Gunners!
But really... who DOES that????
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Monday, September 26, 2011
I'm Just a Bill
Studying for Legal Research...
I think if I make it out of this test, I should make my own set of Law Schoolhouse Rock Videos... I'm sure I'd make a killing!!!
I'm trying to change the song a bit to make it helpful in remembering Federal and State Statutes!!!
I think if I make it out of this test, I should make my own set of Law Schoolhouse Rock Videos... I'm sure I'd make a killing!!!
I'm trying to change the song a bit to make it helpful in remembering Federal and State Statutes!!!
Friday, September 23, 2011
VOTE FOR ME! - 1L Section 2 Class Rep!
I'm running for 1L Section 2 Student Bar Association Representative! I would be honored with your vote!
-Special THANKS to Katy for the cheesy poster!
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
The Classhole...
If you are easily offended you shouldn't watch this.
That being said, if you are easily offended, you shouldn't be in law school.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbThUukchws
Enjoy!
**Thanks Katy!
That being said, if you are easily offended, you shouldn't be in law school.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbThUukchws
Enjoy!
**Thanks Katy!
Monday, September 19, 2011
The Sleeper Strikes Back
Mornings get a little more... snoozy...
I'm not going to lie. This morning, I wanted nothing more than to hit the snooze button until well past 1:00 pm. I think that for some reason, the stress level stepped from a 5 to 6 this weekend because after glancing at the calendar, we have two weeks until the Closed Memo is due and a scary three weeks until the dreaded Legal Research Final. We're all starting to feel the heat I suppose.
This brings me back to the sleeper. Perhaps narcolepsy is to blame. If so I feel really bad to saying so, but if you're prone to those drift off sessions, grab a Dr. Pepper or something. That's my drink of choice this morning (more to kick the headache and less for the MUST STAY AWAKE factor). It's 9:45 and we have 30 minutes left. I'm not sure half the class is going to survive.
I'm not going to lie. This morning, I wanted nothing more than to hit the snooze button until well past 1:00 pm. I think that for some reason, the stress level stepped from a 5 to 6 this weekend because after glancing at the calendar, we have two weeks until the Closed Memo is due and a scary three weeks until the dreaded Legal Research Final. We're all starting to feel the heat I suppose.
This brings me back to the sleeper. Perhaps narcolepsy is to blame. If so I feel really bad to saying so, but if you're prone to those drift off sessions, grab a Dr. Pepper or something. That's my drink of choice this morning (more to kick the headache and less for the MUST STAY AWAKE factor). It's 9:45 and we have 30 minutes left. I'm not sure half the class is going to survive.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Is obesity a disability?
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kevinunderhill/2011/09/16/super-sized-customer-sues-white-castle-over-booth-size/
What are your thoughts?
What are your thoughts?
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Do you think she woke up one morning and said: I think I'll go to law school today.
Forgot my headphones at home. I suppose I'll have to really focus in the library today.
It's flashcard season. It's the period of any academic journey in which you think you know enough at this point to start committing it to written, flashcard form. Personally, my flashcards are irritating me. I feel like I know enough to publish my little thoughts onto the flashcard, but then again, do I REALLY?
See, that's the law school doubt. Catholics have their guilt, law students have doubt. Sure there are the basic rules of law, the enigmatic hypos, and scores of definitions. But do you REALLY understand what the big picture is yet?
Not really.
My mentor yesterday made it completely clear to me: They want us to be doubtful. They expect us to be confused.
Luckily, we are beyond the point (at least I am) of taking every word said in class down verbatim. I don't need to write down the cracked out hypo Little Timmy blurted out in class that has no basis in reality. That's not going to be on my exam. Screw you, Little Timmy, and your little hypo. I don't need to synthesize Little Suzie's personal legal problems that she shares with the class and turn them into a complete subsection in my notes, because, as harsh as it sounds, Little Suzie's legal issues are the least of my problems and I just don't care. Just tell me the law and let me write that down.
I've changed the way I take notes and the way I look at studying. I'm starting to get a larger (but not complete) view of the world.
It's flashcard season. It's the period of any academic journey in which you think you know enough at this point to start committing it to written, flashcard form. Personally, my flashcards are irritating me. I feel like I know enough to publish my little thoughts onto the flashcard, but then again, do I REALLY?
See, that's the law school doubt. Catholics have their guilt, law students have doubt. Sure there are the basic rules of law, the enigmatic hypos, and scores of definitions. But do you REALLY understand what the big picture is yet?
Not really.
My mentor yesterday made it completely clear to me: They want us to be doubtful. They expect us to be confused.
