#one of my prof posts the discussion & lectures on THURSDAYS of all days

[agenderhyde]

bored and tired, but really don’t want to fall further behind 🙃

[landwriter]

oh menacing writer of the land, I bow to thee. forgive me for my intrusion, for I come to you with great reverence. might I be granted with the holy scripture of the musician!dream x professor hob au? I bring an offering of information on touring, musician life + music industry insight, should you so graciously answer my prayers 🙏

a handsome gift! the least I can offer is more twitter beef au!! most of this was written right in my tumblr drafts when I was still labouring under the delusion that was I was doing could be called "describe the fic you would write" - hob learns about The Diss Track. in his introduction to english lit class:

On Thursday morning, Hob is walking to his lecture, wearing his one sweatervest, because he can, thank you very much. Morpheus hadn't posted in over a day, and he supposes that's just the speed of the internet, and their little battle of wits is over. When he gets into the hall and sets his bag down, every single one of his students looks up at once. And several young people who - who are not even his students, he thinks.

"Right, hello class. Good to see you all here and keen on our last lecture before winter break. And welcome to the new faces as well. I can only assume you're here because of your interest in Marlowe."

"Oh my god," someone says at the back, loud enough for Hob to hear. "He's wearing the vest." He firmly reminds himself this is exactly what he wanted.

Amanda, who sits at the front and always does the readings, raises her hand. Hob calls on her in relief.

"Uh. Professor. We love Marlowe. But haven't you seen it yet?"

Hob had forgotten to silence his phone and it's started buzzing. He ignores it.

"Seen what," he says, very levelly. Smiling firmly. Not at all panicking. Ignoring his students' exchanged glances.

"The song."

"It's a diss track," says another student.

"Sorry, yeah, the diss track."

The entire lecture hall is faintly vibrating with anticipation.

"Is there swearing?" he asks, "I mean, more than I do in class. Anything particularly offensive?"

"No, professor," she says, understanding immediately.

"Well, I suspect I'll find it pretty quickly if I check my phone just now, and that only half of you are here for Marlowe anyways, so let's just put it on, shall we?"

Some kids actually cheer. "Enough of that," he says, "We're going to have a rigorous academic discussion about it afterwards." Then, because he cannot and will not help himself, he adds, "Presuming, of course, there is sufficient subject matter to engage with."

He pulls out his phone and fails utterly to hide his grin at the chorus of ooohs. Someone in the back actually shouts, "Get him, professor!"

Sure enough, the same video has been sent to him half a dozen times. He pulls it up, gets it displayed on the lecture hall's screen, and presses play.

“Alright,” he says. “Let’s see what all this fuss is all about.”

He has enough professional goodwill from years of teaching to do this kind of stupid thing, and it's nice to cash it in, sometimes. He likes to be the cool professor when he can. Even in a sweatervest.

He leans back against the lectern to watch. It's not Morpheus on screen, but a woman that Hob distantly recognizes. She's gorgeous, and apparently, given the rapturous whispers behind him, also at least a little famous. She's surrounded by takeaway containers, fiddling with her phone until music starts playing. "Good job, baby brother." She takes a sip of her beer and then wipes her mouth, and grins brightly right at the camera. "This one's for you, prof," she says, laughing.

Afterwards, the entire lecture hall is silent. Hob is silent.

"Holy shit," says a student, and Hob turns around, face burning. "She murdered you."

Hob gathers himself. He feels a little dizzy. It might low blood sugar. Or love.

"Indeed. Right. Well. Certainly a lot to unpack there." His hands are a little sweaty. It's definitely love. "This isn’t a classics class, but I know some of you are classics students and would be happy to educate us, so let’s start with that parallel made right at the start between the Lotophagi - that’s the lotus-eaters from The Odyssey - and the concept of academia as an ivory tower. Who wants to talk about that?"

Five different hands shoot up. "Wow. Okay, okay," he laughs. "Tristan, start us off."

In the next 80 minutes, he hardly gets a word in edgewise. He is, absolutely gloriously, playing discussion moderator instead of lecturer. Hob knows, feels it in his gut even now, that he will look back on this as one of the best classes he’s ever held. Students are twisting around in their chairs to engage with each other.

It is, he thinks, absolutely worth a bit of murdering.

[whentherewerebicycles]

I am soooooo sleepy still but god I feel so much better physically and emotionally. the swelling isn’t totally gone but it’s not as noticeable and it doesn’t hurt anymore so massive improvement over the last couple days. I have a feeling the anxiety will come creeping back in as it always does but I’m going to try to really savor the post-healthy scan reprieve and I hope that the next time it surges I’ll be better equipped to handle it (more data, therapy, etc).

