Why I'm Unapologetically a Miley Cyrus Fan
Christmas Day 2022 has come and gone.
What did I receive? Clothing, some LEGO sets, and quality time with the family. You could also say I received my course evaluations for the two Multistate Essay Exam Skills I sections that I taught during Fall 2022, as I received them just prior to the start of the holiday break.
My course evaluations are always gifts that keep on giving. Not only do I review the evaluations when I receive them, but I also try to revisit all the previous years’ worth of evaluations when I think about what worked and what didn’t when planning the next semester’s courses.
One of the more important questions on the evaluations I pay particular attention to is the open-ended question: “What improvements could the instructor have made to enhance your learning?”
In instructions to students before they complete the anonymous evaluations, students are reminded to be specific and constructive when completing the evaluations because “feedback that is specific and constructive is more useful than generic positive or negative comments about the course or me.”
Yes, I do look at the written responses and seriously consider how to make changes to address the evaluations that offer legitimate feedback.
Here’s one feedback that a student wrote in Fall 2022: “Refrain from telling us he is a Mily [sic] Cyrus fan.”
There are a couple points I want to make about this comment.
First, it’s not specific or constructive. Why should I stop telling the class I’m a Miley Cyrus fan?
Is it because the student doesn’t like Miley Cyrus as a person and rather not hear me spend class time talking about her?
Is it because the student doesn’t like her songs and rather not have “Party in the U.S.A.” or “The Climb” stuck in the student’s head for the remainder of the day?
Is it because the student loves Miley Cyrus and wants to be the only person at the law school with that recognition?
Is it because the student believes legal education—and more specifically bar preparation—should be above any discussions of a Disney-kid-turned-twerking pop star?
Is it because the student wants to protect my professorial reputation and doesn’t want me to be associated in any way with the Disney-kid-turned-twerking pop star?
Or is it because the student just doesn’t like me or the course and will find any opportunity to comment on roughly five minutes of class time over a semester of 2,340 minutes (or 0.213675% of the course’s instructional minutes)?
Or is it because the student just doesn’t like me or the course and will find any opportunity to comment on roughly five minutes of class time over a semester of 2,340 minutes (or 0.213675% of the course’s instructional minutes)?
In any event, I can’t properly consider the student’s feedback and make appropriate modifications in upcoming classes without more information. I want to, but I simply can’t.
So, here’s Takeaway 1 from this student’s comment: Use the word “because.” For example, the student could have written “Refrain from telling us he is a Mily [sic] Cyrus fan because there is no pedagogical reason for spending limited class time talking about his terrible musical tastes.” Or something similar—which could be a legitimate concern by the student that I would assess.
Using the word “because” often is also something you should remember to do in bar exam essays. The word “because” should be generously used in your essay responses because (see what I did there!) the word forces you to explain your position, argument, conclusion, etc.
It prevents you from being conclusory—i.e., stating a position without factual support—and it preempts the examiner from asking “why.” Remember that conclusory statements and responses will receive little to no credit.
The word “because” wonderfully connects rules to specific facts and prevents you from being conclusory. The consistent and frequent use of the word “because” as a conjunction and the incorporation of specific facts may be the difference between a good response and a great response. For more information, see one of my prior blog posts, “Use ‘Because’ Often, But Use It Correctly.”
That leads to my Takeaway 2 from this student’s comment: If the student were to provide specific and constructive feedback like “Refrain from telling us he is a Mily [sic] Cyrus fan because there is no pedagogical reason for spending limited class time talking about his terrible musical tastes,” then I need to do a better job of explaining the pedagogical reason for spending limited class time talking about Miley Cyrus. And that’s on me. My bad.
But, let me be clear: There is a pedagogical reason.
First, as I tried to explain in class, one of Miley Cyrus’ songs is the perfect exercise to learn how to make logical arguments—which is the foundation to good law school and bar exam essay writing.
Here’s the backstory, circa 2009.
As you might remember, I often begin introducing legal skills using non-legal examples. When students can understand a concept or skill in a non-legal context, they’re usually better able to transfer that skill and better understand and apply it in the law school context.
One of my early exercises I incorporated into my teaching about 15 years ago was having a discussion of terrible songs—or what I called, “Songs That Suck,” for that added attention-grabbing effect—to illustrate a methodical approach to making arguments.
I asked students to identify three characteristics of terrible songs. Responses generally included cheesy lyrics, overused cliches, and an overly repetitive chorus. (Think of this as the rule statement, like the elements of a claim—e.g., duty, breach, causation, and damages for a negligence claim.)
I then asked students to explain those characteristics in detail. For example, a student might define “cheesy lyrics” as lyrics that include messages that are “dumbed down” to the listener or that seem overdone, a bit trite, and not deep at all. (Think of this as the rule explanation.)
Next, I asked students to identify a terrible song—a song that fits the definition of a terrible song that they just identified. When I first started this exercise in 2009, “Party in the U.S.A.” was often named by the students.
Finally, I asked students to make a logical argument as to why “Party in the U.S.A.” sucked or didn’t suck.
And the discussion that ensued should have gone something like this:
“Party in the U.S.A.” [sucks or doesn’t suck]. At issue is whether Miley Cyrus should be credited with having a terrible song.
A terrible song—or a “song that sucks”—is a song that includes cheesy lyrics, overused cliches, and an overly repetitive chorus. Cheesy lyrics are lyrics that include messages that are “dumbed down” to the listener or that seem overdone, a bit trite, and not deep at all. Overused cliches are phrases or references that have lost its impact after having been used commonly. A chorus is the memorable part of the song that is repeated several times after the verse. However, an overly repetitive chorus negates the positive effect of chorus repetition.
In this case, “Party in the U.S.A.” [meets or doesn’t meet] all the characteristics of a bad song. First, it [includes or doesn't include] cheesy lyrics because [insert explanation here]. Second, it [includes or doesn't include] overused cliches because [insert explanation here]. Finally, it [includes or doesn't include] an overly repetitive chorus because [insert explanation here].
Therefore, “Party in the U.S.A.” [sucks or doesn’t suck].
Once students understand the basic structure of making logical arguments in a non-intimidating CIRAC manner, they then have the foundation for making the transition to learn more about essay writing specifically.
Let me be clear: I’m unapologetically and unashamedly a Miley Cyrus fan. I don’t think Miley Cyrus’ “Party in the U.S.A.” sucks at all. In fact, I love that song (check out the version on the album, “Attention: Miley Live”), as well as most of her other songs.
Let me be clear: I’m unapologetically and unashamedly a Miley Cyrus fan.
“The Climb” is probably one of the most played songs in my music playlists—and it’s the perfect bar prepper’s anthem. The song is about the self-defeating voice we all hear at times inside our heads, and the importance of believing in yourself when you face a challenge. It’s about the reality that, yes, we sometimes experience setbacks, but that’s okay. Life is about the journey, and crossing the finish line isn’t necessarily taking the shortest distance from Point A to Point B.
Perhaps, one of the best messages I’ve ever received was from a former student, who, more than a dozen years after having sat through my classes, sent me the following message: “Just heard Party in the USA by Miley Cyrus in a bar. I can't hear that song without thinking of you. Thanks for all you did for me to pass the bar! You were a huge help! Hope you are doing well!”
It really doesn't matter whether he had good or bad thoughts about me when he heard the song. It’s that lasting memory by students that I won’t “Refrain from telling us he is a Mily [sic] Cyrus fan.”
You can bet that I’ll be watching Miley’s New Year’s Eve Party, which Dolly Parton will be co-hosting with her goddaughter, on NBC on Dec. 31.
