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The Inside Scoop: The Life of a Blueprint Instructor

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I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that if you’re reading this blog, you know what it’s like to study for the LSAT. But have you ever wondering what an LSAT class is like from the other side of the podium? You’re in luck, because I’m here to spill the juicy* and shocking* details about what it’s really like to be an LSAT Tutor and classroom instructor.

“Have I already told you all that…?”

After a certain number of times teaching the course, you start to feel like you could do it in your sleep. On many levels, this is a good thing – I’ve taken notes throughout the years about answer choices that are especially likely to trip students up, and I’ve refined which jokes work (at least sort of) and which fall flat. The downside is that my memories are blurred with previous times I’ve taught the class, so – for instance – I forget whether I’ve already told my current class a certain Top Tip™. I err on the side of repeating myself – better to share the tip more than once than not at all – but I feel a little senile from time to time.

It’s even more fun than you might think.

I generally find that, every time I start teaching a new class, the students are fairly quiet and awkward for the first few lessons. After everyone starts feeling more comfortable, though, the students tend to get along very well, and it’s a lot of fun to hang out and joke around. I sound like a cheesy “work hard, play hard” caricature, but I genuinely enjoy getting to know my students, and I like to think we manage to have a pretty good time in between laying down some LSAT knowledge.

“Hey, remember that stupid joke you made three years ago?” – my brain at 3 am.

I have a propensity for saying things that I find hilarious, regardless of whether others might feel the same way – I tell myself that it’s one of my charms. After teaching dozens of students through many cycles of the Blueprint class, it’s more or less inevitable that I would have made a few jokes that fell flat. To be clear, my gaffes were not on the level of, say, Michael Scott – but on those nights when I’m lying awake in bed and my mind decides to torture me, I have a few “I can’t believe I made that dumb joke” memories. And no, I will not share an example – I’m carrying that shit to my deathbed.

You can tell who does their homework.

I wouldn’t be much of an instructor if I didn’t include this, but it also happens to be true – it’s pretty apparent who is doing the work and who isn’t. And I hate to sound like your mom, but it really does make a difference – there’s simply not enough time in class to fully master each skill, and as an instructor, you can absolutely tell who’s coasting on class time and who is putting in the time at home.

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Okay, so as far as glamorous and scandalous jobs go, being an LSAT instructor probably won’t ever rank high on the list. But if you’ve ever looked at the beautiful human leading your Blueprint class and wondered what’s going through his or her mind, hopefully you now have a better idea. And if you ever get the chance to be an LSAT instructor, I absolutely recommend it – it has its own challenges, but overall I’ve had a great time (and, as an added bonus, I no longer have any fear at all of public speaking).