I Used to Be in Special Ed. Now I Teach PhDs.

One of the hardest things I’ve learned as a professor is this:most people don’t “get it” on the first try.And that’s not because they aren’t smart.It’s because we all learn differently.When I was a kid, I was in special education until grade six.I struggled to read.Phonics saved me.Slowly. Painfully.But here’s the strange thing—as I grew older, I started to see things quickly.I could understand patterns, solve equations, and connect ideas…but I couldn’t explain how I did it.That made me a terrible teacher at first.I assumed my students would just “get it.”They didn’t.So I learned to slow down.To repeat.To explain.To stop pretending speed equals intelligence.After years of teaching, here’s what I know:People don’t need more information.They need more patience.If you want to teach—really teach—slow it down.Simplify.And meet people where they are.That’s where real learning starts.⸻Takeaways: 1. Speed hides understanding. 2. Teaching is 90% empathy, 10% explanation. 3. We don’t need to “work harder”—we need to slow down. 4. Everyone learns at a different pace. 5. Slowing down isn’t weakness. It’s mastery.