While Harry had many different professors during his time at Hogwarts, there were certain teachers that were most influential. The Defense Against the Dark Arts post was a rotating door of new professors every year, but by far the best during Harry’s time at school was Remus Lupin.
Lupin had many strengths as a professor, and while he was by no means perfect, he did a better job than many of the long-standing teachers such as Severus Snape. Here are the reasons why Lupin was the best Hogwarts professor in the Harry Potter series and the reasons why he was the worst.
Worst: He didn’t challenge his students enough
While Lupin was a great professor who taught his students a lot of things, it seems like he gave them harder material. Snape pointed out that they were behind where they should have been for their year, and while this can be taken with a grain of salt given the source, it does seem like he wasn’t giving them super hard tasks.
Best: He was protective of his students
While being able to teach source material is one part of teaching, at a school like Hogwarts that's full of some dangerous things, looking out for the student body is also vital.
Lupin showed he was capable of protecting the students and had his eye out for danger when he helped everyone during the Dementor attack on the Hogwarts Express.
Worst: He didn’t have much teaching experience
One of the weirdest things about Hogwarts professors is how they don’t seem to need any teaching certificates or other qualifications to be considered for the job.
Most of them don’t even seem to be qualified at all. While Lupin clearly knew a lot about his subject, he didn’t have any prior teaching experience which seems strange.
Best: Because he knew the importance of hands-on learning
Compared to the other Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers, Lupin was the one who gave the most hands-on training while still being appropriate. Mad-Eye Moody, aka Barty Crouch Jr., taught things that probably aren't appropriate for 14-year-olds.
Lupin, on the other hand, gave the students practical lessons and exams that allowed them to learn how to protect themselves in a safe environment.
Worst: Because he showed some favoritism
It seems like nearly all of the Hogwarts professors struggled with showing favoritism at certain times. This makes sense as they are only people, but it could be a problem.
While Lupin wasn’t bad compared to professors like Snape, he clearly favored Harry and his friends, and he could have been a little more impartial.
Best: He was great at helping students learn
While being great at a subject as a professor is the first step to being a great teacher, you also have to know how to impart that knowledge to your students. So, professors like Snape who were very knowledgeable but bad at teaching couldn’t really be considered the best.
Lupin, on the other hand, was very good at helping students learn. He taught them in ways that made it easy to understand, and, for the most part, the students all enjoyed his class which says a lot about his teaching style.
Worst: He had to deal with a lot of prejudice
This is an unfortunate point because what happened to Lupin wasn’t his fault. The prejudice werewolves faced in wizarding society was bigoted and unfair.
While this wasn’t his fault, it did mean that he wasn’t able to enjoy full support as a teacher from the parents of his students, and it sadly put him at a bit of a disadvantage.
Best: Because he took the time to make Neville feel good about himself
Neville didn’t have a very easy time at Hogwarts. He dealt with bullying from other students like Malfoy and even worse bullying from Snape. Even nicer professors like McGonagall could be hard on him, and he wasn’t understood.
Lupin, however, was able to see that showing Neville kindness and encouraging him was the best way to get him to do well. This really showed how great of a professor Lupin was and also gave insight into his character.
Worst: He showed Harry a lot of favoritism
In a lot of ways, the fact that Lupin showed favoritism to Harry makes total sense. He was the son of two of Lupin’s closest friends, and given the death of Harry’s parents, it’s no wonder he wanted to be there for him and help him.
While it’s hard to completely fault him for this given the circumstances, he definitely put more effort into helping Harry thrive than any other student.
Best: He made his students feel at ease
The biggest reason why Lupin was the best professor at Hogwarts is that he made his students feel comfortable and excited to learn. All the knowledge in the world doesn’t mean much if the students don’t actually absorb it.
By making a dynamic learning environment where the students could ask questions and feel supported, they learned more about magic than in most of the other classes.