Doctor Who: Deep Breath

Here we go again, Peter Capaldi as the 12th Doctor. 

As a re-introduction to Doctor Who 'Deep Breath' does exactly what it says on the tin: it feels like a breath of fresh air. I loved (well okay, mostly loved) Matt Smith's go as the bumbling Timelord but one aspect of the show that has felt sorely missing from previous years is a nice dark edge. Yes Doctor Who is first and foremost a family show but arguably the best episodes are the ones that really dig deep into the Doctor's psyche, and 'Deep Breath' definitely dabbles with this idea. It's not all great though, for once I can say that this episode could have been cut-down a bit.

As far as the plot goes, there's not a lot here. Which is surprising, because Moffat is known for writing stories where a gazillion different things are going on at once: It's Victorian London and those creepy human-organ obsessed clockwork droids from 'The Girl In The Fireplace' are back and it's up to the newly regenerated Doctor to stop them. Also the Paternoster gang are back to help Clara overcome her alienation with the new Doctor, and for some reason there's a rather poor CGI T-Rex in front of Big Ben. For such a lengthy episode there's a lot of padding, twenty minutes could easily be cut-out of the first half an hour and you wouldn't have noticed. The opening act is really slow, it's mainly a showcase for the crazy goings on at the Paternoster house. I do like Vastra, Strax and Jenny, they're entertaining caricatures but they don't seem to really serve a purpose here other than to share a few wacky scenes with Clara. They've been in quite a few episodes now and they haven't changed at all, the joke where Strax keeps confusing Clara with a boy is funny but it's starting to get stale now. AND YES WE GET IT, THEY'RE A LESBIAN COUPLE! Can we please develop their characters a bit more next time? I fail to see how the Dinosaur contributed anything of note to the episode. It was a nice visual sure (even if the CGI wasn't the best) but did we really have to waste 20 minutes on it? 

The new Doctor is not a fan of his face.

A large chunk of this bloated 75 minute running time is dedicated to dealing with an older, more hostile Doctor. Clara is essentially a surrogate for the audience here, being told off by Vastra for wanting the younger Doctor back in a very meta scene that's definitely aimed at the swaths of fangirls. Even the Doctor himself is confused by his current appearance in a great scene with a street hobo played by Elizabeth Sladen's widowed husband: 'Who frowned me this face?' It's another meta reference poking fun at Capaldi having already been present in the Who universe twice now: 2009's 'The Fires Of Pompei' and Torchwood's 'Children Of Earth'. What's intriguing about this scene is that it really points a finger to his familiar face, which makes me think that a future plot point could be based around where the Doctor gets these faces from when he regenerates. Mirrors also seem to be a recurring theme in the episode, especially when Capaldi is looking at his reflection on the silver plate later on. It's a small moment, but his quick expression of dread makes me wonder where this theme is going.

All this meta narrative about getting us to trust this new Doctor feels a tad misplaced when you look at it, as Capaldi is already marvellous in the role and a million miles away from Matt Smith. His trademark 'attack eyebrows' and evil stares are used to great effect in the second half, he's a Doctor you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley. When he abandons Clara there is a niggle of doubt in your mind as to whether or not he was genuinely leaving her and I like that. And as for his confrontation with The Half Faced Man? Judging from the glare he gave the camera afterwards, I suspect he really did push him. Lord knows what the child audience thinks of him but so far he's Doctor you're not sure you can trust, echoing the grumpier 1st and 6th Doctors. Steven Moffat seemed so terrified of our reaction to this darker Doctor he wrote in a potentially tear-jerking scene (I was close) of the past Doctor reassuring Clara/us that the new guy is also terrified of his new persona and to basically have faith in him! All I can say is that it's deliciously refreshing, and I can't wait to see what Capaldi will bring to the role in the future.

MATT'S BACK! *CRIES*

Accompanying the darker Doctor is a return to form when it comes to creepy Doctor Who baddies. The clockwork droids were terrifying in 'The Girl And The Fireplace' and they're terrifying here thanks in large part to Peter Ferdinando as The Half Faced Man. He's quite chilling, particularly in my favourite scene of the episode where Clara talks her way out of being murdered. Everything, from the close-up shots of his freaky eyeball to the badass performance from Jenna Coleman makes it feel incredibly tense, which isn't something Doctor Who has done in a while. I'm hoping we're sticking to the more menacing aspect of Who villains as I feel we've been short-changed recently.

