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33 Chicana/o-Latina/o L. Rev. 1 (2015)
Creating Wise Classrooms to Empower Diverse Law Students: Lessons in Pedagogy from Transformative Law Professors

handle is hein.journals/chiclat33 and id is 14 raw text is: 






  CREATING WISE CLASSROOMS TO EMPOWER
                DIVERSE LAW STUDENTS:
      Lessons in Pedagogy from Transformative Law
                             Professors'




     SEAN   DARLING-HAMMOND* AND KRISTEN HOLMQUIST**

     Many   of today's law students experience a triple-threat. They suffer
from  the solo status that accompanies being a member  of an underrepre-
sented group, the stereotype threat that accompanies being a member  of a
stereotyped group, and the challenges that attend lacking a background in
the law before beginning law  school. But today's law schools often fail to
create safe' environments, teach foundational content  and skills, or take
basic steps toward providing  instruction that ensures students from  all
backgrounds   are empowered  to thrive. While much has been written about
improving   legal education and about  the failure of current pedagogies
to provide a sound  education  to students experiencing this triple-threat,
little has been written about approaches  that ensure that these students
succeed. This article is an attempt to identify an initial pathway forward. It
builds off of research regarding legal pedagogy, inclusive pedagogy, and
the results of eleven in-depth-interviews with transformative professors


   I This article was primary edited by the Berkeley La Raza Law Journal. The article can
be cited as: Sean Darling-Hammond & Kristen Holmquist, Creating Wise Classrooms to Em-
power Diverse Law Students: Lessons in Pedagogy from Transformative Law Professors, 25 LA
RAZA L.J. 1 (2015).
   * Sean Darling-Hammond is a clerk for the honorable Judge Charles B. Day in the Dis-
trict Court of Maryland, and is a recent graduate of UC Berkeley School of Law. There, he
formed and directed the Student Commission for Access to Legal Education (SCALE). He
also served as Diversity Editor for the California Law Review and Co-President of the Men of
Color Alliance. He earned his B.A. in Sociology at Harvard University (2006), and then served
for five years as the Director of the Research Department for Hattaway Communications, a
high-profile, mission-driven political consulting firm.
   ** Kristen Holmquist is a Lecturer in Residence, Director of Academic Support and Asso-
ciate Director of Professional Skills at UC Berkeley School of Law.
   ' We have used the term safe to describe techniques and environments that allay ste-
reotype threat and solo status and allow students from underrepresented backgrounds to fo-
cus on learning.
@ 2015 Sean Darling-Hammond and Kristen Holmquist. All rights reserved.
                                   1

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