I had a professor that whenever she called on students she would keep asking questions until you couldn't answer anymore and then she would ask the whole class "does anybody want to help him/her? ". I like the Socratic method, but asking the student seventeen questions until they can't answer anymore is just mean
This is old school Socratic method, that was common until the 1970’s. The idea was to break a student. I don’t think it’s effective because there is no incentive for students to study hard. After all, the professor is not going to let you succeed. Thanks for sharing this.
Some students, especially those from Asian families, grew up in totalitarian environments even in a democratic society like the U.S. They would have extreme pressure and frustrations in trying to explain themselves, especially proactively. It’s just the nature of the culture as stated in the book “Chrysanthemum and sword”.
Can professors stop assuming we all have the social capacity to “develop relationships with colleagues” cause I definitely am not asking others for assignments or teaming up with them on assignments on my own initiative
Wow, my professors have have insisted that I must be humble and affiliate with my lab associates. “She insists that I don’t want others to teach me” labeled me as disrespectful because I refused to be discriminated because I’m African.
If you don't have the social capacity to develop relationships with colleagues, then how do you expect to work in the legal profession? I don't think that's a characteristic many law firms would find desirable. 🙄
@@beachbum1523 Not everyone who watches this video is going to be a law student. That may be the main focus of this guy's channel, but the title of this video is general enough that it can attract students of all types. I'm not a law student and I still watched this video.
As a student I can assure you that someone getting up and leaving to go to the bathroom is not distracting at all. It doesn't prevent me from learning or listening well. That's a great thing to note. Aside from that, making students feel like they can't leave to go to the bathroom will make them feel uncomfortable, stressed, and unduly anxious in your class, which will distract from their learning ability. Building off of that, having to go to the restroom (#1 or #2) can be highly highly overwhelming and distracting, even to the point of hearing nothing that is said for the second half of class. Stepping out of class to relieve yourself, on the other hand, means that students will only miss up to five minutes of lecture, thus increasing their overall learning effectiveness. I assume your classes are an hour or more, lots of people without a condition, depending on the day, can easily have their bladder go from empty to full in that time. The biggest issue that I see with not wanting students to use the bathroom during class is the burden that women will be left to bear. All menstruating women will need to get up and go to the bathroom at a moment's notice for about one week of each month. Periods are not things that can be held in or expelled before class; when the blood comes it comes and the only choice left is to go to the bathroom or to let it flow uncomfortably all over their clothes and your lecture hall chairs, leaving them uncomfortable and demoralized for the rest of the day. On top of normal menstruation, one in ten women in the US have a condition call endometriosis. This makes their periods incredibly heavy. I personally deal with this and have to change my pad/tampon once every hour for the first three days of my period. That means that I will not be able to sit through an hour-long class without getting up to go to the bathroom at least a few times a month. Now, I know that you mentioned that students should email the professor about medical conditions, but in this case that isn't feasible for two reasons. 1. Most college-aged students would not expect that going to the bathroom would be something that the professors would care about or want to hear about (often getting told off in their undergrad for raising their hand to ask to go to the bathroom) so it would likely never cross their minds to email their professor about this condition. 2. Endometriosis is extremely hard to diagnose, both because it is incredibly hard for a woman to know if her flow is heavier or her cramps more intense than the average girl and because the only way to formally diagnose it is through a very invasive procedure that doctors don't like to do unless there is another need to do it. For these two reasons many women will have no idea that they suffer with this condition, even if the symptoms affect their daily life. Overall, I think the best practice is to choose to respect students enough to know what is best for their bodies and trust them to take law school and your class seriously.