Luckily, we are beyond the point (at least I am) of taking every word said in class down verbatim. I don't need to write down the cracked out hypo Little Timmy blurted out in class that has no basis in reality. That's not going to be on my exam. Screw you, Little Timmy, and your little hypo. I don't need to synthesize Little Suzie's personal legal problems that she shares with the class and turn them into a complete subsection in my notes, because, as harsh as it sounds, Little Suzie's legal issues are the least of my problems and I just don't care. Just tell me the law and let me write that down.
I've changed the way I take notes and the way I look at studying. I'm starting to get a larger (but not complete) view of the world.
Professor Kingsfield: You come in here with a skull full of mush and you leave thinking like a lawyer.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
It's who you know.
Nothing beats speaking to people who are on the ground in the legal profession.
Today I met one of my two "mentors" assigned by the fabulous Women's Law Caucus. What a great idea this was! Now I feel that I really have a foot in the door in figuring out what it is I plan to do with my legal education.
Both are in two different environments: academia and private practice. The diversity simply within our conversations is riveting because I feel I'm getting a view of two different and yet completely possible life paths. Now, I don't think my calling is to be a professor, but I do think something about this policy stuff could be a possibility.
On the other hand, I was completely intrigued by my other mentor's discussion about her most recent run for District Court Judge. Granted, she didn't win, but the experiences she shared were exciting.
I don't want to settle on any specific mindset quite yet. I want every bit of diverse experience I can get! Although my thoughts do come back to what I came to law school hoping to do: advocate for a better education system....
I'm hoping my mentors help me to discover more about the legal profession and more about myself in it. I'm also hoping that they can connect me with others that will similarly open new doors. It's who you know, but it's also who knows you.
Today I met one of my two "mentors" assigned by the fabulous Women's Law Caucus. What a great idea this was! Now I feel that I really have a foot in the door in figuring out what it is I plan to do with my legal education.
Both are in two different environments: academia and private practice. The diversity simply within our conversations is riveting because I feel I'm getting a view of two different and yet completely possible life paths. Now, I don't think my calling is to be a professor, but I do think something about this policy stuff could be a possibility.
On the other hand, I was completely intrigued by my other mentor's discussion about her most recent run for District Court Judge. Granted, she didn't win, but the experiences she shared were exciting.
I don't want to settle on any specific mindset quite yet. I want every bit of diverse experience I can get! Although my thoughts do come back to what I came to law school hoping to do: advocate for a better education system....
I'm hoping my mentors help me to discover more about the legal profession and more about myself in it. I'm also hoping that they can connect me with others that will similarly open new doors. It's who you know, but it's also who knows you.
Friday, September 9, 2011
Excuse the Teacher Rant
What teachers really want to tell parents
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/09/06/living/teachers-want-to-tell-parents/index.html?iref=NS1Read it.
If you have children, learn from it.
::Steps on soapbox::
Education is bleeding out all of the excellent educators because of issues this article talks about (PARENTS WHO ARE AFRAID OF THEIR CHILDREN). In order to stop this tragic defeat of the dignity of the teaching profession, we have to empower parents to stand up to their children. When a parent makes excuses, refuses to allow their child to experience the feeling of WRONG, or demonizes the teacher in front of their child they are RUINING their child for life.
I'm not dismissing need for a parent to advocate for their child. Special education students are marginalized even within system made with the intention of ensuring their success (can we say No Child Left Behind and their one size fits all testing?). Students who are treated this way need advocacy but they do not need sheltering.
What's up is down and what's left is right in education today. Be a rebel and be the parent that doesn't swoop in to save the day.
::Then turns to teachers:
Now this doesn't mean that teachers don't have anything to do with this situation. In order for the teaching profession to remain respectable teachers must hold themselves to a higher standard.
I'm sorry, worksheets do not a good teacher make.
We are in the era of technology. We are challenging children who will enter a workplace that will most likely be radically different from our own. I mean seriously, we might lose the Post Office next week! We are training them for jobs that don't exist yet!
Teachers, I know it's difficult, especially when job loss, pay cuts, and a lack of adequate supplies/shelter/etc are breathing down your necks BUT this is the world we live in today. Like everyone else in the country, we've got to pull together and make it work.
What makes a good teacher is someone who realizes the stakes, creates thought-provoking and intellectually challenging experiences that will create lifelong learners, investigators, and philosophers, not mechanized form filler-outers or multiple-choice guessers.
Education is all our problem, collectively and it is not going to get any better until we realize it has to be done together.
::Gets off soapbox::
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Braving the elements... One floor makes a difference
INVESTMENT:
A jacket
INVESTMENT:
Comfy flats (sorry guys... you might have to find something similar)
MISSION:
Layers... oh so many layers.
This week we've been lucky enough to have a preview of LOVELY fall weather. Well, the fact that it is cooler is just about the only thing LOVELY about it. Rain, rain, and more rain may count to a degree, but that really has very little to do with the atmospheric changes here at the law school.
