Law Commons^™

As A Last Resort, Ask The Students: What They Say Makes Someone An Effective Law Teacher, James B. Levy

Maine Law Review

There is an adage among doctors that “as a last resort, ask the patient.” It is a not so facetious reference to the observation that because doctors are so highly educated and trained, they can start to believe they know what’s best for their patients better than the patients themselves. Consequently, these doctors may discount, or altogether ignore, the opinions of the very people they are suppose to be helping. The same observation could be made about the law professor-student relationship. Unlike doctors, though, our relationship with students is hierarchical, and thus we may be even less inclined to “ask …