New Doctor aside, I was interested to see what they were going to do with Clara. Throughout Series 7 she was one big enigma so now that her 'Impossible Girl' mystery has been resolved where else do we have to go with that character? The biggest shock of the episode wasn't Capaldi's performance (we knew he'd be great), it was how amazing Clara has suddenly become. From the restaurant scene onwards Jenna Coleman was nothing short of superb in my eyes: whether it was her fantastic argument with Capaldi in the restaurant, the chilling confrontation with the Half Faced Man ('5ft 10 and crying, you didn't stand a chance!') or the 11th Doctor's sudden phone call at the end Coleman showed she had some serious acting chops and portrayed a variety of emotions really well. Her looks of sheer terror when being confronted of the clockwork droids did more than any monster design ever could and it's a great reminder as to why companions are essential to DW. Series 7 Clara worked well enough with Matt's Doctor but they've clearly made an effort to make her a three dimensional character this time around and it's paid off in spades. If this continues Clara could become one of my favourite companions, she was that good.

Eat your heart out Rose.

Now that Capaldi has been properly introduced and the seeds of the next arc put into place (heaven eh? Interesting...) we can finally sit back and enjoy the next 11 weeks after a relatively long wait. Yep you heard that right, no more split seasons or specials, just one long uninterrupted run. I am a bit concerned that aside from the finale there will be NO two-parters again but who knows? Based on Capaldi's performance in 'Deep Breath' we could be in for a treat and thank's to a certain script leak I know we've got some good episodes coming up. 

Positives:

+ Peter Capaldi, duh
+ Jenna Coleman, duh
+ A return to the creepier/darker side of Doctor Who
+ The Half Faced Man
+/- The Paternoster Gang
+ Lot's of great moments, the restaurant scene in particular
+ Matt's tear-jerking phone call
+ A seemingly darker Doctor 

Negatives:

- The first half an hour was a bit slow and could have easily been cut-down
- WTF was up with that Dinosaur?
- Not a lot going on with Jenny, Vastra and Strax

Overall score: 8,5/10

P.S I'm also loving the new theme tune!

Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes

'Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes' is an incredibly intense film compared to it's predecessor and has quite a few scenes that will stick in your head for days after seeing it. It's a grim tale about human nature set ten years after 'Rise', where *SPOILERS* the simian flu has wiped out most of humankind and the apes have been peacefully living in the woods outside San Francisco. They've managed to form a very ewok-y community with Caesar reigning high as the alpha. Everything seems to be going swell for the apes but of course those pesky humans show up (a group of homo-sapiens immune to the virus) and before you know it both races are fighting to the death for the survival of their species. It's not the most complicated plot ever but the film shines due to the intense power of it's performances and visuals. 

'Dawn' is a really bleak picture of human nature, the idea that as a species hominids are destined to wage war with one another. This message is constantly rammed home in the last half, reinforced by how quickly the apes adapt to using human weapons against their own kind and the humans, despite being portrayed as a mostly peaceful race in beginning. The battle scenes are brutal, with both sides being horribly realistic in how they enact vengeance. I described 'Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes' as being very anti-summer blockbuster, and this trend continues in 'Dawn'. Yes, you will find plenty of thrilling action set-pieces and pretty explosions here but all of it is coated in a thick anti-war message. These scenes are further amplified by Michael Giacchino who has composed an amazing soundtrack gave me an old school Hollywood feeling.  

The tragedy of 'Dawn' is that you can genuinely see humans and apes co-existing together peacefully, as both sides seem reasonable in their actions. The two main characters Caeser and Malcolm are level headed people that see a future for both species, but despite all their efforts war still breaks out. Even the so-called 'bad guys' feel justified from their point of view, whether due to traumatic past experiences or preservation of their species.

I really like how humankind are portrayed in 'Dawn'. A lesser film *COUGH*Avatar*COUGH* would paint the humans as hot tempered war warmongering lunatics wanting to burn everything tinged green to the ground. This isn't the case in 'Dawn'. Here every single character in the film, apes and humans, strive to do what they think is the right thing. Sure Gary Oldman's Dreyfus sees the apes are as a threat to their community (these are hundreds of apes with spears just outside his back-door remember) but he gives Jason Clark's character Malcolm a week to settle things out and get the dam working before he starts rolling out the big guns. There's a fantastic scene with no dialogue where Dreyfus just looks at old family photos on his ipad and just starts weeping. 

