Still not easy, but it is better on Zoom
In my early school years, I often spoke up in class, yet I was never a fan of cold calling. I wanted to speak only when I felt like it, so I went out of my way to avoid getting cold-called. When I was in middle school in China, my English teacher asked everyone to pick an English name at the beginning of the term. She explained that she would call us in class with English names, to encourage us to speak English more naturally. I went back home, pulled out a dictionary of names, and searched for a name that looked long and tricky to pronounce. I came across “Jacqueline.” The name sounded nice to me, and I was pretty confident that the “que” spelling would confuse my Chinese English teacher, thereby reducing my chance of being called in class. The result? I never got cold-called for a whole year. And the name “Jacqueline” has stayed with me since then. I quite like it, and it has become a part of my identity.
I see cold-calling as a device to garner students’ attention using fear. Students remain on edge because they never know when it will be their turn, and fear humiliation because it is difficult to feel fully prepared. While cold calling may give the student an incentive to study harder, the incentive is fueled by negative emotions.
Cold calling at law school is nerve-racking, especially when I just started out and was fumbling to figure out what the law is. In Legal Methods, I took very detailed notes, just to be assured that I had something to say when I was called in class. The physically distanced classroom made cold-calling more daunting. I had to shout through my mask so that people scattered around a lecture hall could hear me. The faceless gazes from all over the classroom made me nervous too, even though other people couldn’t see my face either.
Being cold-called is not pleasant, and worrying about it makes the classroom experience less enjoyable. In that sense, cold-calling is a problematic teaching device, and maybe an outdated one. Learning that truly promotes personal development shouldn’t be motivated by fear.
On the flip side, I believe that there are merits for involuntary classroom participation. Speaking when I am prepared is great, but it is also good to be asked unexpected questions and be forced to think on the spot. Life will throw you curveballs and among them, being cold-called in class is one with low stakes. If anything, the pandemic and online learning may make for a more empathetic environment. There is no guarantee of stable internet connection, and you may be frozen at any time, so a slightly belated response is within expectations. It is also easier to pretend that the gazes from around the classroom does not exist — with the hope that people all turn on their gallery views.
The pandemic brings out a widely shared appreciation of the difficulties of studying law, and makes it more understandable if students are not up for classroom challenges. This is a difficult time, but also a good time for trial and error.
