Remus chuckled. "No, I give essays to see how they think. Practicals are for letting them hex each other silly until they get it." All right, no, he didn't really let them go that wild in practicals lessons. But, he did let them practice on each other as well as moving targets similar to those he trained with in the mornings. When the weather was decent enough, he'd be taking them outside as well so they could learn in all conditions.
"Even I have to agree the idea of hexing people, especially as a first year, was half the appeal." Sadly, even in the upper forms, he'd seen very few who wanted to do any real work with the discipline -- a few hopeful aurors, a hit wizard or two, and several 'it's important for historical context, but has no real world value any more'. "The frightening thing is how many of the upper forms think there's no value to it at all once they leave school unless one wants to become an auror or hit wizard."
Seeing the other man's look, Remus smiled a smile that would have made anyone who knew anything about the Marauders think twice. "It's not in the official curriculum. But, then again, neither is half of what they'll be learning." He couldn't teach them to use the spells because that was Board mandated, which was fine as his own practical knowledge in that area was limited. There was nothing holding him back from discussing the theory to help his students understand exactly what they were up against.
"Although, for the first years, evasion and escape are a large part of the curriculum in any case."