Yep. I also have some close friends with endo. One of them actually had a couple professors in her program with crazy strict bathroom policies, which made it super awkward for her throughout undergrad. All those profs were male, obv. What are the chances that womens’ health crossed their mind even once? Should half the class email them because they have the medical condition of being a woman? Even more than that, especially in law school, we are grown adults that have led adult lives and experiences for years. None of of my law school profs would have ever treated us so blatantly like children. You wanna cut class and waste your time? Your problem. You will survive the distraction of your seat neighbor getting up to go pee during class. If people are somehow causing a huge ruckus every time they walk out of the classroom (doubtful), I feel like there’s a different issue going on with them than a full bladder, that is the issue that should be addressed, not a blanket no bathroom policy. Wow, you got me worked up, this whole thing is a pet peeve of mine bring back dark memories from undergrad.
Students going to the bathroom don’t bother me. But when I teach large classes, students complain to me that they find this behavior distracting. To minimize the distraction to others, I now request students with known issues to sit on the aisles or back of the room to minimize disruption.
professors will never treat me with respect so long as their fragile egos continue to feel threatened by the questions I pose. Oftentimes, we hold different ideological perspectives and do to the inherent power imbalance between teachers and students (profs hold more institutional power), I am usually dismissed because they take these questions as personal attacks rather than thinking critically about my own perspective...
And now the other way around, can professors PLEASE also use professional communication with us? Nothing infuriates me more than having written a nice, concise and polite email to my professor with a legitimate question, only to get a one-worded reply that indicates the professor didn't even read 90% of the email. I wish professors would stop infantilizing students. We are adults too, with a capacity to think critically.
I can't stand it when professors do not want to teach. One time I had a professor who would just click through PowerPoints every 1-2 minutes without saying a word. Trying to copy PowerPoint notes before the next click was the whole class. I then had to go home and come here to RU-vid to find people to actually teach the material. For $1,500 a class, I expect a bit more from my educators.
can they also stop thinking that they are so high and mighty that they are the only one's missing class and canceling due to emergencies or other issues where they need to be excused but not a student time's or money?
I hate having to memorize the fourth word of paragraph three on page ten, just to recall it on a test, then forget that memorization for the rest of my life. I'd rather learn something.
The level of entitlement being ascribed to the profession throughout this video is mind boggling. There are professors who really think that adults who pay a tremendous amount of money to be there need to volunteer personal medical information, or any other reason a student might have for going to the bathroom as much as they damn well please? Truly bizarre.
"puttting things away early". Understandably annoying. As it is when a professor runs long with a lecture under the false assumption that we have nothing better to do with our time than prepare for his class, or, that we might not have another class to get to across campus and only ten minutes to get there. I fell into the latter. One semester i had 2 classes where the next on was literally across campus and if i left on time, i could make it to the other class with 90 seconds to spare. Hated taking classes that close together but had no choice that semester as there were no other options, other than adding a semester to my studies.
But...i had also let my professor know this ahead of schedule, sat as close to an exit as possible, and i always went by during office hours to discuss any questions over material. I was an 'engaed' student and one of those 'good students'. Not the top of my class perhaps (but close) and my colleague's doctoral degree carries the same weight as mine.
Ending class on time is part of a professor's duty. I have an app with a clock on it, which I keep by my notes. I know one person who sets an alarm to keep him honest and let people go on time.
I have no interest whatsoever in what my professors do and do not like. On the contrary to what their ego screams at them every morning their just not that important. I suppose its because their grown adults who actually never left school. People who work in a micro community and then tell young people what they have to do to get by "in the real world" like they even know lol lol. I mean what other profession would even title their video like this.
This is great content and I’m going to share it with my Professor wife (non-law). About the only thing I dislike is when my professors don’t enforce reasonable discipline in the room.
That tends to be a problem for new professors, who are still developing strategies for dealing with the disruptions. I taught at a new law school, where all of us were new to teaching. So we struggled together on how to deal with this problem. Young professor mistakes.
