Sunday, December 13, 2009

Sunday studying....


Well...the first four days of this week are going to be very difficult for me!

Today I spentwith a friend from school, finishing up our immigration outlines.
I really want to practice in immigration law... but the class was disappointing... I guess I could say that about quite a few classes that I have had... yes you read cases... yes you learn some code... but overall, it's not stuff you would need to have in your arsenal for day to day usage... of course it is simply to touch on the subject... but still... seems like there would be more too it.

Of course, I suppose again that this is where internships/externships come in... (still havnt figured out the different in those terms though...) but, apparently I am not a very good candidate for employment as a law student... even though I am more than thrilled to work for free...
Last summer... I applied for around 10 positions... no call backs... for January - May 10, I put in 3 applications... no call backs... so... over the winter break I will begin to write those wonderful cover letters so that I may get someone to allow me to get some real-life experience over next summer. I really wish law school was like my apprenticeship... where the "work" took preference over the "books". All the book knowledge in the world isnt gonna make me an attorney. Only doing real life work and "playing" attorney will create an attorney.

Same with exams...
I get immigration law...
I've been through it 4 times now!
However, I will probably not get higher than a C on my exam...simply because I will not "write" what the professor will want. See.. not good enough that you give the correct answer.. you must elaborate... you must then elaborate why the wrong answers are wrong... and if you elaborate wrongly...well...then the answer is incorrect. While I feel my writing skills are strong... in the world of law... my writing skills suck... especially on exams.... Yes... once again... this is where real life writing will make one a better writer... the two writing classes I have had just have not been enough.

I will also have my torts exam this week.... actually immigration and torts are both on Tuesday. Both outlines are complete...but torts is a completely closed exam... no book, no notes, no nothing. Oh...and for extra fun... I have to WRITE! My writing is horrible!!! Seriously... I grew up in the age of computers... I havnt really had to write anything since elementary school... typing... sure I can type for 3 hours...but to write for three hours... my hand is going numb just thinking bout it... oh...and the prof has to be able to read it... oops!

Thursday will be my last exam this term... Labor law... what could also be my bread and butter... I've lived labor law being in the UAW for 11 years... being a child of a 45 year UAW member... growing up in a UAW family.... I've had other history of labor classes.... I know the Taft-Hartly act... even without the class... I knew what the NLRB and the NLRA was... but still... until once actually gets in the trenches... it's all just reading and reciting... reading and reciting... not so much memorization... cuz really... there isnt much memorization in law school... more like knowing the lines of the case holdings and being able to analyze...and then use the code and the case to back it up.

Thursday evening... I can breathe a sigh of relief... enjoy my vacation... and wait for my next classes to begin... wont see my grades till Jan or so.... so at least they wont ruin my vacay... *laughs* I'm ok being an average student... really... I have so much more life experience... that in real life should count for something...

Well... now that I have talked bout my outlining and exams... I must get back to them....
fun, fun, fun.

2 comments:

Gardenia said...

I found that even when it is not open book, you should make an outline. make a one-page outline -- no more than one page -- and study study study that one page. then when you are in the exam, you have a visual memory of the outline in your head, and your answer is right there in your memory. worked for me anyway. good luck. soon it'll be over!

veggiemom said...

Sending good thoughts your way. Sadly, I think many programs are like law school in that they don't really seem to prepare you much for life in that profession.