Sure it looks silly now, but wait til' you see the finished version.

Most of the film relies on the visual storytelling of the special effects and actors in order to sell a scene. It helps then that the motion capture and SFX work on the apes is even more stunning this time around. For the first five minutes you'll be wondering 'WOW, this is CGI?' as the amount of detail on display is incredible. Seen as the apes are in 85% of the movie and there can be over a hundred apes in one shot I wonder how they could fit all these effects on a relatively modest (by Hollywood blockbuster standards) 170 million dollar budget because holy sh*t these apes look out-of-this-world amazing. 'Rise' was a concentrated affair with a laser sight focused mostly on Caeser's journey but here a lot of the apes are given supporting roles and have genuine personalities. Toby Kebbell as Caesers second-in-command Koba is the breakout star of the film, it's a frighteningly realistic performance and he is sh*t your pants scary at points. Nick Hurstan's Bright Eyes and Karin Konoval's Maurice also really good at capturing intense emotion through speechless characters. It's light-years away from the rubbery masks of the Charlton Heston era, you will sympathise with these apes and be f*cking terrified by them. The apes easily hold their own against the equally amazing human performers, talk about an amazing cast! The other FX heavy elements are of course the action scenes which are brilliantly executed and superbly tense, with one scene in particular (360 degree camera pan strapped to a tank in the midst of burning chaos) making my jaw drop with the sheer feels assaulting my senses from all sides. The final stand-off is also immensely satisfying and climactic. Again, be prepared for some brutal images of ape-on-human and ape-on-ape carnage. 

Overall props has to be given to director Matt Reeves ('Cloverfield', 'Let Me In') who took over the reigns from Rupert Wyatt who did the first movie and was also going to do the second before he dropped out. He has crafted a near masterpiece of drama cinema with 'Dawn' and it's all thanks to his impeccable directing and genuine care put into every aspect of the production. For me personally it tops 'Rise' which was also a really good, no great, film. The new 'Apes' franchise is shaping up to be one of the all time greats, let's hope the inevitable third movie doesn't drop the ball massively. And if that ending is anything to go by it's going to be an explosive (and heartbreaking) one... 

Positives:

+ Fantastic direction, visuals and performances
+ Thrilling action sequences, intense chaos
+ Amazing SFX, motion capture on apes
+ Better than the previous film
+ Deliciously bleak message
+ Apes on horses dual wielding AK-47's!
+ Koba, Caeser
+ Great score
+ Satisfying final battle

Negatives:

- One really dumb human who was a bit cliche 
- Cliffhanger ending?
- ????

Overall score: 9,5/10

My reaction if the third movie disappoints...

The Do's And Don'ts Of Teaching

Teaching is an extremely important part of education. A good teacher, someone who truly cares about his/her job can have a massive effect on their students: they can make a student become significantly more interested in the subject at hand (potentially developing a thirst for learning or acquiring knowledge) and can also improve grades. In an ideal world this would be common place but this is quite often not the case. I've got to know several dozen teachers over the course of my education in France, and while I have yet to encounter a teacher who completely fails at their job some of them could improve in a few places. Seen as I also envisage being a teacher in a few years time I thought it would be a good idea to write down a list of pet peeves I've had with certain teachers. You know, so as to not repeat these mistakes whenever I get the job. I mean who know's, I could forget something...  

1) Be subjective with explanations, honest.

I love a teacher that isn't afraid to inject some of their own personalty into proceedings, it makes them feel more human (a rarity with teachers these days) and makes you like the subject they're teaching. Teacher's are trained to talk about their subject of course, and small talk isn't really something they have time for in the classroom. Injecting humour or some of your own opinions every now and then into proceedings are vital to getting the class on your side though. History in particular is a minefield for funny comments, for example you could make a joke about the ridiculously silly hats the French wore in the Renaissance era or the ridiculous number or Louis's over the years...History in general is one great bloodbath of dark humour just waiting to be explored. The important thing to remember here future me is to be yourself and not some emotionless robot that spouts cold facts for an hour. If you're passionate about your subject, we'll be passionate about it as well. 

