#points system

So… I had fun with trying to apply our world’s general rules in Harry Potter to try and see how inconsistent it becomes. Yes I know… these are mostly how I think it should work, and it’s not perfect…

This is the first version.

By the way, I’m not dealing with the teachers here. It’s just a post about general rules.

Points Sytem

·         Points system shouldn't be directed by teachers who can be partial and install favouritism

·         Points system shouldn't exist at all, since it is a collective punishment/rewarding system. Other students can be "punished" unfairly, others can keep slacking in their work but not caring because the smartest of the class answer in their stead, and we all know how it encourages bullying. In fact it counts on how the members of the House will pressure the most troublesome ones not to fuck up, but this can have disastrous consequences for the students involved.

·         Points system should either be eliminated from Hogwarts or not function by Houses but by individual -- in this case, each student has their own little hourglass and at the end of the year, we can compare either through an exam mode (ie if you pass 200 points you receive congrats) and/or competition mode (best/"worst" student)

·         Points system to win the House Cup should be separated from the points gained through the Quidditch Cup.

·         It is in the teacher's right to choose not to give point ever but only retrieve them. It is a dick move, it's not pedagogic since students will come to class not expecting concrete compliments but fearing to lose points (negative reinforcement), and yet it's allowed.

·         Professors can't be allowed to give/retrieve more points than a certain limit per punishment, and a certain limit per day. If they feel the punishment is not enough, then they give detention or they report the student.

 Quidditch

·         Quidditch wouldn't be allowed at all in a NS, or it would change drastically: NO Bludgers/Beaters, and the following rules.

·         If Quidditch remained we would still change the rules:

·         There are two referees (from the Houses which don't compete or just profs not associated with the Houses directly) or students proven to be impartial and chosen so that they don't risk making a pact to favour one House over the other

·         A nurse is at the stadium ready to take immediate care of the students

·         Students were helmets and protective suits (ones that can protect them from the cold too); you were sport glasses if you wish

·         Brooms have a security system (harness, perpendicular handles, magic that creates a protective shield when impacting a wall or falling, magic immobilizing the broom by force if targeted by Dark Magic and protecting the student by all costs)

·         Blugers are NOT made of iron and are made so they don't hurt a student (at least not too much)

·         Referees are allowed to eject someone from the game and/or leave a warning (red/yellow card)

·         Catching the Snitch only awards the team 50 points (for instance)

·         There's a time limit OR a point limit (badminton/tennis)

·         Students all get secure brooms and you can't use material that gives you an advantage

·         Either a House wins by the amount of points accumulated throughout the game (justifying the need not to catch the Snitch too soon) OR you need to win at least two games before entering the finals

·         You do NOT play Quidditch when the weather is too dangerous (heavy rain, storm)

·         Either we allow all students to destabilize each other, or we reserve that for the Beaters, in any case the commentator remains neutral and doesn't despise a House's choice of strategy by basically bullying

·         The ground is made soft for emergency landing

·         There is a space limit to the stadium, for instance players and balls can't fly farther away than 200 meters from the stands"

School

·         Parents should be allowed to complain about something that doesn't please them in Hogwarts without being threatened to have their child expelled

·         Sending children in the Forbidden Forest or in any situation where they are in danger of being harmed or killed justifies the direct expulsion of all the adults involved

·         A professor that doesn't protect a student who's bullied would receive a warning so they would change, and be expelled if they do not comply

·         A professor that silences a student should be warned and/or expelled + have their right to teach suspended

·         If the school presents any danger to the students it will be closed. If the school still runs then all the staff, but particularly the directors, will be suspended from their profession temporarily or definitively, and the school will be closed at least until there's no danger anymore.

·         There should be an outside institution to regulate the school (rules, mechanism, etc).

·         The school doesn't run on the work of slaves. We pay them and we make them wear good, appropriate clothes.

·         A student will be expelled if they keep showing dangerous behavior (bullying, assault...) and they will be placed in a specialized institution that deals with problematic students.

·         If a student has an illness that can be harmful against others, they are placed in a centre/institution/school specialized in taking care of such students (ie werewolves).

·         There should be a system outside the school that allows any students to complain if they are not heard by the staff.

·         The books allowed for the classes are to be approved by several people (the staff, the outside system that regulates the school) and a teacher cannot require something that's not on a list approved by them (bye bye Lockharts).

·         There should be inspections of the school and the teachers regularly.

·         Potions shouldn't be taught at all, or until the students are old enough.

·         If Potions is allowed, then each student will wear equipment that prevents harm: gloves, glasses, mask (in case the vapours are dangerous), protective coat and shoes. Also the material is handled so the risk of harm is minimal: the cauldron is little, has some kind of unmeltable padding that prevents a student from burning their hands, the fire is protected, the cauldron/hotplate/fire placed in a sort of basin that can resist any attack from potions and evacuate the potion if it starts to leak in the basin (a cauldron should NOT be placed on a table, let alone a table made of wood). There should be cures and first-aid medicine in proximity, ventilation, a basin or a shower so students can run water on their hands/eyes/body in case of emergency, a quick and secure method of transport to bring the student to the hospital wing or the nurse into the classroom. The Potions teacher must have a license that shows they are able to perform emergency actions (heal a student, revive them if something's gone REALLY wrong, etc).

