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TheSocraticMethod 5 - 01 Feb 2021 - Main.DylanShamoon
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| META TOPICPARENT | name="ElizabethOseiJournal" |
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| | | I agree. Whenever I'm on call, I can feel that I'm distracted from my class until I get called on. The moment it ends is the moment I am able to focus on what we're actually learning, which at the end is not beneficial for anyone. I also do not see how the Socratic method encourages discussions or conversations when most of our cold calls are one-sided, the professor asks and we usually say what they want to hear. If anything, I would say it has helped me overcome some of my fear of public speaking but still, I do believe it could have been done another way.
-- ValeriaFlores - 22 Jan 2021 | |
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Hey! Really great post and I completely agree. I feel like there might be two angles to this problem, and let me know if anyone agrees.
The first problem, which I noticed back in our first legal methods, is that cold calls are distracting because you might get asked about facts that you otherwise would not need to know. For the simpler cases, it is not much of a problem, but for some of the more complicated ones, it is a time sink to write down all those facts, that you otherwise would not need, but which you are writing down in case you get cold-called.
This problem, though, takes me to my second issue with classes in general. Facts are important, at least the one that are relevant to the decision, so I think the real problem stems from our exams. We know on the exam that knowing all the facts of these cases is not only impossible, but also wont help, so I at least feel like I am "wasting time" when what I should be doing is getting down and only knowing what I think might be helpful for the exam. In this sense, cold calling could actually be fun and helpful in a world where our grade wasn't just some 4 hour final at the end of class, but I think the fact that it is might be making the cold call experience even worse.Worth adding that I also completely agree with the issue of putting people on the spot. At least for me,as I am sure it is the case for many others, talking in front of a 100 people is not easy or fun, but maybe the above points are making it even worse.
-- DylanShamoon - 01 Feb 2021 | | |
I am not a fan. Even before applying to law school, I knew about "cold calls." I remember friends telling me about their apprehension of applying to law school simply because of the Socratic method. I thought it was weird that they would allow something so trivial, so small deter them from becoming an attorney. However, the day before I was "on-call" for my Civil Procedure Class, that fear was realized. We've been exploring what it is to be creative in law school, and to me, only our Professors are allowed to be creative using this method. I imagine our Professors have an exact answer or path they want us to follow when they ask their questions. In one of my doctrinal classes, my Professor explicitly told me he wanted me to read his mind. I am still recovering from that trauma. |
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