The summer of 2000 I was picking up extra college classes here and there, and one of the classes I needed was English 1A (a core requirement for California universities). I stumbled upon the 1A class taught by Augustine Martinez and had what will go down as one of the most memorable experiences of my life.

I describe it to the uninitiated as a cross between The Stanford Prison Experiment and The Wave. While it is technically just an English class, the structure is far from orthodox and bordering on the clinically insane. But that doesn't necessarly mean it's bad. Those who make it through Martinez's 1A class learn more about themselves and about the reality of the world around them.

I'd also like to think that I learned a great deal about sociology and the roles we choose to play. But I may have just learned more about my methods of social interactions and judged society on that basis. One way or the other, our heads hurt from thinking by the end, and we all came away different.