2) If we like a teacher, we'll work harder

*RULE 101 OF HUMAN NATURE*: If you're nice to us, we'll try be nice to you back. You know that teacher that always smiles to you when you enter the classroom? You wouldn't want to disappoint him/her would you? Of course not, likeability is a great boon to those worthy enough to obtain it, and statistically speaking (as far as I'm concerned) it works. We have a habit of associating teacher's with their subjects, so nice/cool teacher = more passion/interest in the subject. Because the teacher associates a joke with a factoid about history you will most likely remember that fact more because you associate it with a funny joke made by the teacher. This means less revision time and you can concentrate more revision time on some of the less vital topics. But having said that...

2.5) But don't be too nice

I've known a few teachers who fall into this trap. It's a thin tightrope to walk but if you come off as too nice or forgiving the class will walk ALL over you to the point where you have no control over the lesson. Back in college I had a super nice German teacher who didn't have a strict bone in her body (she never raised her voice) and my class at the time were extremely disrespectful towards her: they openly talked to one another throughout the lessons, threw pretty much everything that wasn't bolted to the floor at each other and didn't give one sh*t about the language or the teacher. The class wasn't really like this in the other lessons, just in German. I guess you see the common denominator. Point being: if you have a weakness we will exploit it. They knew she would never punish them for anything they did. So what did the teacher do? 'If you don't listen you won't get good marks' she'd say, 'Those who listen will learn', or 'Don't you want to learn?' When appealing to their better nature didn't work (it never does), she threatened to talk to the headmistress. That means she was so incapable of handling the situation she had to resort to getting another adult to fix it for her. That's a tad pathetic, a good teacher should always keep their class under control and should toughen up in these circumstances. Now, you don't have to be Miss Battle-Axe all the time, but you need to have at least some form of authority over the class or it doesn't work in extreme cases like this. 

3) Don't go on autopilot

I've experienced a few teacher's doing this. They don't seem to care whether we listen or not, they just go into some sort of zombie bubble and act out the lesson like the class isn't there. Class participation is almost none-existent and you get the feeling that they're all secretly an automaton with settings on autopilot mode. These are teacher's who probably have stressful lives or are bored with their occupation and just want to get the lesson over and done with. Or maybe they just can't cope with the early 8am start? Either way it isn't exactly the best way to engage your students, as in these type of lessons all we have to do is write down a few key words in our books for later and go to sleep. Sure our eyes might be open but when the teacher clearly doesn't give a f*ck then you struggle with having one. Bear in mind these teacher's do their job adequately well, as long as you revise you should get a decent mark, but other than the marks there is very little motivation on either side. 

4) Keep things running, have lot's of class interaction

Protip future me: it's good to pace your lessons and make everything run along smoothly like a well oiled machine. Some of my teachers spend half an hour waiting for the class to finish an exercise that we had completed in the first ten minutes. That's a lot of dead time and you start to fall asleep (especially if it's late in the day), so try to reduce that. You can get a lot of things done in that 55 minute time frame. To keep us wide awake is to increase the level of interaction and randomly pick one of us to answer a question. You can be damn sure we'll stay awake then, just in case we'll be caught out by the eagle-eyed teacher and make a mockery of ourselves trying to answer a basic question because we weren't paying attention. Ideally you should try to have everyone in the class participate at least once every lesson, that way everyone will be alert and on their game, enabling more efficiency.

Pictured: the ideal classroom. Not pictured: REALITY.

5) BE ORGANISED

Is it really so hard to get your sh*t together beforehand? Teachers are supposed to plan lessons out and have some sort of structure right? My current German teacher walks into class like she's all of a sudden inherited a severe case of amnesia and we are the ones doing the explaining to her about what happened last time because lord knows she doesn't know! Lessons feel haphazardly put together, and she ALWAYS forgets our names. IN EVERY. SINGLE. LESSON. I've lost count the amount of times I've been called Tom! This isn't a good start and it demonstrates a lack of professionalism. I mean sure these sort of things can happen but EVERY. SINGLE. TIME?! *SIGH* Just make sure you know what you're doing, okay? Keep tabs on your schedule, plan your lessons out beforehand. GET ALL THAT CRAP IN LINE.

6) Rushing lessons to meet deadlines is not a good thing

Due to the frequent holidays, days off and the usual winter sickness in France it's not uncommon for teachers to have numerous set backs during the year, to the point where it's impossible to cover the entire programme in the designated time frame. This often leads to teachers rushing trying to meet the deadline, which is bad for subjects like Maths and Science, for example. These lessons require a certain amount of time for a few of the more mind-boggling notions to sink in. Trying to cram everything and the kitchen into one lesson is not the best tactic, even if it is understandable. I'd say cut your losses and just try to do the best with what you've been given, it's better to cover a few things well than covering everything with diminishing returns. 