·         Flying courses/training are organized in a safe environment: the ground is soft in case a student falls, there is a space limit (magical barrier/shield OR flying lessons in a secure building), there is medicine for first aid (SkeleGro, Blood Replenishing, potions for general wounds).

·         Courses that require a precise protocol so the student won't be harmed should have classes that present them the basics: Potions teach how to prepare ingredients safely, how to handle a cauldron, what to do in case of emergency, the students should also write down the experiment protocols so they can have it near them; all classes that involve wand movements and pronunciation also make preparation before experimenting.

·         All teachers must have a license to teach (years of study, exam, etc).

·         Teachers can't set the level required to attend specialties by themselves, those levels are set by another organization.

·         In a normal school that consists in middle and high school levels, students can choose any specialty whatever their marks, as we give them the chance to improve, but of course they are warned that they shouldn't choose a subject in which they show too much difficulty.

·         Maybe a level could be required in case the subject becomes dangerous for a student that is either too incompetent.

·         The school should be secure: no staircases with missing steps, preferably an environment that allows any kind of disabled to attend the school, Floo (for instance?) to join the hospital wing quickly from any part of the school, no bats in a dinner.

·         A good school should propose extra help for a student with genuine difficulties (Neville, Peter).

·         A good boarding school should propose a therapist for anybody (staff or student).

·         A good school proposes sex ed...

·         A poltergeist like Peeves would be "sacked" if they refuse to behave properly or the school would close.

·         If the family is unable to pay for the school equipment, the school and/or the Wizarding World should help them (and here the possibilities are too vast: US credits, scholarships, organizations/associations to lend material or sell cheaper ones, have the school lend the material itself - they're wizard it shouldn't be complicated...)

·         (Hogwarts is a school ruled by children)

 Houses

·         Head Boys/Girls can't all come from the same House. There must be at least one from each House.

·         Prefects and Heads are chosen by the students. Students can't apply for it if they show dangerous/irresponsible behavior.

·         If the Points system exists, Prefects cannot retrieve/give points (students are not adults/the authority, it is not their job to punish students, but it can be their job to take care of them, and represent them in front of the teachers).

·         Students have the right to complain against a Prefect or a Head to a superior.

·         Proposal of hierarchic system:

2 Prefects per House chosen by the students, approved by the teachers and conforming the rules/proven to be competent and responsible for this job.

1 Head chosen by all the school (I think they'd have less "power" than a Prefect and would serve for representation of the Prefects and any student of the school)

·         Students should be given a time to discover the Houses before the Sorting, so they effectively have a real free-will to choose.

·         House competition is abolished, it only exists in Quidditch.

·         Common rooms and dormitories are occupied by students from different Houses, but a student can ask teachers to be separated from persons whom they don't like.

·         If a student is forbidden from breaking curfew, then we take care they don't have any possibility to leave: before going to bed, teachers check if every student is present in the common room they're assigned; they leave the entrance and CLOSE it so students can't leave unless they are in an emergency, in which case they have to waken up a Prefect who will have to present the reason they leaved to the teachers quickly, or they can ask for a teacher through some sort of message system, or they can ask a portrait who will pass the message but will also be allowed to open the entrance if is urgent, provided they give explanation to the teachers later.

·         The student always gets to choose their House and, most importantly, they are given the information that they can choose any House.

·         The Sorting Hat should be forbidden since it can read minds.

·         If we keep the Sorting Hat or an equivalent, it can NOT choose students based on their blood status (whatever the founders say).

·         The student might belong to a House, they still shouldn't always be accompanied only with persons that share the same points of view, or else we risk clusters and breeding, or worse, extremism; diversity is good.

·         If the school doesn't succeed in preventing inner and/or inter-House prejudices, the whole House system will simply be abolished. The Houses may then be reserved for Quidditch matches only. Even there, students should be allowed to create their own team if they wish so, provided they are supervised by somebody allowed to (teacher for instance).

 Specificities of the Wizarding World

·         Squibs may be allowed to attend Hogwarts but they would follow a specialized curriculum: Herbology, Care of Magical Creatures, History of Magic, Arithmancy, Magical Theory, Runes, Astrology (basically any course which don't require the use of magic, those courses can replace practicals with advanced theory for Squibs) + Muggle courses (so they can live and blend in the Muggle World without difficulty, like a version of VERY advanced Muggles studies) like Literature, Maths, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, PE, History of Muggles, Geography, English, Second Language, Options (arts, language 3, music, advanced PE, etc). All Squibs should have access to a Wizarding School if they wish, and they should be guided (not manipulated) in their choice. Squibs should generally be treated better.