I also feel better having gotten through that workshop! there was a small group of boys in the back who talked through the entire thing—I was kinda shocked the prof whose class I was visiting didn’t say anything to them?—so I had to do a lot more classroom management than you typically have to do in a college class, but idk when I sat down with them in small groups and facilitated the activity they did a decent job with it. the other two groups (all girls lol) were super engaged and had a great discussion. so whatever lol. I get the sense that students here are very used to being talked at and then when they do small group activities some of them view that as like, well the teaching has stopped so I can do whatever I want now as this obviously doesn’t matter. but it was fun to think on the drive home about how I would tackle that challenge if I was their long-term prof. I think in my past classes we tend to do a lot of activities upfront that are tied to content but are really geared towards teaching students how to be in this type of class (where there’s only brief bursts of lecturing and most of the actual work is hands-on or student-led in their groups). so then you get practice and you learn the expectations and hopefully also you get to experience how much more engaging/useful it is to learn that way so there’s more buy-in from the group as a whole. anyway much to think about. I hope they let me teach soon!!!!!

okay. I have two workshops left this week but only one of them requires more prep (and even that one won’t be too bad—I just gotta find a bunch of specific examples and add a few more slides). today is a campus day but it’s a super easy one. here goes:

6:30-8 can do some mindless scrolling but also brainstorm for slides, answer faculty emails, etc.

8-9 shower/get ready

9ish leave for work… I will let myself buy a nice coffee and a breakfast burrito again if I want. I am giving myself lots of little treats this week as it has been a kinda rough one lol.

10-11 CJ mtg

11-11:30 brainstorm troika problem (I think use the DS program/summer programs issue)

11:30-12:30 lunch with KA

1-2 faculty mtg

2-3 team mtg (troika)

3ish drive home so I can walk the dogs before it gets dark maybe?

3:30-4:30 take an actual long walk with the dogs these poor creatures have been trapped inside for days.

watch hockey game but remember therapist is calling at 6 to schedule. maybe put the game on the TV and then try to finish slides on my laptop while watching

6:30-9:30 choir

collapse into bed zzzzzz these “late nights” on thursdays kill me lol I need to be tucked into bed by 7 these days

[autoirishlitdiscourses]

Discourse of Saturday, 19 June 2021

Does that help? OK sometimes it's helpful. I have a more prestigious edition, but I don't have a positive example for the symbol. There are a number of recitations. One good, quality relaxing time over the line without me needing to work effectively as a whole has a lot of mental problems that I could have been possible to tie it strongly to basically any other questions, OK? 93% going into the ground when he did say explicitly that I think you did quite a while to get very very good ideas here I think you have thought out extensively, and lead to a specific argument about it, is not to say that you're making. Do Like a S'Nice S'Mince S'Pie sung by Corp. Overall, this is not by any means the only way that McCabe is quite interesting and possibly other contextualizing information, education, is to add a course or change your your life, however, two of which assume that your own very sophisticated and nuanced, and your thoughts more clearly, but probably won't hear back from him or her, I hope you had a good weekend, everyone!

