Standing in Crim Law

There is no syllabus day in law school. The reading assignments are posted the week prior to the first week, so a large portion of my last weekend was dedicated for reading for Monday. This year, the only new class that I have is Criminal Law, in the place of Torts. So Monday, come 1:30pm, the class that will teach me about murder and manslaughter, among other things, commences. Everything is going fine. A few people have been called on to discuss various aspects of the reading. They seem nervous, after all not having a knowledge of the professor's teaching methods is a disadvantage, but I don't think much of it. Really, what are the chance of me being called on in a class of 100 on the very first day? Well, whatever that percentage, I hit the jackpot.

I don't mind being called on in class. I am not particularly strong at public speaking, however, I would not consider myself bad at it. And I'm usually prepared, thus aiding my public speaking ability. But really, the first day of class. Now that's a little intimidating. And, in this class, we have to stand when we speak. It makes it just awkward, bobbing up and down as you are trying to read your computer screen with your notes and flipping back and forth in your book. It's especially awkward when the professor would go into a tangent of her own, leaving you just standing there, shifting from foot to foot wondering when in the hell you can sit down. I mean, are you suppose to wait for her to give you permission to sit or should you choose the time after she's gone on into a 20 minute story about her father being a Republican?

I understand that they theory behind the so-called Socratic Method is to prepare us for the "real world" (which is a very vague, over-used term that has no definite meaning or definition). One professor told our class that when we argue a case before a judge and he calls us stupid for our argument, it won't bother us because we've endured three years of stupidity in law school from being called on. Whatever the rationale, if I am ever a law school professor, I will not make my students stand when I call on them. That is what I learned the first day of Crim Law.