Anxiety All Around
I’m still mystified by the whole Law School Mystique and the worry and fear that so many students have. – because I’m just not feeling it. I’ve heard plenty about it, though. Am I overly confident and naive? Or rather, well-prepared and in possession of a balanced attitude? Here are a couple of quotes from the PLS II list that show what I’m talking about:
So it’s beginning, everything I’ve been warned about is definitely in full effect. I am not dealing with it too well! I have been trying to keep to myself, but classmates keep wanting to know what I studied, did I read ahead like them? Did I brief ahead like them? What I thought of the professor’s lecture, etc. [...] Well my problem is that for 2 of my classes I apparently get points for participation. Today kind of scared me because they were talking about the case book notes and their version of a brief (which is extremely long and in my opinion contains a lot of irrelevant information) . I also made the big mistake, (I know, HUGE) of telling a 2L that I am trying the PLS method. We bonded and she brought it up so I thought maybe she did it, but she said that she got too overwhelmed with reading cases and briefing and there was no time for “supplements. ” She went on to advise me to stay away from supplements and to go by what the professor said. She said that sticking to the syllabus and doing old exams I could do really well. The amount of work is insane, to read a case takes forever because everything is hidden, by the time you are done you have no idea what you read…never mind black letter law! Any advice/thoughts? I am in panic mode.
Here’s Atticus’s reply, emphasis mine.
You remember how, when you were a teenager, you’d go to a horror movie, or a thriller, and you’d be really, really, scared—and you’d tell yourself “It’s only a movie”?
Well, try something like that now. These people have perfected the art of getting first-year students to panic, freak out, etc. It’s part of the sick game they play. [...]
Of course, none of these things is to be dismissed. But neither is any of them the overwhelming, imminent threat it’s made out to be. In short: get a grip. [...]
You’re the willing victim of what you KNOW is a con game, Christina.
Wow. There so much paranoia, pessimism and anxiety here. It’s hard to believe that this is merited. However, I do understand a lot of the reasoning for feeling this way. I’m looking forward to the start of my 1L year at my school that proclaims to be “different” (ie., better).
Erik said,
August 25, 2007 at 9:09 pm
Atticus’ comment, and your emphasis are right on the money, imho.
Indeed, there is an entire industry built around stoking FUD in law students. The fear, uncertainty and doubt approach sells well, particularly with students who haven’t had much experience in the workplace.
After you’ve dealt with office politics, the perils of hiring and firing cycles, impossible deadlines, and all the other rigors of the workplace, exams aren’t such a big deal.
That said, the manner in which grades segregate the “excellent” from the “good” and the “mediocre” students has distracted me at times. I rebel at the ludicrousness of judging someone’s potential abilities as a lawyer almost completely on the basis of end of the semester exams, but that’s how law school is configured.
My belief is that the legal profession at present is set up primarily to segregate lawyers into a pecking order, and secondarily to teach the law. It is no wonder that so many students get freaked out.