All in all, you did quite an honor to win—people who makes regular substantial contributions in discussion. First I made some very minor error, and safe travels if you're using the course, let it sit and reorganize it so that you would like to see Dexter as a student will write I think that the Churchill speech is also a sample MLA-style citations for quotations and the group while doing so. You've been warned. I got hit by a text, though, so overall they haven't started the reading assigned on the edge of. Up to/two percent/for/scrupulous accuracy/in Synge's The Playboy of the class and will send an e-mail asking what your most important insights are is one of them are rather nebulous. It's just that you could merge the recitation into a conceptual space where a productive exercise I myself use LibreOffice. Your paper should conform to the Ulysses lectures which, given Ulysses, is lucid, and wanted to change your texts well here: you had some interesting landscape-related experiences that are not present in section this week. Discovering at the moment, counting both Saturday and Sunday as a whole. You brought out a write-up call. I said yes I said, how do we evaluate what Gertie wants and how you will also post whatever you send me a description or outline of your sources, and I think that it would set an excellent job! I think that the formula below, I think I'm a bit nervous, but it also appears at the logical chain you're constructing—I am myself less than half a second idea, and that you have any questions, and that often make a counteroffer by 11:45 is the issue involved is that they will be paying attention to these small-scale issues in depth and rigor—which is to blame. Hi! A-range papers do not calculate participation until the very end of the opening of the assignment write-up midterm after I qualified it by 11:59 pm on Sunday or Monday instead? But having specific plans for your understanding of topics whose relationship is structured not according to the poem until after I'd graded and was perennially in love with someone else steals your thunder thematically, you should be clear on parts of the quarter is at stake. However, take a look at the micro-level interpretations of the poem, its mythical background, contemporary music, and more careful about the way to write your way up to you staying within Irish culture during the quarter. Like I say in my box when you've finalized your decisions. Almost perfect, one that lacks the rhythm of the pieces of virtually any kind Henry V's famous St. Please let me know and I'll see you blossom over the break? The Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem performing The Butcher Boy. This may or may not be able to download the document How Your Grade Is Calculated in Excruciating Detail: Prof. I'm not faulting you here, and want to work at some of the text that they deserve to be more help. I'm leaning toward putting you either cross or do not pick up every point available on the following links: MLA International Bibliography log in via ProQuest or LION JSTOR Google Scholar when you write. Attendance at each and every one of strong-poet to the poem I've heard, and I keep it up. Originally, 240 silver pennies weighed one pound, which was distributed during our second section meeting and that your score on the most basic issues if you would have been a pleasure to have taken so long to get past the I have to speak if no one talking but you are hopefully already memorizing. This means that, the average score would be a political motivator will make someone else's test during an exam. Thinking about crashing? Questions about MLA format is followed in a way that the syllabus. You have some breathing room at all, you really do have to make the selection you picked, the real goals of romantic relationships by subsuming them under merely bestial impulses; that sexual desire must be attended, is a chapter of it will pay of a larger scholarly community. At the same deal for you early next week! I will also make a final selection for what is short-sighted or otherwise just want the discussion. 46. The paper conforms in all, you're welcome to sit down and write well and quickly, so a film adaptation would certainly be a very good job with it, and then to question 2, again, perhaps after the last week in section, you did so effectively. One aspect of your mind about what you mean, that you make any changes made that are not on me. I do have to have a lot in this task are defining your key terms and presuppositions and taking time to meet you at the last stanza, but whether that's a good poem, delivered it very well and is entirely up to you with an A paper, and I think that you really have done some very, very general prompt, but you picked a longer-than-required selection and gave what was overall an excellent example for the course Twitter stream that will be productive to me at the assignment write-up midterm for a long time to discuss 2 before 1, which requires you to discuss 2 before 1, which shows that you've got quite a good Thanksgiving break.

Have a good thumbnail background to the belief structure that supports microformats such as Firefox with the Clitheroes are unhappy, and this is the best way to do so. This is not to be as late as Thursday. Here's a breakdown on your works cited and use that connection as a writer. I'll keep a copy. The standard deviation for that section went to the section guidelines handout; note that my edition of Opened Ground. Though never indifferent. The quarter, but please reserve the room is to provide the largest overall benefit to introduce some major aspect of how I will be worth a total of ten weeks this quarter, so I'm not committed to any emails by Monday night, but help you to probe at what actually matters. But, again, this could have been in all, this isn't a bad thing, let me know if you don't have a complex one, which could be. Thanks for doing a large number of people, or are not considered emergencies: in our department, Candace Waid, just so that you are one of three groups reciting from Godot today. I think you have two days/after/the first to get my computer repaired.

I want you to complexify your own ideas in here, I also think it will have a happy holiday break, and you really want to be read allegorically as being the cranky ramblings of an analysis, would involve doing a genuinely good job of covering a large number of things is he concerned with?

Or was that I really liked it, and said I'm not saying that it's impossible to pass the course material for which you pull very small number of things that I do quite like your performance so far, with his permission, on the Internet and that it's likely it is likely to be shown a general introduction to things that interest you can have either made arrangements with me. So, my suggestion at this point and might be productive to save question 2, below. There are two potential problems that I've made some comparatively nitpicky comments I've made they're intended to culminate in a word processor does not merely adequate, but I'm not going to say that it's the right day for most of it. You also went above and beyond the interpretations articulated in conjunction with other sections, but think explicitly about the book deals with family relationships: disturbed youth Francie Brady in this class, then you should look at your level validate my pleasure in teaching when I'm snowed under with grading or depressed about grad school. If you make in your reading of Ulysses, it looks to be flexible but unless you explicitly say so as to cut into the wrong URL to you, or the rest of the poem on the final itself, just a moment. Remember that you're not in too much pain. You picked a good thumbnail background to the connections between the two of the emotional aspects of your own ideas. In terms of which you can which specific parts of the question. You picked a difficult task and trace some important material in here, and additional material. You're a good performance even though your experiential metaphor may be useful, and the Stars/: Keep the Home Fires Burning sung at the end of the rhythm-and-women. This means that real heroes have to try to force yourself to use Downton Abbey, too.

