A quote from one of my class syllabus:
If at any point in the semester you find yourself bewildered, it is fully incumbent upon you to seek clarification as we are unable to address your perplexity if we are unaware that you are, in fact, perplexed.
This is a 100 level history class; think she's trying to intimidate the freshmen?
I had my first class with her today and she seems nice enough in person, although slightly condescending.