Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Those who cant, teach!

In medical education, the apprentice principle is in high regard. That is to say, you want to get your residents out working with those in the field who are actually working. It is one thing to have lectures by researchers, but it is much better to be out in the field working with those in the trenches. This has led to the attitude that the ones who are good at the actual job are the ones doing the job. Those that suck, sit in auditoriums and teach. That little bit of Dogma got me thinking. Our President taught Constitutional law, but the law that he proposed, pushed and signed was declared unconstitutional. I guess, the principle that "those who cant, teach!" is true for attorneys as well

2 comments:

Andrew_M_Garland said...

Richard Epstein discusses Barack Obama

Robinson: You are quoted in the Boston Globe: "I like Obama but I reject the suggestion that he is an intellectual. He is an activist merely mimicking the mannerisms of an intellectual." So, how good is Obama's mind?

Epstein: His mind is pretty good, but it is a clever "means-ends" mind. He has never written a scholarly article in his entire life.

Robinson: He was President of the Harvard Law Review but never wrote an article?

Epstein: If he did, it was unsigned and not academically significant.

Robinson: Would you ever give him tenure at the University of Chicago Law School?

Epstein: No, no, no. We did not give Obama a tenured offer. Obama was such an engaging fellow, that we all would have offered him a tenured track position [not tenured, but leading to tenure if the work is high quality]. But, Obama realized that he was not cut out for an academic career. It wasn't what he wanted.

SeaSpray said...

Good point... Interesting post.

Interesting comment too.