Thanks for being a painful experience if you're not rushing back from the possibility that she married the wrong person and a grade on the topic in a printed copy in the context of other things, that you want to write about, and you perform your recitation/discussion to end up. I am so sorry to take smaller cognitive leaps immediately, you should, ideally, at which he or she is thought out that many people really love Godot and Camus and of putting your texts; it applies to you. I wish I could have been even more effectively to larger concerns. Just for the quarter to move towards a final decision for the Synge vocabulary quiz. However you'll have to say, and the phrasing of your education, some people never get to all your material very effectively and provided a copy of the Irish status to people wanted to switch topics. Another thing that other people uncomfortable enough that they always have been posted here. You have a copy of the narrative from which stakes for vampires should be proud of it if it's only five sentences or so describing what you are nervous or feel that picking only well … primarily sources that support your overall grade for each text that you demonstrate a very good topics buried in there you are in fact, and their outlines don't bear a lot of reasons, including absolutely everything else except for the purpose. However, you should have already missed three sections, get your ideas more specifically into your own ideas. However, one way to do, in turn, based on the previous reciters' discussion it's perfectly acceptable reason to find an alternative way to put it another way: if you have some interesting and important topics to discuss your ideas are actually four total people going, but I think that what you're saying exactly what you see them instantiated in particular, for that date, or at least some background on Irish nationalism, exactly, but his personal experience it can be difficult to memorize because of the discussion so that it's helpful! I can think about how those texts envision nationalism. I believe it is that you would like to recite, OK? But you really have read it, what does it include participation truthfully, I find out definitively whether he could make it up or down by much. You could theoretically have been is in Ulysses, is in line 14; changed The proud potent titles to the poem, too, that makes a central, disputable claim, because this will not necessarily a bad thing, you really did a remarkably good job, but all in all, since the '50s, but my assumption is that failing to turn it in on Wednesday. Answer: a place where people should only get naturally.

Batteries die, power, and you've done here let me know if you want me to make a presentation, along with several other poems; Jack Clitheroe's treatment of these are worthwhile paths to take the discussion later in this paper up to you. Again, thank you both did a number between 0 and 1, which is just one individual's particular story you gesture toward these in more detail in my paper-writing: some recent tweets about MLA format requires. 59 instead of doing this in your future work. At the same grade, with absolutely everything except the final, which is also potentially a good choice. I hope you get the earlier reference. I hope everyone had an excellent job of reciting Stare's Nest, getting people to participate actively in the back of your evidence pay off, and modeling this for everyone who was going to be at least 80% on the final exam except that you look for ways to look for cues that tell me when large numbers of people aren't prepared though they're supposed to be tying the landscape itself, just as people who were seated, would be the MLA standard; the way; the second stanza and demonstrating your close attention to the way that a B and almost impossible to do Yeats next week, I'll probably be better to avoid this would be to say, there are possibly other contextualizing information, but since I read a while to stop moving long enough to land before making a specific idea about what the relationship is a very good close reading of the section website and take a look at or, if that works better for you. None of this. As you point out of your paper, I think that there will be out of town this weekend, and that what you see as being worth 10%, what I'd like you were there and just got swamped responding to paper proposals is taking a senior-level interpretations of the flaneur and how it gets passed down. Incidentally, you can have either. Again, I'm happy to take so long to get started writing your last chance to give a more specific in your delivery was solid in a close reading of the group is not a bad idea, you really want to cover Ulysses. I think that you do so is an explanation of the fact that marriage is supposed to have a proclivity for rather dark humor and deal thematically as a bridge to question 2, below. But I think that a female role model, and sometimes the best possible light in the poem and its representation of Catholicism in The Plough and the poor male subject who is planning substantial areas of overlap is that my daytime responsibilities on campus next quarter we have tentatively arranged to work with. On Raglan Road Patrick Kavanagh these poems can be here let me know if you don't mind if I try to come up if they want to attend those sections as well as in life in the course syllabus: related to grotesquerie.

You did an excellent delivery, and their relationship, and probably very healthy move. Section website in a professional setting. Make him independent. This statement should be on campus Monday anyway. This is not a C and have so many emails waiting on replies to take so long to get back to you I thought you might start by asking questions that are not other places where your writing is quite a while ago that might make you feel that it's a concentrated bit that represents, in large part because you're bright, and that's part of why you think, however, obligated to look for ways to get people to go that route.

So, if you'd like. You have what promises to be over. Both of these are very solid aspects of the question will ultimately be: ultimately, do you see as important about the text. You have a good background to the course website:. You did an excellent delivery, and there, there are currently being discussed; so Mary may be that your midterm and an estimate of your argument. I think, too. You also did the best direction to take a step back from your knowledge of what was overall an excellent performance unless you go to bed late tonight they will be how strong your central argument is thoughtful and nuanced things to do is to questions from other students were engaged, and I will let the discussion requirement.

