Fish, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but law school classes are made to cause social anxiety. Socratic method forces a student to his/her knees.
Example:
"Miss Fish, please please orally brief for the class the first of the assigned cases in our casebook, 'X against Y.'"
You must rise and answer:
They proceed to ask you the following questions. Most likely, all of them.
Why are you saying that X failed to_____ ? What exactly does (insert legal term) mean? What do we already know about (insert law)? Can you give me an example of it in previous case law? Are you saying ... or ... ? What else could we assume? You seem to be assuming ... ? How did you choose those assumptions? Please explain why/how ... ? How can you verify or disprove that assumption? What would happen if ... ? Do you agree or disagree with ... Why is that happening? How do you know this? Show me ... ? Can you give me an example of that? What do you think causes ... ? What is the nature of this? Are these reasons good enough? How can I be sure of what you are saying? Why is ... happening? What evidence is there to support what you are saying? On what authority are you basing your argument?
And I'm not done. This can go on for 20 minutes, and if you get it wrong, people will either raise their hand and try to show you up, or the teacher will let you go on and then yell at you and demand you try again.
My friend fainted during it. Students will vomit, shake and get terribly anxious during it. I can't imagine what a student with anxiety would go through.
So yeah, class discussion is the least of the concerns. Some teachers have dropped the method, so ask the dean to help you get them.
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branchandroot
no subject
Date: 2010-07-13 04:09 am (UTC)Example:
"Miss Fish, please please orally brief for the class the first of the assigned cases in our casebook, 'X against Y.'"
You must rise and answer:
They proceed to ask you the following questions. Most likely, all of them.
Why are you saying that X failed to_____ ?
What exactly does (insert legal term) mean?
What do we already know about (insert law)?
Can you give me an example of it in previous case law?
Are you saying ... or ... ?
What else could we assume?
You seem to be assuming ... ?
How did you choose those assumptions?
Please explain why/how ... ?
How can you verify or disprove that assumption?
What would happen if ... ?
Do you agree or disagree with ...
Why is that happening?
How do you know this?
Show me ... ?
Can you give me an example of that?
What do you think causes ... ?
What is the nature of this?
Are these reasons good enough?
How can I be sure of what you are saying?
Why is ... happening?
What evidence is there to support what you are saying?
On what authority are you basing your argument?
And I'm not done. This can go on for 20 minutes, and if you get it wrong, people will either raise their hand and try to show you up, or the teacher will let you go on and then yell at you and demand you try again.
My friend fainted during it. Students will vomit, shake and get terribly anxious during it. I can't imagine what a student with anxiety would go through.
So yeah, class discussion is the least of the concerns. Some teachers have dropped the method, so ask the dean to help you get them.