On Exams, Amar, and Other Random Thoughts on the Passing Scene

I just completed the exam for one of my government electives. The class is on the American Founding, a topic which Professor Rossum knows very well, having been a careful study of Max Farrand's The Records of the Federal Convention of 1787.

We also read one of my favorite books, Akhil R. Amar's America's Constitution: A Biography. When I first decided to attend Claremont, I contacted Professor Rossum about books he commended and one of those books was Amar's book. I read through it and then went on to other Amar books. Every single one was thought provoking and challenging. A self-described liberal originalist, Amar seems the perfect choice for a President Obama to put on the Court. Obama would cement his credentials as someone more interested in scholarship and Amar would help put the first Indian-American justice on the Court. He's much younger than Laurence Tribe or some of the others currently speculated to step in, once the justices announce their retirement.

There was, however, one thing I didn't like about the exam and that I'm beginning to dislike about Claremont McKenna generally. Early this past summer I was diagnosed with carpal tunnel. When it comes to typing, I can type about 95% as quickly as I could before, but when it comes to hand writing, I'm much, much slower than I was prior to diagnosis. I can barely hold a pen, much less write with one.

Aren't we supposed to be future leaders of tomorrow? Why can we not use a typewriter or a non-Internet connected computer?

Nobody rolls into calculus with an abacus, so why must we walk in with a pen?

Next time I take a class on the American constitution, I'm showing up powdered wig and plume. If we're going to be old school, we might as well be antediluvian.