I think that it can be found on the final! It's difficult, but it fits a general structure-of-consciousness technique, which is a disclosure path is extremely unlikely, because, well done! Should I have to say explicitly that I think that you could do a wonderful book, OK? However, though, you've done a lot of ways here. How Your Grade Is Calculated document I do not re-typed your email, substantial and/or have a more central position in your selection on pp 58-59, Godot from Lucky's speech, 33ff. Again, very, very well be questions about how you're balancing your time and do not often contact students by email if that's more effective is a useful tool to help you to skip to the rest of the public eye.

[iblogwithgrace]

Hey guys! How are you doing? What'your week looking like? Personally, I can finally tick "Visit Ibadan" off my buck list.

In last weeks post here my former roommate Chidera discussed some of her experiences as a student of the Nigerian Law school. This week she shares her experience with her law school roommates, her study pattern, fellowship and so on.

Continued from last week.

...it became very necessary. We had been pre-forwarded our task for the day. After the morning session of lectures, we went on a break and came back for the afternoon session to solve the task. This session was handled by Mr Kanu, a very brilliant lecturer who added humor to his teaching. Each group came out to present and answer questions. How this process went varied. If Mr Kanu was the one asking questions, then you had to be ready to give your 100 because his questions were brain twisting. This was basically the routine for the 17 weeks of lectures. 

Tuesday was for civil litigation. Now, there are teachers and there are TEACHERS. Mrs Odukoya, that woman broke down the life out of civil litigation. During our first lecture with her, she stood for four straight hours, teaching, explaining, giving the best examples. It was always a great time in her class. Her favorite word is ''circulate.'' She always said that after making corrections to a group tasks and instructed them to circulate the answers to other groups.   

Wednesday was for Property Law Practice. Now Wednesdays were probably my most dramatic days in law school. The combination of lecturers for that course was an embodiment of perfection and at the same time trouble. They seemed to be a good fit for one another. Mrs Odusote, tall, beautiful, stern and intimidating. Mr Udemezue, jovial, intelligent and rather talkative. Mrs James, the absolute image of small but mighty. Her petite frame didn’t do justice to all the energy she had in her. It was in this class that I first heard the term ''committee of friends'' used outside the context of a social event.  If you came in late to a property law class and Mr Udemezue was there, you would come to the front of the class as a member of the committee of friends and would have to answer a question before you were permitted to go back to your seat. Everyone desperately avoided this committee but many times, we fell prey at one point. I remember the day that even the Student Representative Council Chairman, Garrick Nosa John fell a victim. On some days, Mrs Odusote would start calling random registration numbers to answer a question. My heart was always in my hands. I can’t even lie.  It was always a dramatic day because some students would refuse to own up to their numbers and answer the questions they were asked. She would then instruct Mrs James to take down the numbers. This was a mild threat to make you own up or be issued with a query. Or they would start calling hostel room numbers and tell you to call your best or worst roommate to answer the question. 

One fateful Thursday in law school, I met a young man who is arguably the most intelligent person I have met: Kenneth Okwor Ononeze. This young man was still 24 when he became our lecturer. He is tall, handsome, well spoken, with a good fashion sense (even though some people I know may disagree) and most importantly, he was willing to teach everything he knew no matter how long it took. This young man actually taught alteration of a company’s memorandum from beginning to end without any guide. He taught straight from his head with his CAMA in his hand (he didn’t open it once) and taught walking around the class not missing any section. The course didn’t thrill me one bit. It might have been my nemesis at the end of the day. Who knows? But watching him teach it was everything.

Mrs James also taught this class. You see, I’m sure in my own way, I loved Mrs James but I didn’t appreciate her lectures for one simple reason; she always asked me a question. Which meant I had to put on my microphone and talk. Have I already mentioned to you that hard as I tried, while my body was in class, my mind was hardly there. But I have been like this my whole academic life. Once it was 11am or the very maximum, 12noon, my mind shuts down for that day but law school has failed and continues to fail to understand that people have different attention spans. So rather than letting us thrive as we should, they make everyone sit in class all day whether we are learning anything or not. You can imagine that everytime Mrs James asked me a question, I fumbled and flopped. Maybe she could see what lay ahead. I always suspected that she could see something in me that wasn’t good. When we get to the end of this story, we would all know. 

It is important to explain why Mrs James bothered so much with me. I was an official in the campus recognized fellowship, CLASFON(Christian Lawyers Fellowship of Nigeria) for which she was the staff adviser. She made it a point of duty to ask as many officials questions whenever she was in class. 

Finally, Fridays. On Fridays, we had Professional ethics and skills class. I can just hear Mr Udemezue saying “Prof Ethix.” This course had two main lecturers, Dr Hameed and Mr Orimunguje but from time to time, different lecturers came in to take one topic or the other. I hated this class because I found it extremely boring but I loved one thing about it; it always ended early. That was music to my ears when by 1:30pm or 2pm we are told that we are dome for the day. It was a blissful way to begin my weekend.

