Fall 2025 Counts as a Teaching Success

Last updated on December 19, 2025

The semester has ended. Grades have been recorded. It’s time to take a deep breath and assess how things went.

This assessment might seem odd to people who don’t follow The Autistic Me. Teaching tends to be the easiest part of my job. My challenges generally occur outside the classroom.

The Commute

Driving has always triggered me. My greatest struggle teaching at Texas A&M was the commute. The A&M main campus is 90 to 120 miles away, depending on the route taken — which was dictated by accidents, weather, and road construction. The drive was two to three hours during the morning and evening commutes. I spent five to six hours driving, leaving my mind and body in overload.

I loved the campus. I had many great students. But the commute was too much for me. I had to find another job, as soon as possible.

This year, I am teaching for a community college associated with Texas A&M. Twice a week, I drive 50 miles or so to one of the nearby communities to teach. The other two days, I work less than eight miles from our house. The better commutes have greatly improved my quality of life.

The Departments

Micromanagement causes stress. There’s nothing worse than being asked every day what you are doing and how things are going. If you hire experts, let the experts work with minimal disruptions.

I have two great, supportive department chairs. I teach English and communications courses. My supervisors trust me to file paperwork on time, comply with state mandates, and meet content requirements. It’s great to work in a setting that trusts faculty to do their jobs with minimal supervision. The supervisors check my syllabi, verify I’m completing the basic paperwork, but they don’t micromanage. They support faculty by trusting us.

The Students

I work with advanced students, those who qualify to take college courses while in high school. These are hardworking young people with impressive plans for the future. These are future doctors, lawyers, and engineers. They take learning seriously and are, with some exceptions, obsessed with earning high grades.

Many of my students choose to self-disclose their neurodiversity. They ask to use paper notebooks. They bring fidgets to class. A few sketch and doodle during class discussions. I’m thrilled that my children are part of a generation that isn’t ashamed or embarrassed by neurodiversity.

Students are rarely an issue when I teach. We have systems that fail to meet student needs, but you can rarely blame students for how they have been conditioned to behave in classrooms. Overall, I had similar experiences to those of most educators in 2025. Texas has limited phone use in K-12 classrooms, and more universities are asking students to avoid phone use. The students miss the phones this year, but they are adapting. Some still try to sneak some screen time during school, but they risk having devices confiscated by administrators.

Overall

I drive a lot less. I am empowered to focus on my classroom instead of bureaucratic paperwork. My students inspire me with their determination. This fall was a good experience. It was a success, and I’m looking forward to the spring semester.