Learning is generally hard, sometimes painful, and usually annoying. I was reminded of the many states of learning this winter when I took a ski trip for the first time. A few former students warned me that trying skiing later in life would probably hurt for days. I took their "warning" (read insult) as a challenge that I would learn it with minimal injury.
I began my journey by learning how to put the skis on, then only using one ski to skate around. The instruction seemed extremely rudimentary. I am not a world-class athlete, but I played enough sports in my life to have both skis on. Of course, I fell right after putting them both on. I progressed to the magic carpet and enjoyed the learning area. I couldn't turn very well the first morning, but I could snow plow my way down. That afternoon, my turns got much better. I thought I was ready for the wide open, steeper practice area. I rode the ski lift the short distance to the slightly higher practice area. I proceeded to tumble out of the chair and narrowly missed getting hit by it as it continued around. I started down the slope, and my assessment of my new turning ability was wrong. I nearly took out a family member at close to full speed before falling. One more fall with a few more turns, and I was at the bottom of the slope. That afternoon and the next morning, I kept practicing. I could make it out of the chair and down the slope without falling. I could ski back and forth with reasonable turns. By the afternoon of the second day, I thought I was ready for the real slopes. I attempted the "easiest way down" trail. I was terrified once I got on the trail and thought I was going to fly off the side of the mountain. I fell more times on the trail than the entire rest of the trip. My last fall was so hard, I lost a ski and thought I tore every ligament in my knees. I laid on the snow for a while on that one. My kids saw it and weren't sure I was getting up. I finally got up and made it the rest of the way. It hurt, but not for the number of days my students predicted (I believe my knees are fine). I counted it as a success.
My experience is similar to law school for many students. The instruction seems rudimentary. They were all highly successful in undergrad. They heard it was difficult, but they didn't believe it would be that difficult for them. The horror stories must be about other law students. They even found reassurance in initial classes because they were finding the right facts and coming up with the holding in early Torts cases. Things get progressively harder, but everything seems manageable. Then the first LRW assignment or midterm comes back. The first fall is hard, but most of them get back up. They learn from the midterm and start to see progress. The final exam then happens and many of them fall hard. The pain may not be physical, but the impact to self-esteem is just as real. The goal is to help them see the success and get back to practice. That is difficult after an extremely hard fall.
I knew law school is hard, but my experience provided a window into how some of my students feel. I hope it produces even more empathy within me to continue to try to reach students. We should all try new things to experience the difficulty our students face each semester.
(Steven Foster)
