
Soundtrack on repeat.