Posted by Orin Kerr:
When Professors Read Pseudonymous Student Blogs:
This fall, I came across a pseudonymous GW 1L student blog, [1]Idle
Grasshopper. Mr. Idle Grasshopper blogged a lot about his professors
(appropriately anonymized, but still recognizable to an insider), and
I decided to tip off one of those professors so he could check out
what the student was saying about him. That professsor is one of GW's
best young teachers, and Idle Grasshopper was appropriately wowed by
his teaching -- and also a bit nervous about getting called on given
the professor's demanding Socratic style.
My colleague started to visit the student's blog on occasion to see
the student's reaction to class and also to see if he could figure out
the student's identity. After visiting the blog on a semi-regular
basis for a few months, he was able to piece together the evidence and
determine who was Idle Grasshopper. He also realized that he had never
called on the student in the course of the entire year (the course was
Civ Pro, a year-long class). He decided not to call on Mr. Idle
Grasshopper until the very last case on the very last day of the
semester. And when he did, it was with a very cleverly crafted
introduction:
Professor: So, Mr. [ ].
Student: Yes sir.
Professor: You've been sitting back there idle all year, laying low
in the grass, but I'd like to put this seating chart in the hopper,
so I thought I'd call on you.
Check out the student's reaction [2]here.
References
1. http://idlegrasshopper.blogspot.com/
2. http://idlegrasshopper.blogspot.com/2005/04/hoist-by-my-own-petard.html
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