Hi readers, it's been awhile!
As with everything else, life happens, and I have not had as much time to blog as I would like. Second year in school is well underway with another crowded 21 hour semester! Graduation is on-target for Spring 2012, which is great because I will get my diploma before the world ends in December. Just kidding. I'm too busy to even think about stuff like that.
School is..... well...... complicated. I have amassed a pile of issues with the program I am in, the teachers I have had, and my co-students. This becomes a sensitive issue since some of those groups may be reading this blog. I have therefore excluded names to protect the guilty. For those of you out there who are finished with school, and are fortunate enough to have jobs in the paralegal field: you should be worried about the future of the profession. There are simply too many people in this program who have no business being here, and some (not all) teachers who just don't care.
There, I said it.
In addition, the program is not set up to allow natural attrition to occur. For example, specialty classes such as Real Property, Bankruptcy, Wills and Trusts and so on, do not have prerequisites. We spend way too much time in those classes explaining things like"jurisdiction" to those students who have not yet taken basic legal research classes. In addition, there are a lot of "C" students floating around who have already, or will graduate from the program who frankly have zero chance of getting a job in the field. I have a 4.0 overall GPA and I'm worried about getting a job in the field - so it frustrates me that so many are in the program who can't handle it, and won't get hired. It's a waste of time for those students who are struggling, and it's a waste of time for those of us who are not.
As for teachers, I have had several who, because of their greatness, have kept me in the program. The rest, seem to not care very much one way or another, and we are left to teach ourselves. Those students not willing to put extra effort into outside reading or my immersion theory are pretty much looking at an overall "C."
For those of you out there thinking about adding some entry level paralegal staff in the near future....... ask for transcripts, and a legal writing sample! I am already assembling my portfolio.
Later.
Lynne
