The Coffee Marxist

I myself have never experienced the bowels of hell, but if I had, I would surmise it feels very close to what it felt like to go to Dr. Y’s class every day. I reckon that attending this class could hardly be considered much more hospitable than thumbscrews, the rack or burning at the stake, nor could it be considered much more educational. I deeply regret not dropping the class, which I should have done from the first day. But I foolishly believed with a little hard work I could overcome the lack of structure and teach myself—I was horribly, horribly wrong.

Imagine if you will, what it feels like to receive a 31-point quiz, to know the answers of the first eight and to take your time in answering them, not knowing and not being told how much time you had to complete it, and also not knowing that the last two questions are worth 21 points until you finally see them, while the ones you already answered were worth practically nothing. Imagine abruptly being told you had one minute left and not completing those questions that are worth the bulk of the points, thus failing the quiz. This is what Dr. Y’s class is like every single day.

Imagine renting a movie with your own money and taking the time to carefully prepare a presentation on the film, which ends up not happening. Imagine never knowing when something is due, and re-marking your calendar to the point of writing a novel on it. Imagine never getting answers to your emails. Imagine not following the syllabus at all. Imagine dreading going to class and feeling euphoric relief when it lets out. Imagine feeling that a call-out of your name during class is as the executioner calling the condemned to stand against the wall with a cigarette and blindfold. This is what Dr. Y’s class is like three days a week.

That is why I would not recommend this class to anyone, any more than I would recommend withdrawing one’s life savings from an ATM and burning it. I have easily passed 3000-level classes with an A grade, and nevertheless have found this the single hardest class of my entire college career. At this point the entire contribution of this class to my education has been as a warning to never be afraid to use those W’s.