I studied abroad in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. There was always a lot of chattering and non-attention behaviors in the back rows. Many of these were practicing attorneys and professionals. It was really annoying, especially since I was a German as a 2nd language student. I’m studying in the Masters of Tax program at DePaul (we’ve communicated before), and I appreciate the quiet attentiveness of my cohorts. Thanks again! Kindest regards, G
Learn Law Better This was back in 2005 or 2006, so my memory has faded a bit. I recall it was primarily lectures. The students sit in class 28 hours a week and the professors rotate through. After the semester is over, they have about 4 weeks to study and prepare for finals (very stressful). I wondered when the students had enough time to study and prepare for class, using the usual 2-to-1 hour rule? In other words, I expected that if they sit in class 28 hours a week, then they probably needed about 56 hours to study and prepare, without consideration of the finals. The program director, an acquaintance of mine and an otherwise very nice fellow, said, “Oh, they don’t have enough to do. They’ve plenty of time.” That’s almost a direct quote. Every education system has its weak points, and false elitism is a problem in the Swiss system. I believe this leads to underutilization in the workforce as well as long term discontent amongst the workers. But, hey, that’s just one American’s humble opinion! -G
I had a professor who got upset when I or any of my classmates asked questions. I know I didn't ask very many questions but when I did she would single me out and give me homework assignment as a punishment.
I’m punished for being an introvert and deep thinker who like to work alone. My professor punishes me by not giving me honest feedback Because I’m an introvert. She asserts that I’m not humble. Thus, she tries so hard to undermine my hard work.
#1 is so real. I have an LLB and being late is something 95% of law professors will not tolerate. You have to imagine that you are going to court with your client every time you go to class.
Personally, I keep a clock app next to the podium and begin class exactly on time-to the second. And I stop class either in time, or a few seconds early.
Do law professors like getting emails from ex students? I have been considering lately (considering the extraordinary circumstances we're in) sending some emails to some law professors I've had just to kind of check up on them and see how they are doing. Is that appropriate? Or is it annoying? I'm just genuinely worried about some of them who are older, and I really hope they're doing well, they had a really positive impact in my legal career.
Most people like hearing from former students, especially in times like these. Sure, there are always a few out there who are always grumpy, but ignore them. I'm sure that almost everyone you reach out to will be appreciative.
@learn law better, Prof. Baez, just so you know.......you ARE THE MVP (in my Maury Povich voice) ✅🤍. You have managed to reduce these technical legal terms to a COMMON vernacular. This is my 6th week of law school, and I am starting on the right foot. ✅✅✅✅
Law students, keep doing what you are doing! Don't change your behavior to tp-toe around law professors. They have a captive audience, what can I say? In practice, if you miss a day of work, it is not only 100% ok to email your boss, it is productive. You are grown-ups, you can get up and pee when you need to. No one in the workplace would EVER raise the "inappropriate peeing" issue. I apologize on behalf of attorneys for that one. Also, in practice, we really do communicate like humans. The "professional communication" rule is just common sense stuff and only in academia would you even ever see a suggestion that you can't or even should not communicate the way you feel is your best method of getting the point across. In fact, the single biggest challenge you will have when communicating with clients is the language law professors understand but clients do not. It is also why non-legal industries are marketing better than lawyers in this era of social media communication. Wanna make money as a lawyer, throw in a lol or even OMG. Humans understand that.
When I first started teaching, I would have agreed with everything you said as it represents the ethos of the practicing attorney. For example, I personally could care less if a student gets up and goes to the bathroom--that is what we do at any legal meeting. But a significant number of students began complaining to me about the behavior. When I asked why, I was told that the constant getting up and down was distracting. After thinking about it, I came to realize that distractions keep a significant portion of the other students from learning. Should it? Probably not. But it does. Ultimately, the professor is creating an environment of learning, and if getting up to go to the bathroom detracts from learning, others should be aware that it is a distraction and make reasonable efforts to minimize the distraction.
