I begin this post from the premise that law teachers have the best job imaginable. We have reasonable teaching loads compared, for example, to our undergraduate liberal arts colleagues, and we get to teach adult students who, for the most part, come to us motivated and willing to work hard. Nevertheless, about this time of year, at least some of our students are tired and less motivated, and many of us have worn down a bit, too. These are the dog days of the spring semester. 

According to National Geographic, the term “dog days” or “dog days of summer” comes from a belief of the Ancient Greeks and Romans; they believed that the hot days of summer were caused by the bright star, Sirius (a/k/a “The Dog Star”), rising alongside the sun in the summer. Later explanations connected the hot weather with the tendency of dogs to lie around in the shade when it is hot out, and I am proposing the term “dog days of the spring semester” to refer to the decreased motivation of us law professors and our students. 

What can we do about the dog days of the spring semester?

One possibility for enlivening the dogs is to implement a novel and energizing class structure for a class session or two. Here are four possibilities:

1. Drafting teams. Have your students work in teams to draft a contract clause. 
2. Oral arguments. Divide the students into courtroom trios, i.e., a lawyer for the defense, a law for the prosecution and a judge, and argue a legal issue. 
3. Competitions. Teach all the doctrine one day through multiple-choice questions, and have the students work in teams to compete to see which team can answer the most questions correctly. 
4. Art, Music, and Poetry. Ask students to draw a picture, writing a song, or craft a poem that depicts the key doctrine they have learned, such as a picture, song, or poem that depicts search and seizure doctrine. You might consider sharing the best ones with the whole class.

Another possibility that focuses on your motivation is to get in touch with your goals as a teacher by writing your teaching philosophy. A teaching philosophy, according to the Cornell University Graduate School website, includes:

• your conception of teaching and learning.
• a description of how you teach.
• justification for why you teach that way.

Here are some questions from the University of Denver’s Office of Teaching and Learning that I experience as inspiring deep thinking about my teaching philosophy:

• Why do I teach? What are my ultimate goals for students?
• What role do I expect students to play?
• How does my identity/background influence my teaching?
• When I am teaching, when am I most effective? How do I know this?
• How do I truly know when and what my students are learning?
• What parts of teaching most inspire me?
• How have my beliefs about teaching changed over time?
• Describe your most challenging teaching moment. What did you learn about yourself, and about teaching, from this experience?
• Create a metaphor to explain teaching and learning.

I know this is a tough time of year, and I hope these suggestions help. 

I will try to look forward to the end-of-year celebrations of our students, and, when those finish, I will launch into my summer optimism (delusion?) period in which I imagine that, this summer, I will write two great law review articles, prepare all my teaching notes for the fall, and still be able to enjoy relaxing time with my loved ones.