We encountered Professor Guy Padulain Legal Reasoning Course. That was the very first class in our first semesterunder the Temple-Tsinghua LL.M. Program. I could tell that he came to our firstclass right after his landing in Beijing because he heard exhausted. To be frank, I did not enjoy his first class because of my insufficient pre-classpreparation as well as the unfamiliar course introduction in that class. Beingtaught without in our first language made our first class experience even worse.
The first semester lasted for twomonths, which was the most difficult period for most of us. And I believe LegalReasoning contributed to that difficulty. The theme of the course was rule oflaw. We were required to read U.S. Supreme Court cases and excerpts fromFederalist Papers written during the founding period of U.S. The teaching methodhe used was the Socratic teaching method in which he would raise numerous questions and our students would respond. The problems we faced were not only the language barrier but also the lack of understanding of American history and other background information. Guy thought and taught in depth, expecting thought-provoking participation from the class. Guy did not let us leave beforehe was satisfied with our answers. Most of students were driven crazy by his course because of his high standard. It took me more than one month to get usedto his teaching style and felt confident to answer his questions.
Over the time, I realized Guy’sclass was much more demanding than other traditional courses in U.S. lawschools. We had been received both intensive English training and case learningskills through our summer program. However, for Guy’s class, reading andbriefing the cases before class was far from enough. His questions in the classwould go beyond our reading materials. In addition to fully understandingassigned cases, we were also expected to know about the history context of acase and the U.S. Supreme Court Justices. However, we were not familiar withthe expected information. In some classes, even though we tried very hard torespond to his questions,Guy was stillnot satisfied with our answers by directly and clearly responding with “no.” Ifelt frustrated when I did not give satisfying answers.
In addition to Legal Reasoning, Guyalso taught us Constitutional Law. Benefiting from my learning experience inhis Legal Reasoning class, I focused more on the substance and logic in theConstitutional Law class. What impressed me was that he continuously exposed usto the U.S. legal system through teaching the U.S. Constitution. Issues likerule of law, democracy, and freedom of speech were the main topics in thiscourse. Throughout this course, Guy not only taught us U.S. Constitutional law,but also the critical issues facing the U.S.. I learnd how to think criticallylearning from this class.
Students from Guy’s class are all impressed by his great personality—he is such a charismatic and trueprofessional. He joined our WeChat Group—an online chatting group—which wascreated to facilitate after-class discussion among students and professors. Healways diligently answered each question we raised in the WeChat group. Guy exitedthis WeChat group after we finished his course. He did come to our graduationceremony, dressing in a nice white suit, “disappearing” right after the ceremonyended. Many students had not caught a chance to personally say goodbye to him. Hashe been purposefully detaching himself from us? Was he the kind of person whoprefers to enjoy being alone? Those questions would forever be left unanswered.
I still remember the Guy’s class onthe day of the Chinses Mid-Autumn Festival. To celebrate the festival with Guyin China, we students prepared a bunch of flowers and some mooncakes before hisclass, planning to give him a surprise after his class. I stood up when hefinished his class and was about to leave. Representing the class, I said that“Dear Professor and classmates, today is Middle-Moon Festival. Unfortunately,we have to stay in the classroom…” At that point, Guy asked us, “What? Stayingwith me is unfortunate?” with a naughty and innocent smile on his face. Thewhole class burst into a laugh because of Guy’s comment. I was embarrassed anddid not finish our remark. After that class, I sent an email to him andexplained that I didn’t mean to be offensive. He replied immediately—“Vinee, nevermind. Don’t forget that I come from New York. I simply felt it is funny.”
That is our Professor Padula. Idon’t know how to accurately describe him. Sometimes, he looks serious.Sometimes, he seems innocent. Other times, he looks like living in a world outof our reach. It was particualarly the case when he diverted his eyes from usand looked into the far away through the window during his teaching.
