Many law schools started their exam periods yesterday, and some desperate
soul — student, professor, ASP professional? — Googled law school exam prayer>.
There were over 5 million results, but, looking through the top 100 results, I found
nothing really on point, — not even our post issue-spotting for faith-based law schools,
which came in #3, contained a special prayer to help assure law exam success.
Instead, the unfortunate search mostly finds links to items about court cases on
prayer in schools.
Oh, sure, Elizabeth Stillman at the Law School Academic Support weblog wrote
about exam panic in the hallways, in a post entitled “Oh My God, It’s Coming From
Inside the Building” (Dec. 2, 2005). But, the closest mention of prayer is her suggestion
that “This may be a good time to indulge in superstitions.” Also, on Oct. 12, 2005, Prof.
Stillman ended a piece on study-aids by saying “Note, however, that in late November,
when students come to me panicked because they have not outlined yet (exams here
start in early December), I recommend prayer.” Recommendation, but no specifics.
Similarly, Kimberly Swygert at Number 2 Pencil notes that “The
impending LSAT drivesstudents to pray,” and quotes the old saw —
“As long as there are tests in schools, there will be prayer in schools”
— but offers no sample prayer.
and God a lot of credit for increasing bar exam pass rates from under
50% to over 70% — but no prayer is specified.
A prayer calendar (Summer 2005) from Trinity International University did note that
Trinity Law School students would be taking the California State Bar Exam, from July
26-28, and it asks that readers “Pray for wisdom, along with physical and mental stam-
ina, during this three-day exam” on behalf of the law graduates. [Note: TIU Law School,
in Santa Ana, California, is accredited by the California Bar, and may be one of those
schools with special need for help on the state’s bar exam — as explored in Professor
Steve Bainbridge‘s little poke at Kathy Sullivan and barriers to entry yesterday.]
The most inspiring part of my “research” for this posting was finding the Home Page of
Dayton U. Law School’s Vernellia Randall. Professor Randall is an expert on issues
involving race and healthcare. Not only is one of Prof. Randall’s two sons named Issa,
but she has “spent 13 years in nursing, including serving as the Maternal-ChildHealth
Nurse Coordinator for the State of Alaska.” Given her connections with nursing, medical
school (adjunct professor) and teaching, and her love of poetry, Prof. Randall certainly
scores much higher than the average lawyer in the Gallop Poll released yesterday on
Honesty and Ethical Ratings of People in Different Professions (Dec. 5, 2005) (via
You can see Prof. Randall’s attempt to bring more spirituality into the profession in the
advice she gives at the Dayton Law School website for exam preparation and taking. In
addition to having discussions on studying and sample tests, her exam prep page ends
with a link to the Serenity Prayer. Although there are times when I believe the Prayer is
a bit too passive and expects too much assistance and action from God, its tone is probably
quite appropriate for the panicked law student facing exams. For those who do not remem-
ber the prayer, which is often affiliated with AA and is credited to either Reinhold Niebuhr or
Friedrich Oetinger), here it is:
The Serenity Prayer
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change
The courage to change the things I can
And the wisdom to know the difference
Living one day at a time
Enjoying one moment at a time
Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace
Taking, as God did, this sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it
Trusting that God will make all things right
If I surrender to God’s will
That I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with God forever in the next
Call me a perfectionist or a malcontent, but I wish we had something aimed far more
specifically at law school examination takers, much like the dandy “A Serenity Prayer
for Law Review Authors,” presented last month at Contracts Prof Blog. I’d take a crack
at writing a version, but (a) it’s been thirty years since I took a law school exam, and (b)
more important, I’m just not a prayer-oriented guy — I don’t believe in asking God
for favors, especially because I don’t believe He does retail (like exams or at bats) or
wholesale (like hurricanes). Therefore, I urge any and all visitors to make a sincere
attempt at writing A Serenity Prayer for Law Student Exams, or any other prayer on that
topic. My own suggestion for test-takers: don’t take the exams too seriously, and take a
deep breath whenever you feel yourself becoming uncentered.
p.s. Two years ago, back before AJC graduated and passed the bar,
a SuaSponte post entitled “exam waves” stated:
“To all the 1Ls starting exams this week…I’d like to do something
like a prayer chain, without espousing any particular religion that
may not be yours. I know how invaluable it was to me last year to
know that people were thinking of me, supporting me, pulling for
me all through exams. Now I want to return the favor.”
The f/k/a Gang sends its good-exam vibes to all those law students
who need comforting, along with the comforting thought that choking
really badly on the exam might just be you telling you that the legal
profession is not a good fit.
update (Dec. 7, 2005): Jeremy Richey has posted a wonderful generic “Exam”
prayer at his website, taken from Celtic Blessings: Prayers for Everyday Life,
which was compiled by Ray Simpson. It deftly hits a lot of themes relevant
to law exams, including:
Aid me to understand this subject
with my heart as well as with my head.
Give me
Wisdom to know the nub of things . . .
Thanks, JR.
silent prayer–
the quiet humming
of the ceiling fan
Lee Gurga – Fresh Scent
today
even the pigeon
says a prayer
outdoor art show
three agnostics pray
the rain will end
December 6, 2005
wanted: a law school exam prayer
if george wallace is 50, i’m really getting old
Precisely a year ago, I wrote my first double-dactyl to celebrate
the 49th birthday of the double-weblogging, oenophile lawyer from
Pasadena, George M. Wallace. Having just re-read that poem,
“Another Forty-Niner, I have sworn off double-dactyls. I have not,
however, sworn off sending the very best birthday greetings to a
weblog-made friend, who has finally joined us quintogenarians.
So, best wishes, George, for another half century (or more) of
artsy fooling around in your Forest, and artful lawyering over
declarations & exceptions (and stallions). I know you and the
Mrs. will be sharing a very good bottle of wine tonight. Your
pisano from Schenectady adds his own “Salud!” to a truly
Gianduian Barrister, and hopes your advanced age won’t slow
down your posting any time soon.
a “young” friend
turns 50 —
just how mama must have felt
cute waitress –
no protest when we say
we’re getting old
update (9AM): George may be aging, but today’s
post at Fool in the Forest shows he hasn’t lost his
stuff.
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