I don't know what all the fuss about Divination is.

First of all, it's an elective. If someone doesn't want it, they shouldn't take it.

Secondly, one doesn't need to be able to do Divination in order to learn about it. Students might be interested in Divination for various reasons other than predicting the future themselves.

 

Potions - Snape should be replaced immediately. If the student's Boggart is his teacher, that's a damning sight what a crappy teacher he was. While Slughorn likes to network and played favorites, he lacks the blatant bias of Snape.
Defence - Remus Lupin can teach lower years, with Kingsley teaching upper years (Moody should be the instructor in the Auror academy, subjecting the first years to his paranoia is cruel).
Divination - Trelawney should be forced into rehab, and replaced by somebody with confirmed Sight.
COMC - Hagrid, no matter how likeable he is, should be replaced by Grubby-Plank. Even Luna thinks that his lessons are a joke, and his extracurricular activities (Norbert, Aragog and his brood, Screwts, Grawp) constantly endanger the lives of the students.
History of Magic - any teacher who is ALIVE.
Caretaker - Filch should be replaced by the wizard. It's unfair to the Elves to do his job while Filch is getting paid for harassing the students.

Dumbledore and McGonnagal should be forced to give one of their positions. It's oblivous that they couldn't do THREE jobs properly.

The last but not least - Hogwarts needs somebody responsible for the security. Who actually takes care of the stuff like cursed items smuggled into the castle, or professors replaced by the impostors. Who doesn't answer to Dumbledore and will immediately alert DMLE in case something dangerous happens instead of covering it up like Albus and his staff always do.

 

They can learn to draw nice yes, but doubtfully to the extent that a really talented person can do it.

 

To be fair, there appears to be more to predicting the future in HP canon that just having Sight. Cartomancy is still a thing, as is astrology. We don't know much about how the centaurs do it, but the fact that Firenze bothered to assist the department at all might indicate that wizards can learn their ways to some extent.

 

For a guy who didn't think much of Divination, Dumbledore sure had a talent for predicting the future.

 

I went to an arts high school, and based on that experience I disagree.

 

"No, really. I've been wondering for years."

 

I'd actually love to read a fix with a fleshed out astronomy teacher and class.

Harry did it every year up until O.W.Ls and we know less about it than Arthur does about rubber ducks.

 

I wonder why Astronomy was in the Hogwarts curriculum at all. I mean, it's not a magical subject, and as far as canon tells us, there isn't any practical application of Astronomy when it comes to magic (other than Centaur stargazing). I mean, how would studying stars and the movement of planet help any witch/wizard in their study of magic?

 

Seconded, especially after reading about the planet room in the Department of Mysteries.

There's also the fact that you can buy an accurate model of the milky way galaxy in Diagon Alley which moves in real-time.

 

I honestly think Trelawney is fine as a teacher, drinking habits aside. There's more to divination that just spouting predictions. She adequately goes over the various methods, crystal balls, palm reading, tea leaves, astrology, whatever. We mostly just see the class from someone's perspective who doesn't really have any interest in it.

 

I've had a burgeoning idea of a magic system revolving around astronomy. For example a branch of magic could become easier to practice for a time depending on the movements of the stars if a wizard knew enough to exploit it.

There's always been tales of myth and magic revolving around things like eclipses and planar allignments.

 

It's canon. Fluxweed for Polyjuice has to be picked at the full moon, and part of the remedy for Spattergoit involves standing naked at the full moon in a barrel of eels' eyes, so it seems the state of celestial bodies has an effect on magic.

 

If we're going to be entirely honest, most of the classes at Hogwarts (other than defense) seem to be consistently well taught. Snape has them making a different potion every class and assigns essays on potions related topics. Flitwick teaches them the theory and practice of charms and assigns essays. McGonagall does it. They consistently work with plants in Herbology and they're taught how to handle them safely and given lots of work on the application of them. They stay up late on certain days to look at stars.

Even in divination, it seems like they consistently cover a broad curriculum, as mentioned. Yeah sure, Trelawney's a batty old lady who likes to predict people's deaths dramatically, but they spend the majority of the class actually practicing divination.

It's pretty clear to me that social deficiencies aside, Hogwarts is actually a top notch school. Considering the breadth of what they learn in their first year alone, it seems to be an insanely heavy workload in a way, and by god that's a fuckton of homework.

Even Hagrid has a fuckton of magical creatures to teach about...

Obviously this is offset by the fact of MAGIC. Magic is awesome.

And if we're gonna be honest, the teachers seem competent enough. There's no evidence that they're "spread thin" at all, other than defense teacher's probably being spread in a rather gruesome manner involving the detachment of body parts.

 

While Trelawney has her quirks. Who could honestly replace her. From my read of Dumbledore he seemed more inclined to scrap the class because there wasn't a teacher he believed to be qualified. Well what qualifies her. She is an actual seer. Tested and validated. How many can say that? And let's be honest, a real seer is probably weird as shit. Comes with the job. Have you ever met a kindergarten teacher that wasn't weird?

And Umbridge should teach sex ed. Should be as awkward as possible. Plus she can answer those doozy questions related to interspecies relations, specifically centars.

 

Eh, I don't think most parents would want Moody teaching DADA. Give him a few years and you would have several students with PTSD. Badasses with a wand, but messed up in the head. Lupin was a good teacher but he would need wolfsbane AND some memory potions ("Sorry guys, totally forgot to drink the one thing that stops me going on a rampage and infecting every kid in the castle"). Kingsley seems a good option, experienced Auror and less likely to become someone's boggart or transfiguring a student into an animal (I know it wasn't Moody, but I can see him doing that too).

About Trelawney, most we know of her is her incredible ability of predicting Harry's many deaths (Master of Death indeed), but back in the third year a Grimm did appear in Harry's teacup, and then in real life, on a far more literal way than a bad omen. Perhaps there is some validity in those divination methods?

Also, History of Magic could use an alive teacher because as much as History tends to bore most of people, Binns takes it to an entirely different level.

 

I can't remember if it stayed true to the end of the series, but there was a theory going around that Ron could predict the future with the throwaway lines he gave for Divination, which seemed to be remarkably accurate.

 

That would drive Hermione truly batshit insane.

 

There would be a real chance to HarryxHermione pairing, because Hermione would never marry Hogwarts' future Divination teacher. Trelawney surely didn't see that one coming.

 

So, because Hermione dumps Ron, she has to go to Harry? Really?