To celebrate Teachers' Day, we interviewed our partners Karin Klempp and Thiago Amaral about their experiences as law professors and how teaching has contributed to their practice of law.
What were the reasons that led you to become a teacher?
Karin: Like to pass on knowledge, not keep it to yourself. Develop people and their capacity for criticism, autonomous thinking and believing in themselves.
Thiago: I have always admired the profession, but I never imagined myself as a teacher, mainly because of my shyness in dealing with the public. The opportunity arose from the recommendation of a good friend, who had just started teaching. Everything happened by chance and naturally, because I had not planned (academically) to start teaching.
In your opinion, what is the best part of a teacher's job?
Karin: The best part is seeing students develop. Soaring higher and higher.
Thiago: Of course it is the interaction with the students. It is very rewarding to teach, but it is even better to learn from the students. The exchange of experiences brings another view of the subjects you are teaching, mainly because of the practical and theoretical discussions that take place in the classroom.
And what are the main difficulties?
Karin: In pandemic times certainly the physical distance. The online format has its limitations and does not allow such intense interaction and affection. Quality learning occurs when a bond of affection and mutual appreciation develops between teacher and student.
Thiago: Reconciling the time between the office and academic life. Time is already scarce at the office, and it is not easy to spend extra time for teaching. On a normal day, having to leave early and hit the traffic to get to the university is quite complicated, but when you are in the classroom everything changes: you enter a different environment and manage to forget the problems you were dealing with minutes ago.
Has working as a teacher helped you become a better lawyer? In what ways?
Karin: Certainly! The saying that those who teach learn twice is valid - indeed - one learns at least 3 times. By preparing the topic, giving the lesson and with the questions and interaction of the students. You develop a different type of reasoning, that of making yourself understood, of uncomplicating a subject, and this is very useful as a lawyer. Besides, of course, interpersonal knowledge, understanding people and what motivates them, their way of relating to the world.
Thiago: Without any doubt. Besides being obliged to constantly update myself - studying several recent and new themes that might go unnoticed in my work as a lawyer - teaching provides a more technical and critical vision, as it allows me to understand the law as it really is, without worrying about solving specific cases.
What is your advice for those who wish to become a law professor?
Karin: A good education with specialisations and post-graduate courses is fundamental for teaching in a good school. Then comes developing empathy, putting yourself in the student's shoes. Prepare the class for the student, he must be your focus.
Thiago: I once heard from a friend, a long-time teacher, that she had never gone into a class unprepared, without first deepening and updating herself on the subjects she was going to discuss with the students. Since then I've realized that teaching is a vocation, it's a social function. My advice is to dedicate yourself and make a lot of effort. It is fundamental to face teaching with enthusiasm, and never let yourself be carried away by vanity.
