One trait which really perturbs me about a professor is when he or she assumes the material being taught is a simplistic and intuitive subject. Such is the case with my econ professor who feels as though graphs of diminishing returns and formulas calculating marginal costs should be added to kindergarten curriculum. If I do say so myself, I'm not stupid, and I have yet to take a class in college which befuddled me in the way this economy course does. When faced with mathematics of any kind I always need more time than others to catch on. I need to ask questions and think about the material more so than many of my peers. Being enrolled in an epically-sized lecture class does not lend itself to asking questions and being confused. There's always a clan of sorority girls chatting rather loudly somewhere in the room and as I look around I notice people reading novels, solving crossword puzzles, falling asleep or sewing quilts. I wish I understood enough to piss away my time in class. I could just hear the groans of every person in the room if I dared to raise my hand and ask a question--I would be "that" girl, that know-it-all tofu-eating stumpy troll whose aim in life is to delay class by five minutes. Nobody asks questions, especially in a class where the material is so wonderfully easy, right? I often wonder if anyone else gets it either. No one looks too distressed. No one seems bothered by the fact that our professor writes illegibly, wanders around the room talking about his college years instead of explaining his illegible writing and expects us just to catch on to whatever intricate processes are churning throughout his shiny shiny, mole-kissed head.

The other day I spoke to him about getting a tutor. He looked at me like I was insane. After all, how could I possibly need a tutor in something so basic? He gave me an email address that didn't work. I then contacted another tutor who told me he would charge me $40. I don't know if he meant by hour or in total, but if it was by hour it would mean he makes more than my engineer boyfriend. NO THANK YOU.

I'm not paying someone to reteach me what my obsolete professor should be doing in the first place. I come to class, read the textbook and take notes and the class still makes me feel like I'm trying to order a cheeseburger in Japan. Without knowing Japanese.