Taking Notes in Class

I have not mentioned this before, but one of the main reasons my blogging has slowed this semester is because I stopped bringing my laptop to school. Even last year, when I was a 1L dedicated and devoted to my academics, I rarely took notes in class. I have always been a book learner, and fortunately most of my classes were tied sufficiently close to the texts we were assigned that I could, at least, get most of my notes from the reading I did outside of class. Thus, while I would still pay attention to the lecture, I did not take many notes on my computer during class. Instead, I would have Internet Explorer open and would bounce around the news sites looking for something to write about, and listen to the lecture at the same time. I'm sure some doubt whether this is really possible, but those who sat next to or behind me can attest to the fact that I would often raise my hand to ask or answer a question while simultaneously browsing the Internet.

Well that worked very well last year because I was always, always far ahead in the reading. Thus I already had a good familiarity with what the professor was talking about, and was able to stay interested even if I had my computer in front of me. But last semester, when the weight of interviewing left me quite behind in most of my class reading, things were different. Since I had not done the reading, I had no idea what the professor was talking about. As such, I would bring my computer to class, open up Internet Explorer, and ignore the lecture for 50 minutes. This was a waste of my time.

So this semester, I resolved not to even bring my computer with me. I would bring a notebook and/or printouts of my reading notes, if I was keeping up with the reading (which I did only for the first month). I still do not really take notes during class, but this has been quite a revelation. At least in the classes I have now, simply sitting and listening to the professor, with the distraction of neither note-taking nor web-browsing, has led to an increased ability to simply sit and grapple with the interesting questions being posed. When you are just scrambling to copy down the three-pronged test the professor just articulated, you don't really have time to swirl it around in your mouth and see how it tastes. You are always 5 seconds behind, operating on vacuum intake alone.

My system would not work for many people (perhaps most). For those who really do need to write down what the professors say in class (and it seems most people would put themselves in that category), the idea of not taking notes in class is a non-starter. But for those who think they might be able to go without it, try leaving the computer at home too. Bring a notepad if you want to be able to copy down anything really important (I do this from time to time). And see how it feels just to listen to the professor. To ponder the questions they are posing as they pose them. It has been a great pleasure for me, and I am grateful I have lecturers this semester (BeVier, Nelson, Klarman) who make this worthwhile.