7) Make sure we know what to expect from a test

A lot of teachers do this: they say we'll have a test next week but be incredibly vague about just what this test will contain, or the day it'll take place. 'It might be a bit of this...' they'll say, 'maybe a bit from that last chapter we did...' MIGHT is the big word here, as they haven't actually wrote the test yet and are being purposefully vague so as to not trap themselves in a corner. Look, can you at least give us SOME direction as to where to start revising? It's annoying to spend half the time revising for something that's not going to be in the test. I mean could you at least give us a hint as to what the subject is about?   

8) Embrace technology

Back in June we watched an old German VHS on a T.V monitor that was practically black and white with the worst static droning imaginable. I'm not asking for ipad's to be handed out or anything, but can we at least get out of the stone age when it comes to teachers presenting media at schools? Why couldn't the teacher have just shown us a video on Youtube anyway? Apparently our Teacher has never heard of Youtube before, or Facebook. HOW CAN SOMEONE BE ALIVE IN 2014 AND NOT KNOW WHAT A 'YOUTUBE' IS? Quite a few of my older teacher's have been painfully inexperienced with technology, I mean basic things like switching on a computer and playing a DVD take ages for them to set-up. It could just be the computers, but watching a VHS? Get with the times oldie. 

ipad? WHAT IS THIS WITCHCRAFT?!

9) 'Why aren't you doing it my way?'

Okay this one really get's up my spine. It's nitpicky, but there are certain teachers out there who refuse to believe there is more than one way to do anything. It's little things like 'ALWAYS underline the titles in red' 'ONLY write in blue' or 'Make sure you write it EXACTLY like I worded it'. Back in College I had one teacher that insisted we had to get out a new sheet of paper for every new page of the test, rather than turning it over. Because heaven forbid he had to turn over the page! I also knew a guy in my class who somehow during Maths managed to get the same results but using a different formula than the one the teacher had outlined on the white board. The teacher insisted he rub everything out and start again using the formula he outlined. God help the poor sod who tries something different! Every student has different methods of writing down notes and planning exercises, so let them do their thing. Sure to you it may look like a labyrinth of intertwining words dotted around the page but to the student it's just the way he does things. Trust us to do the thing that's best for us basically.  

10) On a micro level make sure every pupil understands

Trying to teach a crowded class of thirty and making sure everyone understands is hard, our education system would greatly improve if we focused on smaller classes. I don't need to tell you this, but *SHRUGS* that's how it is. Smaller classes means the teacher can devote more time to each individual student, essential for lessons like Maths or Science that people often struggle with. My old Maths teacher used to go around the class scanning everyone's work and when she saw one of us had got an exercise wrong she stayed with that person until they understood. That's great because you're getting help on a semi-regular basis and you don't even have to put your hand up. You want to know the main reason why we don't put our hands up when we need help? Nobody else is doing it so we're CLEARLY the only one with difficulty understanding something. You wouldn't want to look like a idiot in front of the class do you? Of course the reality is that EVERBODY is struggling to get to grips with a new maths formula, but none of them want to put their hand up and look stupid in front of the class so they keep quiet. Being thorough with your students is always welcome then. Yes there's no way in hell you can devote enough time in a lesson to everyone, so there will have to be a lot strategic planning on that front. You would need to a) identify the kids most in need, and sort them out from the whiz-kids, b) allocate spare time in the lesson to help these kids, c) concentrate on a few at a time and d) make sure you keep the lesson moving during all of this. It's going to be tough, but you'll just have to be logistical about it.

Counting down...

11) Give us a full week to prepare for tests

Make sure you warn your students ahead of time when the next test will be, ideally a week in advance. Knowing a week beforehand will give us time to prepare and ensure a level of quality when it comes to revision. I know some teachers who leave it to the last possible second, which always means you're rushing to meet a deadline. Most of my revision for this year has been done on 'free hours', hours in the day where we have no scheduled lessons and can basically do whatever the hell we want. Seen as they come after the 1h15m lunch break on Monday, Tuesday and Friday there's a good 2h in the middle of those three days to focus on studying. I know the moment I get home after school I'm not going to be in the mood to revise for anything so practically all my homework is being done inside these three hour breaks. Announcing a test the week beforehand could potentially give me around 6h to revise then, time to become one with the subject matter if you will. Thankfully late in the week test's aren't often the case but it's still something to remember if you want to ensure your class gets a good grade (assuming everyone if your class will use the extra time to revise more...).  