@@Learnlawbetter I guess. But, they need to toughen up because guess what? People pee? In fact! I had an entire jury calling the jury room the "Little Lawyers Room" during a jury trial because I had to go, the nearest can was in the Jury Room and they overheard me call it that during the trial. I like your videos. BUT, let's face it, the law school model is kinda old fashioned. I can name THREE law school drop outs who are millionaires, happy, still young and killing it because they communicate complicated ideas the way the modern world communicates. One charges $1,000 per hour for copywriting on email marketing and she wouldn't let me hire her. What bugs me is the anguish, stress and, too often, failure these kids experience because the law school model is trying to recreate the glory days of ... what was that movie? The one about a snotty law school? There is no reason to treat students like that. It is weird and, candidly, isn't the best way to learn anything. IN your video, you list all the stuff that ticks you off and then list "not asking questions" as one of the LONG list of things that tick you off. I wouldn't want to ask you a question either. Now, how bout you and I team up and do videos on the real these kids need to know out in the streets because MAN! it is brutal. the legal services industry is getting its arse handed to it in innovation and marketing because we cling to dumb traditions.
@@Learnlawbetter Yes, I am a law student, and this year, I am studying constitutional judiciary, unfortunately because of the current serious events, all lectures have been cancelled until further notice, It would be very helpful, if one of "Learn Law Better" 's videos, included some information, sources to have a better understanding of this subject. Thank you very much.
Appreciate this video... I made a habit of not reading the syllabus in college (outside of the schedule section showcasing when assignments are due and when readings are do). I now realize that that habit wouldn’t be good to carry over to law school. Thanks for the informative vid. Also how long are law classes typically? I had some 2-3 hour college classes where I just had to leave for restroom breaks at times.
Law profs and their egos.... people go to the bathroom, people come late, people miss stuff. It almost if the profs don't realize the students are consumers, they need to get over their self importance.
1. As long as you're not disruptive, it's not really anyone else's problem if you're late. But I can see how professors may get annoyed by this if a student misses out on important things because they do this a lot and then complain later when their grades suffer as a result. 2. I can see how this could be annoying if it happens a lot but I don't think it's really fair to expect students to ask peers because not everyone is social like that. 3. Agree completely with this one, if you really don't value the class just drop it. 4. Agree completely again, chances are all of the information you need about assignments, tests, etc. will be in the syllabus. Only ask questions if you've already read it and need further clarification about something. 5. Agree but you also shouldn't ask TOO many questions. You need to strike a good balance because if your questions are too excessive that's just as problematic as not asking any. Others should have the opportunity to speak too and if you're asking excessive questions there's a good chance a lot of it is unnecessary and/or involves info you can easily find elsewhere. 6. Agree, at least during the time you are in the professor's class you should respect that professional relationship as they are serving a specific role during that time and have a position of authority over you. If you want to have a more casual friendship with a professor after you have completed their class I think that's fine, if they reciprocate of course. As a college student I had a personal rule that I would never add/follow any professors on social media while I was taking their classes, but if I found a lot of value in them I would after the classes were done. 7. Agree there are other times in the day you can use the bathroom, it shows unwise planning/not valuing the class enough if you do this all the time. But yeah, like you've said, if you have a legitimate medical condition that's an exception and you should communicate that as soon as possible to the professor. I'd also recommend if possible contacting the disability/accessibility center at your institution because they can help arrange accommodations for those sorts of situations. That's kinda what they're for... 8. Like you've said asking questions about assignments late is better than never but yeah it does show poor planning on the student's part so I can understand professors getting annoyed by this especially if it happens a lot. But again like with the late situation ultimately it's no one else's problem if a student procrastinates. 9. Agree, if you don't understand the directions ask questions before you try doing anything. But at least try to listen/read first when they're initially given. 10. Agree you're going to be held accountable regardless so you may as well own up to it. 11. Yeah the key here is demanding a grade change simply because you're not happy with it. If you actually have a substantive reason to believe something was graded wrong/unfairly or just need more clarification, I think it's fine to discuss it with the professor. 12. Agree packing up early shows that you don't truly value the time spent in the class. Although I do differ a bit from you in thinking that it's not ok to do it even if the class is going overtime. If it is going overtime, I think students can often have valid excuses to pack up and leave because of course they may have other commitments to attend to at that point and the time frame they committed to for that class has ended.
