Orientation Week: A Teaching Experience

Aron Nimani

Yona Gal (1L)

“What are the facts of the case?”

Was the professor talking to me? Well, he did say my name.

As I sat in my first law school class squinting at my classmate’s brief, I wondered what the facts of the case were.

“I am referring to Mustapha v. Culligan. What are the facts?”

Everyone in the room was silently staring at me as if I was the professor. But not only was I not the professor, I was starting to dislike his habit of calling on people to provide information he should know himself.

I decided to share the facts of the case with the professor. But then he wanted the issue.

The issue? He didn’t know the issue either? Didn’t he prepare for his first class?

So I told him the issue, but he wasn’t satisfied. Apparently, he wanted me to do his job for him.

But I wasn’t in class to do his job! I was there to check my Facebook newsfeed… like everyone else.

Later, when I was finished teaching the class about Mustapha, I reflected on my odd professor and his clumsy teaching approach. “Should I email him the readings the night before class? No. I couldn’t guarantee that he would read them. Should I send him my brief? Wait, I don’t have a brief. Should I share my classmate’s brief with him?”

In the end I decided to just do his job for him. After all, that’s what friends are for. And we were friends, at least according to Facebook.

Those are the facts.

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