12) Have consideration for our workload on other subjects.

This one is linked to announcing test's in advance, it's mainly to do with workload. I know it's difficult to comprehend, but we have A LOT of other subjects, not just your one. And LOTS of other subjects means LOTS more homework, tests and just general busywork outside of school hours. So when several teachers seemingly conspire against us and put several tests on the same day that can be....kind of stressful for us. Not to mention difficult, as revising for three tests at a time is bound to result in problems during the exam. I for example can only keep one test in my head at any one time for fear that my brain will explode in pink mush. Teacher's don't do this on purpose of course, they simply don't look at our test schedule and act as if their lesson is the only one that exists. Giving us a pile of homework everyday isn't funny when you have several other piles lining up behind you, it can get irritating. Consider our workload, please.

13) Mix things up

Doing the same old thing day in day out can get tiresome for some people, so why not shake things up a bit? Granted your options are limited in the classroom but instead of doing a page of grammar exercises everyday how about showing us a few videos or make us play an educational interactive game on the computer? If the goal is to make the class learn English how about showing a film they'll like with subtitles on? Because let's be honest here: we'll only ever learn something if we want to learn it, whether that's to get good marks for a test i.e out of necessity or because we like whatever it is we're learning. I can name every episode of 'Doctor Who' because I love the show and I didn't have to study hard to learn them off by heart, they just come to me naturally. Students liking the lesson is paramount to getting them to liking the subject, and if you can do that then half the work's done. It's like the secret sauce of teaching.

14) Don't spam exercises

I had this French teacher once who for two hours every week just gave us a truckload of exercises to complete during the two hour, back-to-back lesson. While she was busy doing stuff on the computer we had to fill in ad nauseum the same copy/paste questions again AND again AND again. They weren't even imaginative, some exercises where clearly the same as before just with the words changed! It was pure paperwork to pass the time, plain and simple. Any teacher who just spam's the exercise button constantly deserves their spot in hell...in my humble opinion.

Putting spam in the trash, if only it were this simple.

15) Explain to us WHY it's important we know this stuff

Lesson's can lack context at times. For example why did I spend four hours in Lycee learning about how frogs reproduce in severe detail? What is the point of all this? Telling us the reason for why we are stuck in a classroom to endure five hours of French every week could do wonders for our outside-starved minds. Or better yet, tell us why we should be interested in what you're teaching. Just give everything a purpose rather than having it seem like mindless filler to fill up a school week. PS: it being 'part of the program' doesn't work as a feasible excuse. 

16) Don't assume we know everything, we don't.

Every time I come back from the Summer holidays I can't remember a bloody thing about what went on before it. Vague memories perhaps, but most of the notion I had spent hours revising for were completely absent from my long term memory. Teachers tend to file the past year under 'been there, done that' though and presume you have retained everything about the previous year. Well here's the memo: WE DON'T. Long, protracted holidays are the equivalent of mind-bleaching your brain and we'll ideally need a few weeks of catching-up before we start new territory. In Maths this can be a pain, as all of the new is at least partly based on the old. Treat the first few weeks as a crash course then on the previous year, it should come back to us after a while. Just make sure you don't skip over something vital because you're under the assumption we retained that knowledge from the previous school year. BECAUSE WE DON'T.  

This is us after the Summer holidays.

17) Don't be late for exams!

So let's say I have an exam that lasts one hour...except it doesn't. The teacher's are about eight minutes late (probably coming from another lesson, needed to finish their lunch...), and once everyone has settled down and got the necessary materiel out of their bags we're down another six minutes. Suddenly an exam that at a fairly quick pace is finish-able in an hour now has to be done in 46 minutes! Do you know how frustrating that is? Those fifteen minutes are crucial in a test, and could literally be the difference between life and death. You have little time to think about the questions at hand, and generally have to rush just to finish the test. So as a last piece of advice to future me, I'd say to always try to be early to a test AND plan your tests in a way that would take into account the necessary delay of about ten minutes give or take. 

So will the 'future' me take into account everything I've put on this list? I sure hope he does, but if not then I want a f*cking explanation as to why he committed one of these cardinal sins of teaching!