(The above image correlates, in the logic of a Google search, at least, with the concept of questioning authority. I leave it to you to draw your own connections.)
The focus of today’s post is not “questioning authority” in the sense of confronting government officials or performing acts of civil disobedience. Rather, I continue to question the role of authority in teaching, and, in particular, in law school teaching.
She seems nice.
In the previous post I described how, as a TA in my third year of law school, I drove my 1Ls to tears with my harsh critique of their initial writing efforts. Which is sort of ridiculous, because I knew nothing about legal writing by the time I graduated from law school. Yale Law School then—and as far as I know, now—does not stoop to offer a comprehensive lawyering skills program to its students. Because if you were brilliant in your analysis of Chaucer in undergrad, why in god’s name would you need to be taught how to write a summary judgment motion? You’re smart enough to figure it out.
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The author (right) as she appeared as a TA in law school, circa 1997.
So I have been thinking about hierarchy (a word that is difficult to spell) and authority in the law profession and, of course, here at law school.
