Legal Commentary

At some point in the last few weeks, most of us have taught our first class of the semester, so I guess that now is as good a time as any to ask: How much teaching do you do in your first class? After introducing myself and the material, I do a full class session. One reason is so that students can see what the class is all about on the first day and make the decision to keep or drop the class with minimal collateral consequences. Another reason is that I don't like to test material from the last week of my classes. Most of my classes are twice a week, so not teaching during the first class would mean that 3/28 classes wouldn't have testable material. Of course, there are arguments against teaching or teaching a full class session on the first day of class. Upper level students are still shaking off the rust from the summer and might not be ready to process much of substance during the first day. For 1Ls, law school is a completely new experience, and it might make sense to ease them into law school rather than assaulting them with minimum contacts and the act requirement on the first day of law school.

So, what do you do and why? (And if you are a student or non-teaching law school graduate, what do or did you prefer?) You can respond by answering the following poll and/or leaving a comment. For purposes of the poll, assume that the class meets more than once a week.

-Colin Miller