Teaching trust law in the twenty first century

• Main Author: TANG, Hang Wu
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2010
• Subjects: Estates and Trusts
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/3391; https://search.library.smu.edu.sg/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma999168602601&context=L&vid=65SMU_INST:SMU_NUI&lang=en&search_scope=Everything&adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&tab=Everything&query=any,contains,Exploring%20Private%20Law&offset=0
• Institution: Singapore Management University

I met Michael Bryan in 2004 at the Obligations II conference at the Melbourne Law School. It was my first time presenting a paper at an international conference and I was quite nervous. Michael, who was chairing my session, was extremely warm and supportive and put me quickly at ease. After the session, he generously gave me many insightful suggestions on how to improve my paper. Over the years, I have heard that this is just typical of Michael as a person; colleagues from Melbourne have often been effusive in their praise of Michael. Michael has certainly shown us the way in what is possible in academia – being a respected and inspiring scholar, teacher, colleague and friend. It is my privilege to write an essay dedicated to Michael on the occasion of his retirement. To honour Michael's substantial contribution as a scholar and teacher in trust law, I have decided to write a chapter on teaching trust law.There are a number of pitfalls associated with writing a chapter on teaching. For one thing, there is the danger of sounding overly prescriptive or presumptuous. I am also acutely aware of my limited experience in this area, as compared to other trust teachers, having taught the subject for less than ten years. Thus, this chapter does not have a prescriptive agenda; I do not suggest that there is one way or a ‘correct’ approach to teaching trust law.