For Andrew Curran Wesleyan university was the perfect job, a position as a professor which he had always wanted and a job which would be close to his home town of New Haven, Hartford. I first met the professor during an introduction meeting on our first day of university and it was clear at that point that we would get along famously, which we certainly did. I had actually heard a lot of complaint about the professor and his teaching styles but these were the styles that would help me to get through university. I wanted to talk a little today about how his methods worked so well.
Excitement
Every lesson with the professor seemed to be so much fun and he really had an original way of teaching us about law, doing so in a fun and interactive manner. A perfect example of this was when the OJ Simpson trial was going on, he had us re-enact scenes from the courtroom and afterwards we would all speak about why certain things were done and said. This would be the same on many occasions and there would always be a mock trial or a lawsuit for you to get involved with, and it really did help the knowledge to stick.
Inspirational
The way in which Andrew Curran Wesleyan professor was able to inspire us was something that I have never seen before or since. He had a great knack of understanding how to get someone inspired or how to get the gee’d up and firing on all cylinders. For some he would put an arm around them and encourage them, others he would pretty much insult them until he got some retaliation. No matter what kind of learner you were, he would always get the best from you.
Communication
In those days many professors would simply turn up, give their lecture and then go away but in the case of Andrew Curran Wesleyan students were more than just numbers to him. This meant that he was very often available to speak to over the phone and even in later years I know that I could send him and email right now and get a reply.
Passion
The biggest thing that I would take away from the lectures that Andrew Curran gave us is that he was also incredibly passionate about what he was teaching and showing us. Regardless of his techniques or his madcap methods, at the heart of it all was a man who wanted to teach law in the only way that he new how, and that was with raw passion. When a professor has passion like that it is very easy for you to be engaged and seek to learn more from someone such as Andrew Curran. This is why I enjoyed his lectures so much and this is why I even got through university in the first place!
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