Bored Third-Years? Think Again
by
Gerry Hess

I asked the third-year students in Legal Education Seminar last spring to write a paragraph giving advice for teachers about enhancing learning for upper-level students. "Your advice could deal with things teachers should avoid, methods that are especially effective, components of poor or good learning experiences, or anything else you think the teachers should know." Their responses surprised and challenged me. Here are three samples:

I get kind of tired of the perception that by our third year we law students are too bored or disenfranchised to bother reading or learning anymore. I don't know about all of my peers, but I've never felt more stupid or more frantic to learn all that I can while I'm still in school. As a result, I want the professors to challenge me and teach me. I do not want the professors to assume that I don't care about the material or that I'm coasting to graduation. I see the classes that I'm taking now as all that stands between me and a malpractice suit! So, to you upper-level professors: teach already. Quit telling us we probably haven't read, or that we won't recite cases, or that we won't complete projects. Get on with it already. I've got stuff to learn.

My advice to 2L and 3L profs is to take charge. Keep in mind that we are taking your class for a reason -- either it is required and bar-related or it is an elective and we are interested in practicing in this particular area. Think about that one. You will either provide materials and methods to enable us to pass the bar or you will help us make decisions on our career path. Either way, you are instrumental in our life. Your motivation, passion for the material, and continued high expectations will keep us engaged and our time together will be productive and successful.

Boredom may be perceived by teachers or exhibited by upper-class students because students are ready for new challenges that the same old law teaching techniques do not address. Instead of seeing if I can recite a case, IRAC an exam question, or spew black letter law from 1066, help me become a lawyer. Build a bridge from the classroom to the real world. Quit talking about Blackacre and help us learn how to quiet title on a piece of real property. Don't require an elemental analysis of homicide, teach us how to defend/prosecute someone criminally accused. Require that we do things in the community that relate to the course. Have us bring our internship/volunteer/work experience that relates to the subject into class to teach others. Show us how what you are teaching in class will be valuable to us as lawyers. Help us become good lawyers.