The recent betrothal of Hogwarts professor Ignatius Prince to one of his students has created a stir of speculation branching multiple directions. Many have criticized the match, both on his side (did the professor join the Hogwarts team with the express purpose of finding a bride? The rapidity with which his betrothal has followed his appointment perhaps suggests so) and on hers (what were the girl's parents thinking, many have wondered? She cannot possibly find friends amongst her peers at Hogwarts with the knowledge looming over all of their heads that she is imminently to marry a man they are all supposed to see as a neutral teacher). But what, many have wondered, could possibly be done about these sorts of things?

Some have raised the issue of whether single men ought to be teaching at Hogwarts at all, but this is a train of conversation that clearly can't carry far. Just on the present teaching roster, Professors Skeeter, Foxwood, Lissington, Umbra, and Bailey are technically eligible bachelors, and clearly to lose them all would be to do our young scholars a great disservice, as they would probably have to be replaced with less capable women, with less relevant life experience. At various other points the teaching staff has compromised other notable men who were not married, including former Deputy Head Hamish Darrow and even the current Headmaster Phineas Black. Removing them in order to safeguard the young women's futures would irreparably harm the education afforded to our young men.

Which brings up a fair point for consideration: what, at the end of the day, is the purpose of a lady's education? The answer is different for different people. Some place a premium on academic achievement, preparing young ladies for careers such as those at the Ministry of Magic or in hospital work. Some would argue the primary purpose of a lady's education is to prepare her for marriage and a life of domesticity. Whichever side of the issue you personally fall on, we can all agree that a teenage girl becoming romantically entangled with a professor at a boarding school greatly inhibits the purpose of this education. It cannot do her any favors from an academic standpoint to be so distracted, nor to have a relationship with her instructor that separates her from her peers. On the other hand, a family hoping to prime their daughter for an advantageous match would hardly relish the idea that they are off forming attachments to men whom the family has not vetted or chosen — particularly not if those attachments involve any physical components, as is unfortunately all too likely.

So the single men cannot be removed from the teaching staff, but no one wants them stalking the student body for potential wives. What can be done? The answer is simple, and readily apparent looking at our Muggle counterparts: separate the girls' education from the boys'. This would also serve the boon of preventing young women from having their virtue tarnished by their school-aged peers — something Hogwarts has struggled with numerous times over the past decades, and attempted to ensure through ultimately flawed magical devices such as chastity cuffs. Would it not be simpler to put the girls in a separate boarding school, where their teaching staff and their classload can be more appropriately tailored to their needs? Indeed, this would also allow us as parents to choose an education better aligned with our desires — those wishing to prepare their daughters for matrimony need not deal with their twelve year olds wishing to play Quidditch positions, or struggling through advanced classes on Ancient Runes — while, conversely, those who desire an academic background might be assured their daughters receive a quality education without unwanted advances from the instructors.

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