There's 2 "schools" of thought regarding class attendance in law school, and I'm sure these 2 philosophies are not just unique to law school:
1. Attend every class as if it's your last. Go to class if you're sick. Go to class if you haven't done the reading. Schedule interviews around class. Do whatever you can to get to class, barring family emergency or death ( a little extreme, but seriously).
And then the polar opposite:
2. Don't attend class. Learn the topic on your own. Only go if the professor gives points for attendance. Grab the syllabus on the first day ( or just get a copy from a classmate) and learn everything on your own. Show up on the day of the final exam, take the exam, be done with the class.
This is like politics in law school, like if #1 was the liberal thought and #2 was the conservative thought. Everyone has a philosophy on the spectrum, some are extreme non-attendees, some are extreme attendees. And there's not a huge correlation with grades.... I know people in #1 who are at the head of the class, and others who haven't done as well. Same thing w/ #2..... there's the famous legend at every school of the student who never shows up to class until the last daywith everyone wondering who that guy is, only to later find out that was the perons who aced the class. That legend has lived up to its hype in our particular law school class......we have a
few of those. And everybody else lies within those 2 extremes, with "moderates" and "attend-leaners."
What do I adhere to? Everything that I've been taught in my life guides me towards philosophy #1. Elementary school, middle school, high school, you're stuck in school. You have nowhere else to go. The teacher takes attendance. At home, my parents want me to be at school, go to every class, no excuses. Class is the holy trinity of learning: you go and you learn, period. So I'm very much a #1, go when I can, skip only if I have something else going on or really can't make it. (And even then I get the notes from somebody).
But is that school of thought outdated? I mean, I can see what people in #2 say: A lot of times, teachers go over topics that you've already learned from the reading for that day; the teacher sometimes goes off on tangents, there's a lot of material that won't be on the exam, and honestly won't be applicable in any situation you EVER encounter in life. Class time, non-attendees argue, can be used better by studying on your own... you learn at your own pace, you have no distractions, it's more efficient.
I can only speak for myself. For me, going to class FORCES me to learn. A lot of times, #2's will SAY they're gonna study during that time, but end up playing online poker instead. ( Who wouldn't?) For me, I have to be in that learning atmosphere, with the professor at the front as the scholarly demagogue and me taking down notes and trying to absorb everything. To me, the classroom setting is a necessary component of the learning process: You read something once, you absorb some of it; you hear it from a professor; that's another component of it; and you put all the information together in an outline; that's the last component to learning all the information. Class is important to know what the professor thinks is important; the stuff that he/she emphasizes, that is talked about in-depth. And sometimes, professors will even make you laugh a bit (it's law school humor, so it's at a lower standard, but still......... )
So even though I'm a third year law student, and grades don't really matter as much anymore, and my main focus should be on finding a job post-graduation, and it's probably the last year ever I will be in school full-time, I will still attend class.....because that's my philosophy. I gotta stick with it.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
1. Attend every class as if it's your last. Go to class if you're sick. Go to class if you haven't done the reading. Schedule interviews around class. Do whatever you can to get to class, barring family emergency or death ( a little extreme, but seriously).
And then the polar opposite:
2. Don't attend class. Learn the topic on your own. Only go if the professor gives points for attendance. Grab the syllabus on the first day ( or just get a copy from a classmate) and learn everything on your own. Show up on the day of the final exam, take the exam, be done with the class.
This is like politics in law school, like if #1 was the liberal thought and #2 was the conservative thought. Everyone has a philosophy on the spectrum, some are extreme non-attendees, some are extreme attendees. And there's not a huge correlation with grades.... I know people in #1 who are at the head of the class, and others who haven't done as well. Same thing w/ #2..... there's the famous legend at every school of the student who never shows up to class until the last daywith everyone wondering who that guy is, only to later find out that was the perons who aced the class. That legend has lived up to its hype in our particular law school class......we have a
few of those. And everybody else lies within those 2 extremes, with "moderates" and "attend-leaners."
What do I adhere to? Everything that I've been taught in my life guides me towards philosophy #1. Elementary school, middle school, high school, you're stuck in school. You have nowhere else to go. The teacher takes attendance. At home, my parents want me to be at school, go to every class, no excuses. Class is the holy trinity of learning: you go and you learn, period. So I'm very much a #1, go when I can, skip only if I have something else going on or really can't make it. (And even then I get the notes from somebody).
But is that school of thought outdated? I mean, I can see what people in #2 say: A lot of times, teachers go over topics that you've already learned from the reading for that day; the teacher sometimes goes off on tangents, there's a lot of material that won't be on the exam, and honestly won't be applicable in any situation you EVER encounter in life. Class time, non-attendees argue, can be used better by studying on your own... you learn at your own pace, you have no distractions, it's more efficient.
I can only speak for myself. For me, going to class FORCES me to learn. A lot of times, #2's will SAY they're gonna study during that time, but end up playing online poker instead. ( Who wouldn't?) For me, I have to be in that learning atmosphere, with the professor at the front as the scholarly demagogue and me taking down notes and trying to absorb everything. To me, the classroom setting is a necessary component of the learning process: You read something once, you absorb some of it; you hear it from a professor; that's another component of it; and you put all the information together in an outline; that's the last component to learning all the information. Class is important to know what the professor thinks is important; the stuff that he/she emphasizes, that is talked about in-depth. And sometimes, professors will even make you laugh a bit (it's law school humor, so it's at a lower standard, but still......... )
So even though I'm a third year law student, and grades don't really matter as much anymore, and my main focus should be on finding a job post-graduation, and it's probably the last year ever I will be in school full-time, I will still attend class.....because that's my philosophy. I gotta stick with it.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
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