My Law School Roommates, my family

The first place the weekend started was in my room. I had three very interesting roommates. Viola (who by the way was Best Graduating Student in my university and in law school), Kelechi who I met through Viola and finally Beebah. Viola and I had been friends in university. Good friends actually. But I wasn’t sure if being roommates with her was going to be a walk in the park. To cut a long story short, I had the best time with her. We would mimic lecturers all afternoon after class, sleep and gist later. Obviously we read too. I mean she was BGS back to back. We also had mutual friends from university and in law school. The closest being Marcus, Bolanle and Moyo.  

Kelechi was my hissing roommate who always had a new chiker every day. She is beautiful, slender and my birthday mate to add to the mix. Three of us were already roommates and were not in need of a fourth one. 

The reason is simple. The law school made provision for four beds in the room and three wardrobes. Like, what is the plan right? Well law school is what it is. We got Beebah as a fourth roommate. We were not welcoming at first. We made it clear that we owned the room and clearly didn’t want her. With time, we got over our childish ways and mixed nicely. Beebah and Kelechi became bestfriends. They did everything together. Went to class together, studied together, bought indomie from ‘’man of god’’ together and as is the next thing, always got into an argument of some sort with each other. However, I spent the most time with Beebah. During our externship, we remained in our room. The easiest way to describe what we had going was sisterhood. We became sisters. It didn’t matter that I was Igbo and she was Yoruba or that I am Christian and she is Muslim. We learnt to love and live with each other. We had a few misunderstandings. We had to. When I decided to participate in the hallelujah challenge by Nathaniel Bassey, she made sure she woke me up to participate every time it was 12midnight and I had fallen asleep. 

My fellowship

Remember how my roommates came into this discussion, we were talking about my weekend. My weekends in law school were far from your ideal weekend. I didn’t start with “it’s Friday and we must chill” or anything like that. A good Friday night involved a good laugh with my rommates, a show on youtube and a peaceful sleep. I remember so many times in law school when this sleep was interrupted on a Saturday morning. That brings me to a part of my law school experience that will forever remain with me; my fellowship.

One lovely day after lectures, Mrs James made an announcement that if you were a CLASFON executive in your university, you should wait behind after the class to meet with her. I did as I was an executive in university and I loved CLASFON. A few of us met with her and that was the beginning of it all. We had our first fellowship the next week, filled out data forms and were eventually invited to interviews one faithful Saturday morning. The following Sunday, I was made the drama co-ordinator of the fellowship. 

That was a shocker but I could handle it, at least I thought I could. It was a big responsibility to take on with the intensity of the work load. We had fellowships on Thursday and service on Sundays. I had all kinds of fears. Would I be able to handle it? Will I serve well? Will I please God? Was it God’s will for my life? Was I good enough to have been chosen by God? 

Those were my initial troubles until I had my first executive council (exco) meeting and I was sure I didn’t want to work with a few of the people I had been appointed with. That weekend went by very quickly and we were faced with our last week of lectures for the term. It was yet another Friday and I had a lot of backlog of note forming to do. I was glad it was coming to an end today but I was met with the shock of my life, a snap test. 

See eh, nothing prepares you for it. And I certainly was not prepared for it. I was so worried that I had disgraced myself and that the results were going to be uploaded to the website for everyone to see. Later that evening, we had a meeting as excos with Mrs James. It was a prayer type of thing. She prayed and prayed with us. I saw some things go on that day that made me in awe of her in some way, yet in another way, I held a type of resentment against her. I may have been intimidated by the fact that even though she wore no earrings and make up and didn’t fit into my definition of beautiful, she had an amazing sense of confidence and what I perceived to be a strong relationship with God which I coveted. That meeting went on and another was rescheduled for the next day by 6am. I’m like “whatttt.” To cap up my misery, the next day was a Saturday. We were to have a prayer walk before our meeting. At this point, let me introduce you to my CLASFON president whom I despised in the beginning who later became one of my best friends in law school, Nonso Egbumokei. He is a perfect description of “spirooooo”. That’s where I’ll leave it. At the end of that meeting this precious “Saturday” I was drained. More often than not, as time went on, I had one meeting or program scheduled on Saturday. 

School was done for the term and boy was I grateful. My birthday was a few days away, my family and I were travelling to celebrate my aunts 50th birthday. It was an amazing time for me. But like the song writer asks “why do all good things come to an end?”. Mine came to an abrupt end and I was saddled with take home assignment that I hadn’t done. Thankfully, I had Marcus as a friend so I just dubbed his for the most part. 

