28 November 2008
The Importance of Willpower
Recently a friend linked me an article in The Australian that he believed was right on the money. Although it was written back in 2006, it is definitely worth reading now. Go ahead, I’ll wait.
For mine, the third paragraph sums up the crux of the article. It says:
“Anne was working on the principle that in academic achievement it is self-discipline, not talent, that counts.”
I probably shouldn’t speak for everyone that has ever graduated from law school, but that is exactly what I’m going to do when I say that on behalf of all those graduates, ‘well duh’. I think it’s fair to say that we’ve felt this way for a while now. At least I have. Getting that HD feels great, but it doesn’t necessarily reflect your own personal intellect or inherent talent. It reflects the fact that you put in an incredible amount of hard work and were extremely driven and dedicated to your task. It is very satisfying, but perhaps you shouldn’t go out and buy the ‘world’s smartest student’ coffee mug just yet.
Why This Article is Still Relevant
So what, then? Academic achievement is a reflection of someone’s dedication and willpower – case closed? Well, not really. I think this article is interesting for a number of reasons.
A Great Equaliser
First, it means that to a certain extent, all student’s are equal (this is a nice way of saying ‘dumb kids can do well too’). Seriously, it doesn’t matter if you can’t spell TEE or HSC – if you spend the time studying in the library (and perhaps get into some kind of recreational scrabble league or something) you’ve got the same chance as everyone else.
Academic Transcripts are Over Emphasised
Second, it indicates that the way we measure performance at law school is flawed. According to this research, an excellent academic transcript indicates that you are a driven student with excellent willpower. A student who can perform well within the law school’s system. That’s it.
Now, don’t get me wrong, this is *is* useful because our profession is one that sometimes requires the strong willpower necessary to ignore distractions and focus on boring, boring (oh so boring) work. However, is it enough? There is a tendency to over emphasise a transcript, to give it its own halo and use it to predict what kind of lawyer the student is to become. If we can accept that a transcript indicates willpower alone, perhaps we move a step closer to taking that halo away.
Are there any Australian law schools ready to take the plunge and follow the lead of Yale, Stanford and Harvard, adopting a pass-fail grading system?
Crazy Competition Ensues
Third, it highlights what is, in my opinion, an unfortunate reality about law school. If our performance at law school is indicated via our academic transcripts and our transcripts are an indication of our willpower and the ability to keep our head in the case book, then the sole test becomes being more dedicated than the next guy. On the face of it, this sounds reasonable and fine and I’m clearly a lazy pinko communist for saying that it’s a bad thing. But problems arise when you take it to that Nth degree that only the neurotic psycho nerdgeeks can create.
Why is this a bad thing? Because if we accept that this research is true then our worth as a law student is tied to our library punch card. It becomes a situation of escalation. We become trained to ensure that we’re spending more hours on a topic than anyone else. The cynic in me wants to say that there are law firms out there stroking their long moustaches at the thought. Our law schools are training super graduates who are willing to brute force their way out of a problem with pure billable hours.
Again, to me this highlights the need for our law schools to review the way they measure performance.
Summary – It’s Time to Rethink Things
It is old research and it probably hasn’t blown your mind. In fact, this research was conducted in my second semester of law school – so I’ve not known about it for two and a half years and I’ve come out ok. The friend that linked it to me saw it as an inspirational piece, motivating him to keep going. I can see that side and if that’s what you take from then power to you.
For me, it highlights the need for change. I’m waiting for a law school within Australia to be the flagship on these issues. Perhaps one exists already and I’m not in the loop about it. But an academic transcript is a tool for measuring willpower – nothing more. Given the issues with depression and burnout in the industry, perhaps it’s time our schools think about training and (more importantly) measuring our students differently?
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