Why Dive?

As the temperatures drop at this time of year in Wisconsin, my thoughts turn to diving in the Caribbean.

Scuba diving is my family’s hobby, and we have dived (and snorkeled) throughout the Caribbean. I have seen almost anything imaginable on dives except for sharks. I know (and actually hope) they are there, swimming at the edge of the reef, but I haven’t been fortunate to see one yet.

My favorite animal to spot is a ray. The eagle rays look like birds soaring through the water. Once I came close to a barracuda. In my excitement I forgot to back away and had to be pulled back. Another time our boat came upon a pod of dolphins that jumped and raced with the boat.

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Stephen King on Writing

A few years ago, my student Nick Martinez recommended Stephen King’s book On Writing to our legal writing class. I read the book cover to cover in almost one sitting, and since then I have read passages out loud to anyone who will listen. Nick and I discuss here what we learned about writing from the master of horror. 

NM: Stephen King wrote On Writing as a tool for budding writers to use in their exploits in constructing fiction, but the book’s wisdom translates to all forms of writing. I first read this book for fun, hoping just a little that it would also bolster my creative talents.

It wasn’t until I was fully immersed in the world of legal writing that I discovered myself using the very same fiction writing tricks set forth by King. King takes time to describe the most common and fundamental ingredients in all types of writing, such as proper word choice and sentence structure. By mixing in the anecdotal flavor of his own life, King succeeds in conveying these techniques in a clear and practical manner rarely seen in writing guides. King shares an entire “toolbox” of useful tricks.

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Assessing Law Students’ Learning

Yesterday we were fortunate to have Professor Sophie Sparrow of the University of New Hampshire School of Law speak to the law school faculty. Professor Sparrow’s talk was entitled “What Have They Learned? Assessing Law Students.”

Professor Sparrow began by noting that the term assessment has multiple meanings. Among other definitions, assessment can be a deep approach to learning and the process of feedback, or it can be the instrument or evidence of teaching.

Regardless of how assessment is defined (and Professor Sparrow recommends not getting too bogged down in the specific vocabulary), the key to assessment is to make it sustainable and to embed assessment in what is already happening in the class.

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