Law Students Disclose Classroom Participation Strategies

I know I've frequently mentioned the fear of getting called on in class. The situation can be pretty intense--particularly in the first year when you're most worried about looking like a dumb ass. Anyhoo, I was delighted to find this post by fellow blawgger Buffalo Wings & Vodka, entitled A Brief Taxonomy of Classroom Participation Strategies. (Thanks, Buster).

I am definitely a proponent of the preemptive strike--volunteer for a softball right up front to avoid getting nailed later. But sometimes you get called on cold, and you just have to go for it. This is when I use the strategy I like to call "I think the Judge said it best." I invented it when I got called on all the time in Con Law last year. What you do is, when the professor asks the question, cock your head slightly as if in thought, maybe furrow your brow a bit, and flip discretely through the casebook pages until you find something, anything, you may have underlined (If you haven't read, scan frantically for words like "We turn first to..." or "We have recognized..." or "Several factors..."). Then, flip to the front of the case to find the name of the judge who wrote the opinion. Above all, attempt to maintain a look of complete calm, as though you were in fact expecting the question and had your answer planned since last night. When the prof is finished asking the question, give a short nod of understanding, and say, "Sure. I belive Justice Marshall was addressing that issue at page 414 when he said...well, let me just go ahead and read it: (Quote passage with conviction, as though you know exactly what is coming out of your mouth. Don't stop reading until you understand what you are saying. Might be a paragraph or so--if this is the first time you've looked at the case, you may need to read for awhile.)." Now, sometimes this will work, or at least get the prof distracted enough to call on someone else. Sometimes you will receive a perplexed look, and the Prof will say, "OK, why don't you go ahead and flesh that out for us?" Shit! But now you have a few options. One, dive in and attempt to explain the passage you just read (because you kept reading until you understood it, right?). Two, admit that you're a bit perplexed by it, despite the fact that you had obviously given it a lot of thought (after all, you found the exact passage that addressed the issue, right?). Or, Third, throw the "Help Me" eyes to a friend (in my case, Geoff), who is probably turned around and snickering at you, and hope he raises a hand to bail you out, then ask the prof if you can call for co-counsel. The point of "The Judge said it best" strategy is not to look smart (clearly, that doesn't work for me) but to at least look like you've grappled with the case a bit.

Now, I will admit that there was one extreme situation last semester where I sensed the Prof was getting ready to turn her gaze in my direction, so I feigned a little coughing fit and left the room. I'm not proud of that. But, hell. It was an emergency.