Yesterday, I attended a lunch program hosted by Professor Sanger and Student Services entitled “Lessons Learned from the First Semester.” What was meant to be a discussion of study and stress tips quickly transformed into a forum for 1L’s to discuss their frustration with the law school process. Over the past few weeks, I’ve heard a lot of the same comments and I felt that this thread would be a good place to address them.

With regard to Columbia’s strict curve, Professor Sanger pointed to the fact that without grading guidelines, one professor might on average give her students higher grades than another professor who teaches another section of that particular class. The curve ensures that no student is unfairly advantaged by a professor who is typically a higher grader. Though I agree that a system in which we are given critiques of our work rather than a letter might be more helpful to our learning process, the curve makes our current grading system somewhat fair, albeit stressful and competitive.

A complaint that showed up on this thread concerned the Socratic Method. I personally appreciate this teaching device but not because it encourages me to read my cases more thoroughly. I don’t mind speaking in public when I have something prepared but speaking off the cuff scared me when I started law school. The Socratic Method brought me out of my shell. I am not the student who says something insightful every class but I would not have participated without it.

My personal frustration with the 1L experience is the minimal opportunity to get feedback from professors. I would greatly appreciate a midterm exam or assignments throughout the semester so that I could gauge what professors want me to focus on. Office hours are a wonderful way for us to meet with professors to address specific questions but it’s hard to discern expectations about exams from these encounters.

I’m glad that I chose to attend law school and I look forward to the career that will follow it but I think that some of the concerns voiced in Eben’s class should be formally addressed. Student Senate recently assigned us all a personal representative who we are supposed to contact with such concerns. I sent a quick note to my representative yesterday and below you can find a sample note to send to yours.

Dear [Representative],

Thank you for your work so far this year and for your reaching out to me to hear my thoughts and concerns.

Currently, I would like more of an opportunity to get feedback from my professors. Is it possible to require professors to provide us with midterm exams or occasional written assignments with personalized responses so that we know if we understand the material? I understand that professors don't want the burden of grading another exam during the semester but any similar guidance would be a great way to help 1L’s adjust to the law school process.

Thanks again for all of your hard work,

Sincerely, [your name]

Please use my letter as a template for your own letter to your student senator. Post your “Dear Representative” Letter here.

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