·         Parents should be informed since the birth of the Witch/Wizard that their child is a Witch/Wizard. Their child should be looked for by a Wizarding organization to prevent mistreatment, and if the child needs to, they should be placed in a specialized foster house, whether they are Muggles informed of the Wizarding World or Squibs or Wizards, an association or even internship in the school (no more Voldy thanks). Parents should also be given help to care for their child (as they might not know of to manage magical outbursts), and they should be presented with the choice to make their child attend pre-schools and elementary schools that introduce them to the Wizarding World (they can be focused on the Wizarding part entirely or include Muggle curriculum or have their entire curriculum Muggle but have teachers that can manage magic, there's a whole field here).

  Tada

Hello, all! We’ve been discussing some changes to the blog and have some updates to announce! Some of these have already quietly been implemented, so the ultra-observant may have noticed them. Please take a moment to look them over, especially if you ever submit headcanons to us.

We hope you will understand and support these changes, but please feel free to drop any feedback by our inbox (mobile).

Minor Changes

These are more blog housekeeping changes that may or may not impact you too much, depending on how closely you follow this blog.

- Our blog should now be more mobile friendly than before! We have a post version of our Rules and Points System in our description that should work for mobile users.

- Our tags page has once again been updated for your ease of use! There is a new “identity” tab for non-aro/ace identity tags that we use, so you can also easily look up headcanons by those types.

- Old posts we reblog from ourself will no longer have the whole list of character, identity, etc. tags. From now on, reblogged posts will be marked with an #into the pensieve tag as well as trigger warnings in order to save ourselves time and energy. These posts were already fully tagged when first posted, so you can still find old posts by character, identity, etc. tags.

- Something that shouldn’t impact you all too much: our posting pattern may change a bit. The more observant of you may have noticed a specifically ordered pattern to the posts on our blog. Since there is less aro/ace HP content being created than before, our posting system is now going to be more flexible. When we are short on posts, you may notice more non-aspec content than you are normally used to, as we will spread out the aspec content we have to ensure you still get that good aspec semi-regularly appearing on your dash.

Major Changes

These are major changes to the way we run this blog that will impact you, specifically if you interact with us and submit headcanons to us.

- Monthly Potter Prompts and the Headcanon Cup will be moving to a two month system rather than the previous one month system we worked under. This means you will get a set of Potter Prompts and Hidden Headcanons once every two months. You will have two months to submit headcanons for points towards the Headcanon Cup, and we will have two months to respond (giving us a little more breathing room during times where we are all busy).

- Submitted headcanons that are longer than a simple character/sexuality request - yet not fic length - may now receive 2 - 3 points depending on their length! This has been updated in our Points System.

- The fate of our Fanfic & Fanart Prompts is up in the air. Due to low response to these prompts, they will move to a system of one prompt every three months on a trial basis. If turnout is still next to nothing, these prompts may disappear altogether.

- Mod responses to submitted headcanons will become more varied. For a while, we got stuck in a place where it felt like long fic responses were necessary. For mods’ own time, energy, and mental health, and for the sake of switching things up so you all have a variety of content to consume, you can expect more different types of responses. Submitted headcanons may receive in response: long fics, short fics, meta, analysis/comparison to the books, moodboards, or a simple thanks. Headcanons will no longer be guaranteed a creative or long response.

In 2025, New Zealand has made significant updates to its skilled migrant points system, making it more flexible and accessible for professionals seeking to live and work in the country. These changes aim to attract the best global talent to address skills shortages and strengthen New Zealand’s economy. In this article, we’ll explore how the updated points system works, who benefits from the…

The federal government has flagged it is looking to reform the points test for skilled migrants, which determines who gets to come to Australia, following a decision to reduce immigration numbers.

A discussion paper has been released highlighting potential changes to the points test, which would be the first update of the system since 2012.

A review of Australia's migration system, handed down in December, called for the points test to focus on characteristics associated with migrants successfully finding skilled work.

It also called for the test to provide greater certainty for prospective migrants, as well as focus more on industries with skill deficits and recognise younger people.

Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil said a reformed points test would help to improve the immigration system.

"Our goal is to build a smaller, better planned, more strategic migration system that works for Australia," she said.

"We are significantly reducing migration levels, we are in the middle of the biggest drop in migration numbers in Australia's history, outside of war or pandemic."

The strategy outlined ways for migrant numbers to return to pre-COVID-19 levels, as well as halve net overseas migration by 2025.

The return of international students and tourists following the pandemic led to overseas net migration surging to 500,000 during the 2022/23 financial year.

The review called for a recalibrated points test to "form the core of a future permanent skilled migration program", with two-thirds of permanent skilled migrants being selected by the method.

"We're focused on making sure that a smaller migration program is bringing in people who have skills we need to build Australia's future," O'Neil said.

The federal government has commissioned the Australian National University to analyse the skills that drive success in Australia as part of reforms to the points test.

The discussion paper said while there would be reforms to the points test, the method should continue to provide pathways for temporary migrants looking for permanent residency or citizenship.

"When temporary migrants have a clear understanding of what is required to meet these pathways, it builds our social fabric and reduces vulnerability to exploitation," the paper said.

"Getting the points test right is critical to restoring permanent residence at the heart of our migration system and maximising the economic benefit to Australia."