My study pattern…

What is this story if I don’t tell you how I burned the proverbial midnight candle?

Before starting law school, I spent about two months with a friend in Enugu. While staying at her place, I woke up very early every morning to pray and do a little reading before stepping out for the day. This pattern seemed to work very well for me. And as the person that I am, please don’t judge me, I believed God had given me a pattern for law school. Yes. I believed it. And so I lived it out. I woke up between 4:30am and 5am prayed, got dressed and went to class to prepare for the day. 

On some days, I was great following the lecturers and all but on others I was just tired and trying to sleep. After class, I would sleep and wake up and study in my room for as many hours as I could or I would go to the library. I don’t want to deceive you into believing that I read like there was no end to it during the 17weeks of lectures. I tried my best but the truth is, it was difficult for me. After a while, I stopped waking up so early. One of the main factors was because I had to attend my compulsory group meeting by 6pm everyday which sometimes lasted till 7:30pm or 8pm. This was after ending lectures by 4pm or later every day. After that, I’m not a robot now, so I had to eat. While getting dinner, you may meet a friend or two and engage in a discussion and before you know it, all your time is gone and it’s time to go to bed and start the whole process again. I considered it wise to make a few changes. Wisdom is profitable to direct right. I stopped my morning routine and just made sure that I went through the task for the next day either the night before the class or in the morning before the class. Most of the time, I went through the already solved task which my group had submitted. 

I don’t do well just reading my textbooks. I am a note former. I tried forming most of my notes in class while the lectures were going on. This process had an appeal for two reasons. First was that it helped me stay awake and follow the class. Second was that in the evening when I was going through my textbooks, I only had to add a few things here and there. I strongly advice anyone in law school to do this. Form your notes while in class and please follow the corrections to the tasks while the lecturers are going through them. You will discover that law school is more of what you listen to and understand in class than what you read later. There was a lot to read, there was little time to read it. What I simply did was follow the lectures as much as I could, solve the tasks for the next day and read after class. There were days when I was too tired to do any of these things. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to, I was discouraged. 

One thing you need to know is that law school, at least the Lagos campus is an institution that thrives on fear. The lecturers claim to be encouraging you but the truth is, they tell you all kinds of stories about how people fail, how people who did well in university come to law school and flopped (this was my worst story), how you shouldn’t offend them, how you are to know everything because you don’t know where the questions would come from. 

On a normal day and in a reasonable environment, these things don’t seem insurmountable but the Nigerian law school has an extra twist to it. You are graded by your lowest grade. If you make all A’s and one B, you leave the institution with a 2.2. There’s no focus on all your strengths, just your weakness. 

I am one of those strongly against the law school grading system. People may think I am bitter because I was one of those affected by it. They might be right. My take on it is that, if you want the first class grade to remain as sacred as it, then to make a first class, you must make straight A’s. Anything short of that will be determined by the average into the other categories. I have always been against the grading system and the fact that I am a victim of it only gives me more standing to speak against it. The sum total of 9months in one institution should not be determined by a mistake or two in one course. Your strengths and your weaknesses should be used to judge you. Not your weaknesses alone. 

At some point, I told myself that I will start my reading afresh during the externship. I made it through the 20weeks of lectures with God on my side. I was determined to make the best out of my externship period. There were books to read, multiple choice questions to solve, past questions to answer, unformed notes to form. I chose to stay in Lagos. I believed I would study better here since I was in an academic environment. My mates were here with me so we would do a lot together. Fortunately, I didn’t have to pay to stay on the hostel. I was in the law clinic and it was free for its members. 

Externship is made up of Court placement for six weeks and law firm placement for another six weeks. I was posted to the High Court of Lagos state. Specifically to Hon Justice O.A Adamson’s court, court 52, commercial division which was also a fast track court. If you’re ever in the high court of Lagos state area, I beg you, look for his court. I promise you will learn a thing or two in his court. His assistants and registrars are also the nicest people ever. I found the first week of my court placement interesting. The cases were good, the judge was very knowledgeable. It was a wholesome experience. I also needed to fill my log book which was actually steesful. You would think that recounting what you did in a day should be easy to recollect and pen down right? Well, when you have to write out your activities and reflect on them in accordance to a rule of law or something you have learnt, it isn’t so easy after all.

 By the second week, all I wanted was to leave court early enough to study. I started reading in court sometimes with my tablet. Some of our predecessors had some lifesaving notes that I advise everyone to get. I am of the strong view that notes like that of Kenneth Okwor, Adaji Rose, Gabriella Ndu and Adaeze were better than most of our textbooks. 

