Hogwarts is a Terrible Learning Environment: Discuss

Like many young Muggles of the early 00's, I dreamed of receiving my Hogwarts letter. But re-reading the series with an eye toward learning lessons about creating a positive learning environment, it's clear that Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry contains some unfortunate lessons in what NOT to do. When it comes to crafting an environment that encourages asking questions, fosters cooperation, and ensuring the success of its developers -- I mean, wizards -- we can learn a lot from the mistakes of the Hogwarts faculty. In this magical talk, you'll learn how to be a better mentor and help your workplace become a place where your junior developers can flourish.

Given at Open Source Bridge, June 2016.

Transcript

1. HOGWARTS IS A TERRIBLE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT: DISCUSS Lacey Williams Henschel @laceynwilliams
4. ✢ FOREWORD ✢
5. For those select few who possess the predisposition, I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. “
6. And finally, I must tell you that this year, the talk on the third day is out of bounds to anyone who does not wish to experience a very painful spoiler. “
7. ✢ INTRODUCTION ✢
8. Photo by Bruce Guenter, CC BY 2.0
10. ✢ CHAPTER ONE ✢ WITCHES V. WIZARDS
11. Photo by The Noun Project, CC BY 3.0
12. Also, Hogwarts is not diverse. And that’s a big problem. It’s got more problems than we have time to talk about today.
13. Racism, sexism, ableism and lack of representation all contribute to a toxic learning environment.
14. ✢ CHAPTER TWO ✢ THE SORTING HAT
16. You might belong in Gryffindor, Where dwell the brave at heart, Their daring, nerve, and chivalry Set Gryffindors apart
17. You might belong in Hufflepuff, Where they are just and loyal, Those patient Hufflepuffs are true And unafraid of toil
18. Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw, if you've a ready mind, Where those of wit and learning, Will always find their kind
19. Or perhaps in Slytherin You'll make your real friends, Those cunning folks use any means To achieve their ends
20. You know, sometimes I think we Sort too soon. Professor Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
21. Photo by Fine Decals on Etsy
22. “You are detail-oriented, so we’ve got you in QA.”
23. “I’m also good at puzzles! And I like knitting! And I love talking to people!”
24. not relevant.
26. Hufflepuffs are stupid wizards!
27. Hufflepuffs are stupid wizards! PHP developers programmers
28. Harry Potter can talk to snakes. Voldemort could talk to snakes. Voldemort was evil. Ergo, Harry Potter is evil.
29. ✢ CHAPTER THREE ✢ THE TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT
33. “Highly rated servers are given more tables and preferred schedules. By shifting work to its best servers, the restaurant hopes to increase profits and motivate all employees.” Netessine and Yakubovich, Harvard Business Review
34. “We call these firms ‘winners take all’ organizations.” Netessine and Yakubovich, Harvard Business Review
35. “[This system] engendered anxiety and excessive competition, and the company had to adjust its system as a result.” Netessine and Yakubovich, Harvard Business Review
36. Segran, Fast Company
37. “When teams are forced to go head-to- head with one another, women’s creative output goes down. In fact, the more intense the competition, the weaker women perform.” Segran, Fast Company
38. Bowles, Babcock, and Lai, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
39. “[M]ale evaluators penalized female candidates more than male candidates for initiating salary negotiations” Bowles, Babcock, and Lai, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes
40. What happens at the hypercompetitive wizard tournament?
41. A young student is forced to compete against his will.
42. No one notices that a new professor is a Death Eater in disguise.
43. Competitors cheat and sabotage one another.
44. Someone dies.
45. Anything like this ever happened to you?
46. ✢ CHAPTER FOUR ✢ THE FACULTY REVIEW
47. Illustration by Seth Cooper, Harry Potter Wiki Professor Binns History of Magic
48. Professor Binns can’t remember anyone’s name, won’t update his lesson plans, and doesn’t care that his students are not remotely engaged.
49. Professor Trelawney fakes her talent, traumatizes students to make herself look better, and sets students up to fail.
50. Professor Moody is literally a Death Eater. He also physically and psychologically abuses students.
51. (I know he wasn’t REALLY a Death Eater. But the fake Moody got away with that crap for a long time because of the reputation of the real Moody.)
52. “Besides the direct harm, dysfunction, and disrespect this kind of rule-breaking and rudeness causes, when you allow people to get away with it, you’re sending a message that they can get away with outright harassment and assault too.” Aurora, Gardiner, and Honeywell, “No more rock stars: how to stop abuse in tech communities"