I learned freshman year of college that if I have any question realted to the class, or the course work 60% of the time the answer would be on the syllabus. People these pages don't exist for proffessors to be mean. It's basicly a frequently asked questions board so the proffessor doesn't have to explain themself 500000000000 times a semster.The unclear general instructions on blackboard for projects are better explained in the syllabus.
One time I gave the class instructions during class time, and not three minutes later someone asked me a question I had just answered. Everyone in the class rolled their eyes. But I was kind and answered the question.
I'm dropping almost all my fall semester classes(to avoid to get C) because my professors can't really teach, I ended up study everything by myself but then when I went to take the exam and quiz, it wasn't the same of what he teaches nor what I study from the materials. I avoid all things you mentioned so I can be a "good student", but what do we do when the professor just can't teach? Their teaching doesn't match what their textbook wrote, and the quiz and exam are also different than what they teach, when I have a question right on the spot and ask them could them explain a little better again in zoom, they always shut me up by saying "this lecture is recorded, go watch it again if you missed it.", the thing is, I don't understand what they're trying to teach on that part, that's why I need them to explain it again in a better way so that would match what they've taught previously(I can go online and google but it won't be the same because each professor has their way of teaching on different subjects, many times they'll teach you in a system or style that belongs to them, not anyone else online, but then they seem lazy to explain more, and now the students struggle and it's suddenly our fault of not getting it) I've tried to organized things by myself and self-teach, even went to tutoring and pay for tutoring websites, feel so down for this semester. My major is not a law degree but biology, but I would still like to know if there's any tips you can suggest or anyone else who has went through the similar experiences and managed to get themselves through?
You should be self motivated to succeed in law school. Also, you should be willing to try new things as law school skills are different from the skills learned in college.
Yes, those are also important skills to learn. Unfortunately, things don't just happen in the law, which means waiting for results. So one must develop strong organization skills and flexibility. And because words are important, learning to be attentive to detail is another essential skill.
I don’t. Happens every semester for a variety of reasons. I prefer that someone withdraw if they think they won’t succeed or the course isn’t what they expected.
@@Learnlawbetter It sucks when you like the teacher but hate the subject matter and decide to leave but I have been going to college off and on for 11 years so it doesn’t bother me like it use to when I withdraw from something.
I don't ask questions because I usually don't know what to ask, or because I genuinely don't have questions. Grade change... but what if they're an insanely strict grader, to the point where if you're asked to define something, and you explain something in your own words, and I don't mean in like a lazy or guessing type of way, but the correction and what you put down is the same thing in different wording? On top of it being a beginner course! It's very unfair, and makes the Professor the kind that drives students away from a major or topic because they literally can't afford, in both their pockets and sanity, to even touch that subject because of the person behind it. (On top of no rubric, mentions, or guides on WHY I couldn't use my own words.) I'm thinking about transferring to another college it's so bad because the person teaching most of my core courses is super tough in the grading for exams! It's not worth staying if I'm miserable the whole time.
Must be a US thing. Doing LLB\Bachelor of Criminal Justice concurrently with a Master of Research (law) and no one from the vice chancellor down goes on with the ideas you have presented. We are all on a first name basis. We are interested in the pursuit of academic knowledge and debate, not on stroking the ego's of professors. However we have very few professors as we follow the UK system where a professor is almost at the top of the pile after a career in academia, not merely a lecturer.
In the US, full time faculty are all professors and they are required to be productive scholars immediately after they are hired. That does change the classroom dynamic a bit compared to the UK and most of the Commonwealth.