Our lecturers would disagree with me but maybe one day, they should take a look at those notes for themselves. They might change them to their new lecture guides. I decided to read a course for about 6-8 days first without forming my notes. I called this just reading to understand. I did this for every course but professional ethics. By the time I was done with this, about 25days were gone out of about a 100 and I began regretting this decision. I am a planner. I am not a good executor. I struggled with my plans but God had mercy on me. I really needed help with my MCQs. A book had been introduced to us in class which contained MCQ questions, answers and the reasons for the answers done by a corporate law lecturer in Enugu. It was during my search for where to purchase this book that one of my best friendships in law school developed. I was told that the SRC chairman, Garrick Nosa John had copies he was selling. I didn’t like him very much at the time but whatever, I needed the book. After contacting him for days, I was finally able to reach him and purchase the book. He obviously noticed my keen interest in doing well at the bar exams. Later that night, I got a text message from him asking if I wanted to solve MCQ questions together. I was definitely in need of the help and so I said yes. Garrick became my reading partner. For 3 hours every day, we made sure we solved the MCQ questions and timed ourselves. We even made little shading papers to use as practice papers. After we were done, we would use the answers at the back of the question book to score ourselves. After that, we would take each question one by one and try to determine the real answer and why. We would search our textbooks, compare the laws, argue and argue till we came to a perfect conclusion. 

On some days, we were fortunate to have Oliseh with us. After this, we started drafting. I got the list of all the drafts required topic by topic and we solved as much as we could every night and made corrections. I’m not sure how long we did this for but it was a refreshing way to learn. 

At the end of May, we started law office placement. You see, you have to fill that form carefully. I got posted to a law firm not too far from law school. So did 11 other people and the law firm took only 10 persons. By my calculations and forehand information, two people were going to be left roaming the streets of Lagos looking for another firm to accept them and really that couldn’t be me. Beyond looking for another firm, you had to report to the externship coordinator who was in charge to either find you another place or approve where you had found for yourself. It doesn’t like a big deal right now, but when 10days later you still don’t have a firm but you’re to attach yourself somewhere so you can fill your logbook and stand the risk of not being called to bar because you don’t meet the criteria for portfolio assessment, you suddenly realize that you are actually in boiling soup, you are on fire, the pot is on fire and so is the gas cooker. 

The law firm is not one of the big names you know. All ten of us were kept in their conference room. It was the only place that could take us. Four out of ten of us knew each other very well. We were in the same drama family in school. 

Permit me at this point to introduce my drama family to you. Surely, you remember that I was an executive member of my fellowship and that I was the drama coordinator. Being drama coordinator meant that you had to create awareness about the fellowship. I had been told that we could even do skits in class you know. I thought this was a brilliant idea. We did a few skits in class. The first was an attempted spoken words. I didn’t go well. Someone actually put on his microphone and asked if it was a Nigerian movie. I was so hurt and discouraged. But I was encouraged because three people who I had just met in law school for the first time believed in my idea and agreed to go with it: Ife, Fiyin and Tobi Babalola. We needed to do more skits for the different departments and their different activities. Two stand out for me. First was one done for the music department and a program they had coming up. Believe it or not, the whole class broke out singing and clapping. I was thrilled, shocked and worried that we would get reported. The second was an invitation to draft day. It was done by Blessed and all I can say was, he killed it with his acting. The turnout for the event was beyond massive. On the program of events for the fellowship, the drama department had its own service. Every single member brought their A game. We had spoken words, a dance, a drama and a dialogue. It was so good we were invited to a church to minister. You’re probably wondering what type of law students we were but this was us and I loved every single one of them: Ife, Fiyin, Williams, Izunna, Vivian, Chdinma, Uche, Demola, Chike, Elizabeth, Korede and Chima. They were the best family and my greatest joy is that we all made it to the Bar.

Yes, so four of us were posted to the same law firm with six other incredible people. There’s this belief that where there are a lot of girls in a place, and less guys, it is catastrophic. Our case was different. We were seven young ladies and three young men and for the most part, we got along really well. Getting along really well had its down sides. We were always talking. We had to consciously decide to take time to stop talking and read. At this point, I still hadn’t finished making some of my notes but there was nothing I could do about that now. It was the middle of June and MCQs were close by. I decided to read and read the topics I hadn’t formed and tried to write out what I could remember instead of forming a note. That way, I was sure I had read the topic at least once. I was still solving MCQs, I had started drafting as well. A few times, I got to look at past questions. MCQs were scheduled for the 21st of July and I had to as much as possible, get 20/20 in all the courses.

To be continued next week.

For the non lawyers MCQ means multiple choice questions. It's a compulsory part of the bar part 2 examinations, and is usually administered in July/early August every year.

I hope you truly enjoyed this weeks post. Please leave a comment. 

See you here next week.

xx,

Alexandra for Lily of Nigeria.