Both Albus Dumbledore and Charles Xavier were wise headmasters and powerful in their prospective universe. Choosing to take on a more passive approach to problems within their society, they guided their students, fought beside their students, and even died for their students.
Their contributions to their society are without question and both deserve to be considered as honorable men, who instead of abusing their power for darker purposes chose to ally themselves with the forces of good in an attempt to create a better life for all. That said, both fought daily battles with their darker sides, eventually overcoming their selfish desires for the greater good. So, who exactly was the better headmaster?
Best Class Atmosphere
This one is a tie for worst. Xavier presented a quiet learning environment, instructing his students on how to successfully use and control their powers. He taught from a place of love and understanding, avoiding verbally harsh criticism but his school, also, was blown up. While Dumbledore hired teachers like Snape, who belittled his students in his potions class and taught them strictly through fear. Only the most gifted benefited and did so by their own doing, not Snape’s teaching. Hagrid wasn’t that much better as he was an incompetent instructor endangering the children’s lives by subjecting them to dangerous creatures.
Who Inspired Their Students To Be Better
This is an obvious win for Xavier as he molded even the most dysfunctional and apathetic students from selfish ingrates into selfless heroes. Leadership within his school started from the top down; presenting himself as a role model for them to follow. While Dumbledore took on a more hands-off approach. If you were a student prone to seek out the dark arts, you were placed in the Slytherin House and given ample opportunity and support by some of the teachers to seek out a path that would lead you directly to the prison of Azkaban.
Which Created An Environment of Unity Better?
Dumbledore wins this round, even though Xavier’s school was designed to create a learning environment revolving around unity and teamwork. He outwardly preached against separation within his student body and tried to interject the same mindset in his students to do the same in the world outside of his school. Hogwarts was designed for the separation of students, everything from the Sorting Hat to the quidditch matches but when the school needed to unify to stop Voldemort and his army, each house come together under Dumbledore’s banner.
Who Created A Safer Environment For Their Students?
Xavier wins this one. While Xavier’s training regiments were rigorous, they were never intended or implemented to be dangerous. Students might drown in their sweat but never have to worry about being cut to pieces. Potion’s class at Hogwarts allowed students to create deadly poisons that if they didn’t explode in your face, one drop could be deadly. Dumbledore did nothing to rid the Forbidden Forest of the dangers that lurked within them, dangers that included: giant spiders and turf-obsessed centaurs. He even admitted that students had wandered in there and never returned.
Who Best Prepared Students For Life Outside Of School?
Xavier wins for no other reason than when his students begin their studies at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters they usually are unable to control their powers but by the time they leave, not only can they control their powers but, they actively seek out to use their powers to better humanity. As far as life outside of Hogwarts, unless you become a Hogwart’s faculty member or work for the Ministry of Magic, your time at Hogwarts is useless. After graduation, many illiterate magical users must go out into the real world and seek muggle work.
Did Either Headmaster Play Favorites?
This category is a tie as both headmasters played favorites quite often. Jean Grey was Xavier’s best and brightest student and he did not attempt to hide this fact from the other students. Cyclops might have been the leader, but the X-Men were centered around Jean Grey. Dumbledore had smarter more accomplished students that probably would have done a better job of helping to vanquish Voldemort and his Death Eaters but Harry was the boy of destiny to many, making Dumbledore’s fascination with him grow. Resulting in many Hogwarts students holding contempt for Harry because of Dumbledore’s favoritism.
Loyalty And Popularity Of Headmaster?
Xavier might have presented a better overall image to his students, but Dumbledore was treated as a mythical figure; a living, breathing god that had descended from the heavens above. When he spoke, everyone listened and when someone spoke against him, it was considered blasphemy by his students.
The loyalty of the students that Dumbledore possessed bordered on zealotry, as young children were willing to go to war for this man. Xavier had loyal followers but when someone dared to dissent from his opinions, it was treated as an opposite opinion, instead of a reason for banishment.
Who Was A More Competent Headmaster?
Having the ability to read minds is always helpful when it comes to knowing how to handle particular situations or individuals, giving Xavier a slight edge over Dumbledore in this category. Dumbledore kept bad company, not really knowing where their loyalties truly lie. His past mistakes eventually led to his demise and almost to the destruction of the magical world. Unlike Dumbledore, Xavier could see impending danger when it was in its infancy, allowing him the ability to handle it with a steady hand or to extinguish it before it even becomes a threat.
Whose School Was In Order?
Xavier’s School For Gifted Youngsters was a beacon of hope and understanding in a world that was collapsing from fear and discrimination of mutants. Xavier’s views and understanding of the more hopeful side of a flawed society was fundamentally shared by his students. Xavier’s optimism was reflected in his students’ optimism. He kept outside threats at arm’s reach, while, Hogwarts was built on dissenting views about basically everything from societal norms, quidditch, to politics, making it sometimes a powder keg just waiting to explode from even the tiniest of sparks.
Did Either Headmaster Allow Discrimination?
Xavier believed that one day humans and mutants could live in peace. This was his dream and goal in life. He didn’t allow discrimination of humans or of mutants of dissenting views. He preached understanding and working in unity to a higher service. While Dumbledore in his youth shared uncharacteristically evil intentions and views of muggles. In time, he changed his views of allowing non-magical people at Hogwarts, believing that neither those in the magical or non-magical world were unequal in any way. Though, he did allow a certain amount of muggle hate among his faculty and student body.
