Columbia College Law School.
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of law altogether ceased there. Whatever mendation for a degree, to meet at their own legal instruction there was, was relegated to request the professors who during their course the law offices. This was in general little had the principal charge of them, to obtain enough; for we have the testimony of the a farewell greeting with words of affection poet Cowper, who at one time entered a law and expressions of desire for kindly remem office as a student, that the students of his brance in their future career. Such influ day for the most part spent their time in ences reacted upon their conduct, making discipline wholly unnecessary. Not an in "giggling and in making others giggle, in stead of studying law." From this double stance of it occurred for the first twenty
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years of the life of the failure of the Inns of institution. Court and the law Another remark offices came the perni cious idea, long prev may be made shedding alent but now passing light on the value of away, that systematic this method. During instruction had no true a period of thirty years place in legal educa not a single instance tion. has transpired of any To sum up this former student's ex branch of the subject, pressing dissatisfac the Columbia method tion with it. On the is true teaching, and other hand, hundreds presupposes for its of instances have oc highest success the curred of indications teaching faculty in the of very high satisfac professors. This is tion. Several leading sometimes not pos lawyers have sent to sessed by men of the the school four or five very highest ability. It sons in succession. A is of the greatest im large number of the portance that it should students attend upon be cultivated. the recommendation of An important result the Alumni, who now GEORGE T. STRONG. of this method is, that commence to show where the number of their estimation of the students is not too large, the relation be value of the method by sending their own tween them and their professors is quite a sons. The classes are abundantly filled with personal one, and leads to mutual interest out special effort to obtain students. and it may be to mutual affection. The To sum up the whole matter, is not this, private intercourse between them under in substance, the " Socratic method" of such circumstances is free and unrestrained. teaching? A few words may be quoted Counsel and advice are eagerly sought and from Mr. Grote : " In the Phcedrus of Plato faithfully given. The relation becomes prac the Platonic Socrates delivers the opinion tically fraternal. For example, until the num that writing is unavailing as a means of im ber of students became very large, it was the parting philosophy; that the only way in regular course of things at Columbia for which philosophy can be imparted is through members of the graduating class, after they oral colloquy adapted by the teacher to the had been examined and received a recom- mental necessities and varying stages of pro 21
