Legal Commentary

The Times has an article on the attitudes of college students that if they put in the time and real effort in class (doing all the read, showing up for class), they should get at least a B, regardless of the quality of their papers or exams. A recent study found that 1/3 thought showing up for every class was sufficient for a B and 40 % thought doing the reading (presumably while also showing up) was enough.

A keeper quote from a senior at the University of Maryland:

If you put in all the effort you have and get a C, what is the point? . . . .If someone goes to every class and reads every chapter in the book and does everything the teacher asks of them and more, then they should be getting an A like their effort deserves. If your maximum effort can only be average in a teacher?s mind, then something is wrong.

The story deals with undergrads, but surely the same attitudes have or soon will trickle into law schools. Apparently, the legal writing listserv has been talking about this all day today, with one commentator capturing the issue as it relates to law school: "I think putting in a lot of effort should merit not getting sued for malpractice. What else is there really than the effort that you put in?"

I have not yet had a student dispute a final grade on these grounds. But I have had a student demand to know why he received no credit for class participation (which is worth 10 % of the final grade) when he was in class and prepared every day--but never spoke once the entire semester. He did not quite seem to understand that a) you don't get credit for showing up, since that is the independently required as part of the class; b) it's not entirely clear that you "participated" in class if you never actually, you know, participate; and c) even if doing the reading were enough, how am I supposed to know that you've done the reading if you never speak.