Showing respect is not about ego stroking, it is about respect. I am a professor myself and (from my standpoint) it really comes down to treating others as you would like to be treated. That, of course, requires a knowledge of how you would actually like to be treated if you were in the professors shoes. This requires a sense of justice but also empathy. The latter is the characteristic often missing in students.
@@DrForester54 So students are devoid of empathy now. You argument is about demonising students. The difference is the attitude of the academic, not the attitude of the students. One must ask why the UK and its cognates leave the title of professor to those who have had a lifetime in academia and more importantly made significant contributions. It is not about awarding a title on the basis of simple employment within academia as is the case in the US.. Perhaps the differential is more about earing a title which is very rarely used, Indeed my law professor, yes he is a professor in the UK understanding of the word of a Level E academic, whereas if all full time faculty are titled professors that would equate to Level A or the base model. The professor I was talking about is a leading international expert on space law and often advises the UN and other countries on space treaties etc. Today he announced that he was just made an emeritus professor due to his UN workload and we still him Steven. Maybe it is a cultural thing or is title is only really important for those of verbose pomposity? I I do not know what the answer is but one thing I have learnt in both my undergrad and post grad degrees in law is that broad generalisations do not engender competence in cognitive capacity. As a recently retired High Court of Australia Justice said "The synapses of peaceful brains prefer not to be disturbed". He was reflecting on a reversal of a HC decision because the composition of the bench had changed. Something else I noticed as well is those who are full time lecturers who hold no greater academic qualification than and LLB or J.D. tend to suffer from issues of inadequacy. Those holding Ph. D or SJD are the salt of the earth. Perhaps because they have faced head on their failings as a human in their research and understand that is the pursuit of knowledge and not the holding of some lofty title that is paramount. It is even said that if you pursue a Ph.d for the title of Doctor, you are doing it for the wrong reason, perhaps that is analogous to expecting the title of professor at the most base level. However, whatever floats your boat. Blessing and best wishes
@@Kelly-ip8nn Saying that students often lack empathy is hardly a pronouncement that all students are devoid of empathy. Nor is it a general demonization of students. I am willing to have a civilized debate, but do not attempt to put words in my mouth. I spent nearly 10 years earning my degrees, so I know very well what it is like to be a student. The lack of empathy that I refer to is certainly not confined to students anyway. I was unfortunate to have an advisor for one of my graduate degrees that was severely lacking in empathy, support, and just general interest in my success. But, I learned just as much from him as I did from my very best professors, as one must learn how not to be as well as how to be, especially when considering a career as an educator, though at the time I did not yet know that I would become one. Even when I was at my low point and had every justification (in my mind) to lash out, I still did not once disrespect any of my professors. Similarly, I do not disrespect my students and I therefore expect the same courtesy from them. As I said, treat others as you would like to be treated. As far as the professional courtesies go where I am (I am in the U.S.), undergraduates are expected to refer to professors as either Dr. or Professor if they have a Ph.D. With graduate students, it varies, greatly depending on the student and what they are comfortable with. I'm afraid that you kind of went over my head with some of your other comments as my fields are Forestry and Statistics, not Law. I am also not deeply knowledgeable about the higher education system in the UK, so I found what you said to be interesting.
@@DrForester54 i emailed emeritus professor, which in Australia is the highest 'title' you get without being in the admin side and spoke to him about your statements, which I must say were generalised and referred to students as lacking empathy or "most often found in students". The point is this, I would be concerned about the rasion d'etre of any academic who expects students to address them by their title as opposed to the dissemination of knowledge. Oh and by the way the professor said " Steven is just fine"
Here’s a wild concept. Professors need to be developmentally aware and trauma informed. You do NOT get to assume every student has the same brain development. It’s on you the professor before it’s on the student
Some students battle with social anxiety and they are introverted by nature, this is extremely frustrating when a student is constantly pushed to mingle with other students and punished when they are not.
I understand. Though keep in mind that law today is more collaborative, so introverts need to develop new skills to become successful. May be harder for you, but then you will have some advantages over the extrovert.