Law Teachers and the Educational Continuum

There are many difficulties in teaching the law. These problems are often referred to generically as the difficulty in training students to think like lawyers. The primary focus of the literature discussing these concerns has, therefore, been on how law schools should assist students in developing this ability. Underlying much of this literature is the assumption that what is needed is some tinkering with the law school curriculum. Students are believed to enter law with a set of abilities and potentialities that are honed by the law school curriculum to produce something called a lawyer or the skill denominated as thinking like a lawyer. If this is not happening then the curriculum needs to be adjusted. This article explores these difficulties and possible solutions