53. This is why you need a Code of Conduct, even/especially at work.
55. Wolff, College Humor
56. Professor McGonagall ignores student complaints, doesn’t ask questions, and think she always knows best.
58. ✢ CHAPTER FIVE ✢ THE MANUAL
59. “Coaches need to be 100% focused on their learners and always be there when needed. Make sure their experience is positive and that they have fun.” Django Girls Coaching Manual
60. Be Flexible and Accessible
61. “Get out, get out, I don’t want to see you in this office ever again!” Professor Snape, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
62. No Jargon
63. “What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?” Professor Snape, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
64. Don’t say “It’s easy”
65. “Longbottom, kindly do not reveal that you can't even perform a simple Switching Spell in front of anyone from Durmstrang!” Professor McGonagall, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
66. No “Well, actually’s”
68. No subtle “-ism’s”
69. “I’d expect first years to be able to deal with Red Caps and grindylows.” Professor Snape, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
70. Teach that coding is fun!
71. “Wands away, quills out. There will be no need to talk.” Professor Umbridge, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
72. Excitement is good, but stress is bad for coding. Pay attention to the atmosphere.
74. ✢ CHAPTER SIX ✢ THE REALLY SCARY STUFF
76. Professor Quirrell went on vacation and met Lord Voldemort.
77. He brought him back into Hogwarts.
78. No one noticed for an entire school year.
79. At least, not in time to do anything about it.
81. Professor Umbridge discriminates against house-elves, centaurs, giants, Hagrid (who is half giant), and students with muggle backgrounds.
82. “Far from testing knowledge or competence, Umbridge’s examinations of both students and teachers are exercises of pure terrorizing control, intimidating and humiliating.” Wolosky, Children’s Literature in Education
84. Snape was in love with this girl. She didn’t love him back.
85. He hated her boyfriend (who was in fact a jerk). He called her a racist name. They weren’t friends anymore.
86. He became a terrorist.
87. She died. He joined the resistance.
88. He abused that woman’s son and his friends because… he hated the dad.
89. He gets away with it because he’s one of the good guys? But then he pretends to be a bad guy? But he’s really good? I guess?
90. ✢ CHAPTER SEVEN ✢ THE SAFE SPACES
91. Dumbledore’s Army is a student-led, student-taught, student-owned group where everyone learns at their own pace. Image Source
92. “Harry and his friends create their own classroom as public sphere, through which they circumvent censorship, circulate materials, pass messages and ultimately, in the last book, organize an active underground revolt.” Wolosky, Children’s Literature in Education
93. When reaching out to their teachers fails, students turn to each other when they’re in need.
94. When their teachers will not teach them, they teach each other.
95. When they haven’t been meeting for a long time, but someone reaches out, many of them respond.
96. ✢ CONCLUSION ✢
97. Be inclusive.
98. Avoid the pigeonhole. owl
99. Teams don’t have to compete. They can support each other.
100. Recruit good teachers.
101. Read the Recurse Center User’s Manual and the Django Girls Coaching Manual. Have an enforced Code of Conduct. Image source
102. If you don’t do these things, you’ll lose people.
103. Let your junior developers help each other.
104. Thank you! Special thanks to Rebecca Kindschi, and the Open Source Bridge conference committee @laceynwilliams
105. Aurora, Valerie, Mary Gardiner, and Leigh Honeywell. “No more rock stars: how to stop abuse in tech communities.” hypatia dot ca. Bowles, Hannah Riley, Linda Babcock, Lei Lai. “Social incentives for gender differences in the propensity to initiate negotiations: Sometimes it does hurt to ask.” Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. Brown, Sarah, Daniel Gray, Jolian McHardy, and Karl Taylor. “Employee trust and workplace performance.” Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization. Conference anti-harassment policy. Geek Feminism Wiki. Contributor Covenant. Django Girls Coaching Manual. Llopis, Glenn. “5 Powerful Things Happen When a Leader Is Transparent.” Forbes. Netessine, Serguei, and Valery Yakubovich. “The Darwinian Workplace.” Harvard Business Review. References
106. Nikolajeva, Maria. Power, Voice and Subjectivity in Literature for Young Readers. Nobel, Carmen. “When business competition harms society.” Harvard Business School Working Knowledge. Recurse Center User’s Manual. Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter novels. Segran, Elizabeth. “Does Workplace Competition Kill Women’s Creativity?” Fast Company. Wolosky, Shira. “Foucault at School: Discipline, Education and Agency in Harry Potter.” Children’s Literature in Education. References