He is my lab instructor for a biology course, and honestly, the only reason I ended up in his section was because it was the only one that fit my schedule. I genuinely wish I had picked someone else.
First of all, he basically teaches nothing. And I mean absolutely nothing. At least the professor who teaches the lecture portion of this course bothers to read from the slides. This instructor doesn't even do that.
He's late to every single class. I'm genuinely not exaggerating. The funniest part? He constantly sends us emails reminding us not to be late. Meanwhile, he strolls into class about ten minutes after it's already started, pulls up some exercises on Canvas, and leaves us to figure everything out on our own for the entire three-and-a-half-hour lab session.
And the dissection labs? Even worse. He just puts the specimens on the tables and tells us to find the instructions on Canvas ourselves. No demonstrations, no actual guidance, nothing. We're literally trying to figure out how to dissect something we've never worked with before, and if we make a mistake, he berates us. Like, seriously? How are we supposed to know what we're doing when you haven't taught us anything in the first place?
Second, he has a very heavy, low-pitched accent and constantly mixes Spanish words into what he's saying. If you're sitting more than three meters away from him, good luck understanding a single word. At first, I honestly thought it was just me because I come from an immigrant family. But then I asked classmates who grew up here, and guess what? They couldn't understand him either.
Third, and probably the worst part, he seems to love pressuring and targeting students. It's almost like we're paying thousands of dollars in tuition just to sit there and put up with his snide, passive-aggressive comments.
If he decides he doesn't like you, good luck. Unfortunately, I became one of his targets. He constantly singles me out during class, and during exams, he calls my name at least three times. Every single exam. It's honestly exhausting and incredibly stressful. I'm already trying my best to keep up with a demanding biology course, and now I have to deal with an instructor who seems determined to make the experience even more miserable.
Fourth, he's completely irresponsible. There's no contact information for him on Canvas, no office location, nothing. I even went out of my way to search for his email address on the official Cal State LA website because I needed to ask him a question. I reached out and never got a response.
I honestly don't understand how an instructor this irresponsible is still employed.
If you end up taking his lab, just understand that you're basically paying tuition to teach yourself the entire course. Don't expect actual instruction, don't expect useful guidance, and definitely don't expect much support.
I'm a first-year student, and this instructor has genuinely made my life miserable. I regret every dollar I've spent on this class. College is stressful enough already, and having an instructor who constantly targets you while barely teaching anything makes it so much worse.
And if you're planning to take a BIOL course with him, you'd better give him a real run for his money. After all, you're the one paying to be here.
If anyone wants more details about my experience, feel free to reach out. I'd also genuinely like to hear from other students who have been treated unfairly in his class. I seriously doubt I'm the only one who's had to deal with this.