We are in weather purgatory. It's cool outside, so we think heating might be a good idea. But then again, there's the chance, because we live in Kentucky, that it could be 100 degrees next week, so we want to make sure the air conditioning is prepped should we need a rescue from the oppressive heat. What results is dicey weather within the law school.
As we all remember in undergrad, there is usually no telling what kind of classroom temperature you will encounter upon entering. Maybe today, tropical. Maybe tomorrow, arctic. It's an adventure. Difference being, in undergrad you could get away with a little snooze if the room should get a little warm and you happened to have an 8 am class (ok, more so my evening graduate program and less Centre). Or, if you went to one of those larger state schools, your presence was "optional" and you making it to class was about as predictable as whether or not it rains in Louisville during the month of May.
Ok, DIFFERENT in law school. Take today for example.
Lower level = burning sauna of doom
1st floor = arctic tundra
Hallway/Lunchroom = temperate
Library = Boston ice storm
Not only do you have to travel between these rooms, but, like any 8 hour job, you live in these rooms from the time you arrive to the time you set out to your own home-made climate. Also, like any 8 hour job, you're expected to show up AND be a productive member of society. Thankfully, we are still at the point where we are still too paranoid about being called on, forcing the slightest glimpse of nap time to be quickly dismissed as just plain "stupid." Refer to image 1 The Sleeper
So in preparation for the new weather (remember, this whole fall thing is new to me.... I'm used to 2 seasons and that's it!) time to realize that you WILL be uncomfortable.
A jacket
INVESTMENT:
Comfy flats (sorry guys... you might have to find something similar)
MISSION:
Layers... oh so many layers.
This week we've been lucky enough to have a preview of LOVELY fall weather. Well, the fact that it is cooler is just about the only thing LOVELY about it. Rain, rain, and more rain may count to a degree, but that really has very little to do with the atmospheric changes here at the law school.
We are in weather purgatory. It's cool outside, so we think heating might be a good idea. But then again, there's the chance, because we live in Kentucky, that it could be 100 degrees next week, so we want to make sure the air conditioning is prepped should we need a rescue from the oppressive heat. What results is dicey weather within the law school.
As we all remember in undergrad, there is usually no telling what kind of classroom temperature you will encounter upon entering. Maybe today, tropical. Maybe tomorrow, arctic. It's an adventure. Difference being, in undergrad you could get away with a little snooze if the room should get a little warm and you happened to have an 8 am class (ok, more so my evening graduate program and less Centre). Or, if you went to one of those larger state schools, your presence was "optional" and you making it to class was about as predictable as whether or not it rains in Louisville during the month of May.
Ok, DIFFERENT in law school. Take today for example.
Lower level = burning sauna of doom
1st floor = arctic tundra
Hallway/Lunchroom = temperate
Library = Boston ice storm
Not only do you have to travel between these rooms, but, like any 8 hour job, you live in these rooms from the time you arrive to the time you set out to your own home-made climate. Also, like any 8 hour job, you're expected to show up AND be a productive member of society. Thankfully, we are still at the point where we are still too paranoid about being called on, forcing the slightest glimpse of nap time to be quickly dismissed as just plain "stupid." Refer to image 1 The Sleeper
So in preparation for the new weather (remember, this whole fall thing is new to me.... I'm used to 2 seasons and that's it!) time to realize that you WILL be uncomfortable.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Invisibility in Law School
There's an amazing super power law students acquire as soon as they take the honor code pledge. Some may believe it is the power to see through lies (Morgan's kids) but really, it's the power of invisibility.
WELL... at least in our minds we are invisible.
For some reason, we have the ability to be completely anonymous in a crowded classroom. The only individuals who can see through this are the all knowing professors. They have the ability to see through the invisibility shield, making it absolutely impossible for any slouching, cell phone checking, and sleeping to occur. Well, sometimes at least.
Some professors might not have acquired this ability just yet. Or, instead, perhaps this is part of their plan. They know that if you don't pay attention or choose to "zone out" they might have the upper hand in the end.
The invisibility power is another symptom of getting way too comfortable. The most recent example? Reading AND briefing Contracts in Legal Research WHILE sitting in the front row. WOW.
WELL... at least in our minds we are invisible.
For some reason, we have the ability to be completely anonymous in a crowded classroom. The only individuals who can see through this are the all knowing professors. They have the ability to see through the invisibility shield, making it absolutely impossible for any slouching, cell phone checking, and sleeping to occur. Well, sometimes at least.
Some professors might not have acquired this ability just yet. Or, instead, perhaps this is part of their plan. They know that if you don't pay attention or choose to "zone out" they might have the upper hand in the end.
The invisibility power is another symptom of getting way too comfortable. The most recent example? Reading AND briefing Contracts in Legal Research WHILE sitting in the front row. WOW.
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