Monday, November 24, 2008

Burned!

Secure in my immunity from questions in Torts today, I made lackadaisical preparations for class. Sure enough, the first two people the professor called on had not read the material. The professor, usually a pretty laid back guy, gave us a stern speech about taking our work seriously, then proceeded to call on people whom he knew had been prepared in the past. Thank goodness he got to me before we came to material that I hadn't even looked at. Even so, I gave a pretty lame response when called on. I'd worry about ruining my reputation if I thought I had any kind of reputation to begin with.

I'm very interested to see what will happen on Wednesday. It will be the day before Thanksgiving. Will people show up extra prepared, or skip class wholesale?

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

My Number Is Up

I was called on to present a case in Torts on Monday and again in Contracts on Wednesday. I was prepared. I don't know what made everyone decide to save me until the end of the semester, but it's kind of convenient. Once they've called on you, professors tend to leave you alone for a few days. Now I know that I can slack off on my Torts and Contracts reading if paper writing and exam prep put me in a time crunch. On the other hand, I'm almost afraid to go to Property tomorrow.

Friday, November 14, 2008

Time Flies

Prospective students are getting tours of the school today. I guess that means it has been a year since I started the application process. If I had it to do over again, I think I would. But, then, I haven't received any grades yet.

Thursday, November 13, 2008

I Did Not Skip Class

Ironically, a day after writing that class might be a big waste of time I stayed home sick. I wasn't even all that sick, but the last time I went to school feeling unwell I had to race out of class to disgorge my breakfast. Until today, I had perfect attendance in my Thursday classes, so I felt I could afford to play it safe.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Class: Why Bother?

There's a popular school of thought among law students that regards class as just a waste of good study time. It's true, we often spend half an hour in class on a concept the textbook disposes of in four lines. My Civil Procedure professor stated the problem pithily early in the course when he observed that the Socratic method sometimes devolves into a game of "Guess what I'm thinking." A professor may go around and around the room until he or she gets someone to state a legal theory just so. I'd probably skip a few classes if I weren't paying so much for them.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Dissing My Classmates

Any time I fret about where I'll land in the class rankings, I take comfort in this fact: about a third of the class isn't really trying. Almost every day a professor calls on someone and the student makes a disastrous attempt to read and understand the case while the class watches and waits. It's cringe-inducing. I may find myself eating these words in a couple of months, but anyone who isn't in the top half of the class probably isn't working very hard.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Creatures of Habit

Many of my classmates have become very predictable library lurkers - they're in the same seat every time I come into the library. It's like church. I wonder what would happen if I got here really early and occupied someone's seat? I know I'm irritated when I go to one of my usual library haunts and find it occupied. Upperclass students can rent a study carrel with a locking door - a personal office in the library, essentially. It's going to be great!