Osler's Razor

There are good, bad, and middling days as a teacher. Believe me, too, we know it when things go well or we have a clunker of a day.

Yesterday's class in Oral Advocacy was a good one. I teach the class with one of my true heroes, Hulitt Gloer. We don't really plan it out too much-- I do a short introduction, he lectures on the material (this week, from Aristotle's On Rhetoric), and then I give a reaction which ties the ideas he has introduced to legal practice in its various manifestations. It's a risky structure, and requires a lot of trust between the two of us.

Sometimes, though, it really works, and I think yesterday was one of those days. We discussed the idea of logos in argument, and Hulitt laid down quite a challenge with the level of his discussion. At the last minute I ditched what I planned to say, and chose to apply his advice to a single hypothetical case. It flowed, and felt great. I love teaching, especially on a day like that.

If you would like to see a glimpse of the class, check out the class blog, where the students lay down their thoughts each week (go down one post to get this week's reflections).