Maybe I'm old school (or getting older), but spell check is not the same as proofreading.
Actual Incident: In a legal document, an attorney asked the judge for a delay in
his case because he was undergoing a delicate medical procedure on his
back: Disk surgery. However, he mistakenly typed a different four letter
word that looked like DISK, inserting an unfortunate “C” rather than
the needed “S.” Spell check didn’t pick up the error, since the word was spelled
correctly.
I. Sample Student Typos (The reason spell check doesn’t work)
A faulty (faculty)
member – maybe s/he got this one right
File a mew (new)
motion
Filed on the mourning
(morning) of
Going to trail (trial)
Lead (led) to believe
Singing (Signing) an
Agreement
The Compliant
(Complaint)
Tired (Tried) to flee
the scene
Breech (breach) of
contract
Break (breach) of
contract
Stature (statute) of
limitations
Statue (statute) of
limitations
And my favorite:
The plaintiff assed
(assessed) her need
II. The Case for Brevity
I try to
get students to take “noisy words” out of their writing. Many times when we speak in public,
we use filler words such as “Basically” or “Due to the fact that.” Whether you realize it or not, we use those
words in speech to give our brain an extra millisecond to think about what
we’re going to say next. I learned that
when I had a radio show. With the written word, there is no need for filler:
Student version:
Basically, this case
is about…
My version:
This case is about…
Student version:
Due to the fact that
the plaintiff was injured…
My version:
Since the plaintiff
was injured…
III. Phrases that Students Just Get Wrong
Tenant (tenet) of law
Woe (whim) of the
court (Hmmm, maybe this one was accurate)
Legal principals
(principles)
The principle point
(principal)
Recover principle
(principal), court costs, and interest
IV. The Case for Brevity (Part II)
Student version:
According to my
viewpoint, the case was pretty straightforward with the easiness of issue
involved between the parties.
My version:
In my view, the case
was straightforward, with easy issues facing the parties.
Student version:
The attorney briefly
insinuated the relationship of two of the board members and made it seem like
they had previously made a pact with each other.
My version:
The attorney
insinuated that two of the board members had previously made a pact.
I asked this question to some readers and got the following responses:
What is/was Your Biggest Fear about Starting College?
My biggest fear was failure. Finding certain material too hard and not being able to find the right help. I am about to start my third year in college and I still have the fear of failure.
My biggest fear is not doing as well as I did went I was younger and had less responsibility; as a single mother, it's just hard to pick a up a book to read.
I have always had a fear of failure since all I ever heard from people in my family was you will never amount to anything. I am now in college, married, children, and I am enjoying life. Classes are going great. My oldest son graduates in four years. The same year I do. I am not letting fear get in the way of something that has been my dream for the last 10 years.
Quote from my former student: Two essential lessons that Perry's class taught me are: important information is everywhere if we spend the time to look closer; and it's more meaningful to find humor in our daily lives than to live with fear, pessimism, or divisiveness. Those lessons go a long way toward finding happiness and reaching the success that we all imagine.
My Thoughts on Fear and Education: To me, the greatest barriers to success, however you define that, are a fear of the unknown, a fear of change, and a fear of failure. But you need a game plan, and hopefully you can lean a little on what you learned in school to figure out that route. No matter what you do in life, you always will have your education. You have
already accomplished a huge milestone. The biggest step was just showing up. That’s it. The secret most people don’t
get until it’s too late. Just showing up as young freshmen is a
threshold event. Trying something which may be hard for the first
time. Experiencing new things, even if it’s unknown whether the objective
is attainable. Many times the things you do won’t work. And you will fail at some things you try. That’s just a fact of life. Abraham Lincoln once said: “My great concern is not whether you have failed, but whether you are content with your failure.” And you will make mistakes. A lot of them! Both in your careers and your lives. That’s just another fact of life. But that’s okay. The trick is figuring out how to deal with setbacks. Your family and friends will always be there for you. And your education will continually serve as a foundation to get you back on track. Franklin D. Roosevelt said: “We are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of our own minds.” Students, each of you must unlock your mind and blaze a path built on reason and purpose. Life is too short to spend it bouncing around like a random and aimless ball in a game of Pong. Whether you are 17, 18, 19, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, or 80 years young, it is never too late to test the boundaries of your dreams.
L.I.G.H.T. B.U.L.B. Moments for New Teachers by Perry Binder, J.D.
I never dreamed of being a college professor. Does anybody? When my third grade teacher asked us about our dream job, Molly said an astronaut; Evan, an actor. Perry: “Obtain a terminal degree and lecture on legal morasses.”
Every student wants a good laugh, I think. Humor can be found even in the most stressful situations. For example, I tell students that I can’t offer legal advice. But that didn’t stop “Steve” from calling me after class in a panic: “The judge gave me ten days for speeding; they’re taking me away!” So that night, I drove to the county jail, where the innkeeper ushered me into a tiny drab room facing glass. Steve appeared on the other side, looking weary and wearing an ugly orange jumpsuit. I never practiced criminal law, so I just put my hand up to the glass and spread my fingers apart because I saw that done on TV. Steve finally smiled and put his hand up to mine. He told me what happened, but all I could do was stare at our mitts and think: “Hey, this TV hand thing really works!”
While Steve’s dilemma was no laughing matter, I use that story on the first day of class to set the tone for our semester: Understanding the law is serious business and applied unequally to young college students without counsel. But we will laugh and learn a lot together.
Perry Binder is an attorney, a Clinical Associate Professor of Legal Studies at Georgia State University, and the author of several articles and books. His seminars and keynotes for companies, law firms, colleges, and organizations are described as "hilarious, enthusiastic, and practical." Perry received multiple Teaching Excellence Awards, the MBA Crystal Apple Award, and the Service Excellence Award from GSU's Robinson College of Business. Years earlier, he litigated complex business cases in Miami, and received the Dade County Bar Association's Pro Bono Award, for service to individuals unable to afford legal counsel.
Perry is a member of The Florida Bar and the Academy of Legal Studies in Business. He is a former radio talk show host who is frequently quoted in the media, including USA Today, The New York Times, and ESPN Classic.
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