Thread by @jedshug

@KFILE Love this ratio.
If Warren did no legal work as a prof, we’d see articles about Warren the ivory tower all-talk, no-work professor.
If she always took the labor side, she’d be framed as commie ideologue.
Btw, I’ve become a better teacher as I worked as amicus on more cases.

@KFILE Here’s a story about @ewarren, an amazing colleague for about 4 years until she went to DC. When I arrived at HLS in 2005, I had no idea how to teach a big 1L class. I didn’t teach or write in her fields, but she immediately invited me to watch her class and go to lunch after. 2/

@KFILE @ewarren 3/ That Contracts class in September was probably the most amazing classroom I have ever witnessed. She knew every one of 80 students by name. She called on at least 30 of them over the next 90 minutes. And 97% of them were prepared. They were engaged, happy, and comfortable...

@KFILE @ewarren 4/ She used no notes. She had the day's material memorized in her head as she walked around the room and asked detailed questions about the cases. She used the whiteboard for visual learners. She was both organized but also spontaneous and energetic - not an easy balance...

@KFILE @ewarren 5/ ...and it was both inspiring and terrifying. If this was the expectation, I was screwed. No way I could ever live up to this.
But then we had lunch together. She asked me what I thought. I told her, blushingly. She asked, "Do you think I could do that when I was your age?"

@KFILE @ewarren 6/ "Probably not," I said.
"Not even close," she said. "I had no clue ("clooooo" in her accent). It takes years to find your own teaching style. But let me tell you why I do what I do." She walked through her Socratic approach, why it matters to call on at least 10 a day...

@KFILE @ewarren 7/ "... and why it matters to call on more people for a brief period. First, it's important to get more voices into the classroom every day. Going by volunteers seems nice, but it's bad for learning. And students actually find rapid pace less intimidating..."

@KFILE @ewarren 8/ I remember that whole lunch 14 years ago, exactly where we sat, and being so appreciative and relieved. I found HLS intimidating myself, and this Contracts Rockstar was making it so much less so. (I'll spare you from a very long thread on teaching. I'll blog it one day).

@KFILE @ewarren 9/ Then I served on the Admissions Committee, which she chaired. As far as I know, it is very unusual for a top scholar/top teacher to chair an Admissions committee. But it was clear that she was more interested in giving young people opportunities, and making the process fair.

@KFILE @ewarren 10/ Dean Kagan wisely made the Admissions Committee was balanced - which could've become contentious - a potentially awkward position for me, an untenured prof. But Warren was collegial, open-minded, a good listener, fair.
One of the smoothest committees I've ever served on.

@KFILE @ewarren 11/ I'm not angling for anything. I haven't talked to Warren in years. I love teaching, and they'll have to take my dry-erase marker out of my cold dead hand.
I even agree with Brett Kavanaugh that her CFPB design of a single-head independent agency is unconstitutional...

@KFILE @ewarren 12/ I don't even have a clue ("cloooooo") who I'm voting for yet. But here's the bottom line: This article on @ewarren was unfair in many small ways. But it was wrong in the biggest ways: No one cares more about teaching, mentorship, or fairness in the legal academy than she does

@KFILE @ewarren 13/ I wrote this positive thread about @ewarren as a response to @KFILE's tweet, and guess what he does?
CNN's Andrew Kaczynski blocked me. For nothing except calling out a double standard in polite and mild language. Unreal.
Paging @page88...

@KFILE @ewarren @page88 14/ As far as I know, I have been blocked by a total of 3 people:
1. Michael Avenatti
2. NYTimes's Ken Vogel (for his unprofessional tweeting about @neeratanden and her mom. He soon unblocked)
3. And @CNN's @KFILE for an implicit double-standard on Warren.
So courageous, Andrew.

@KFILE @ewarren @page88 @neeratanden @CNN Apology to @kfile: People have pointed out to me that long threads as replies are annoying. I often write long threads, and just didn't think about the effect as a reply. Sorry for my thoughtless twitter etiquette foul. (NB: Muting is the appropriate response, though).