You know what really grinds my gears? Attendance policies.
If you are lucky enough to attend a school that has moved beyond this draconian practice, I envy you greatly. You were smart enough to choose a law school that thinks of its students as slightly more advanced than the average high schooler, and thus does not mandate where to be and when to be there. I, however, did not choose wisely and thus I have experienced two plus years of hand holding and coddling, threats idle and real, and forced attendance in classes which I frankly don't care one bit about.
My school gives a stock reason for enforcing an attendance policy: The ABA mandates it. I did some checking, and their story doesn't quite add up:
Students are required to attend classes regularly. Unless otherwise stated at the beginning of the course, a student missing more than fifteen percent of the class sessions for any reason (including participation in law school sponsored events) will be considered to have failed to attend classes regularly. [ABA Standard 304(e); October 2, 1974, and September 12, 1978.]
Putting on my Scalia hat for a second here, that is not a mandate, it is a suggestion. The plain meaning of "unless otherwise stated..." indicates to me that the policy is not a requirement, but rather, a guideline. "Attend class regularly" can mean different things to different people. Schools do not need to adhere to this policy, and many do not. I have spoken to law students from all over the map, 1st tier through 4th tier, East Coast, West Coast, North, South, and even those weird non-ABA schools in California, and many, many schools do not enforce attendance. So why does mine?
"We are trying to raise our profile amongst law schools"
Okay, fair enough. But if all the best schools do not enforce attendance, how does having required attendance raise our profile? If you want to be one of the big boys, act like it. You don't dress for the job you have; you dress for the job you want to have. Treating 22-60 year olds like children and telling them they have to be in their seats when the bell rings does not make a better law school. Admitting more qualified applicants does.
"The classroom experience is vital to a good legal education"
I disagree. How does my presence in the classroom help anyone? I don't really read for class anymore, so I just stare into space for 50 minutes while other people talk. If called on, I bullshit an answer, and usually get away with it. Even if I don't, I don't sweat it. I have never been the type of student who gets anything out of a lecture, so why should I be required to be there? Come exam time, I study hard (by my standards) and always do better than the curve. So obviously the classroom experience is not vital to succes in law school. Maybe the school thinks it reflects poorly on them if I can do well without being an active participant in class. It doesn't. If they are going to continue to base your grade off of one exam at the end of the semester, they have to realize that everyone learns differently, and they cannot expect everyone to conform to the same standards. If I want to take the scenic route to exams instead of the busy interstate, isn't that my prerogative?
If my school had no attendance policy, it isn't as if I would never go. I would probably skip more than I do now, only because I am allowed only a small number of absences (4 in a two hour course, 6 in a three hour course, and 8 in a four hour course). But I would still go, and depending on the class, I might attend often. But if I choose not to show up, why should my grade be lowered after a certain number of absences? Or, even worse, why should I be disqualified from taking the final if I don't show up to write my name enough times?
I have a theory: My school is ahead of its time. They have found a way to make it's graduates bitter before they even become part of the profession, so that it will be a smoother transition into practice.
Russ summed it up the best: "An attendance policy is like when you treat a kid like he's a bad kid without him doing anything to justify that. 'I know you're a class skipper. Not like little Johnny Harvard'."
