Working Nights

School starts next week and today marked the beginning of staff meetings, lesson planning, and laying out a classroom. Last night marked the first night shift. No, I wasn't at the school last night, but at 2:00 am, my brain was definitely on the clock. Already, I was considering how best to accommodate a student with a disability that I haven't even met yet. Already, I was considering who I should pair up as table partners and what supplies I still need. I was brainstorming first-week activities and what topics/articles I should use to teach each strategy. By 2:30, I knew I had to just give in, sit up, and open my computer to jot down notes. I wrote an agenda for a meeting today as well as personal to-do list before I could relax enough to fall asleep.

And tonight, I'll probably reflect on exactly what I did or didn't get done/do well today. The cycle repeats. A teacher's job is never done. Honestly, the next few weeks should be a breeze. I have completed my two awful summer grad classes. I am done working at Haymarket Park for the season. I have more resources than I ever have going into a school year. I'm not doing the after-school program anymore. Teaching, however, always affects me like this, no matter how "caught up" I am. It isn't a part-time job in which I forget the whole process and the customers as soon as I walk out. It isn't a class that has a final grade. It is a process that is always changing based on your students and curriculum and the learning you do as a teacher. Even when a day at school goes well, I know it could have gone better.  I know that I should find ways to relax and should stop thinking so much. But I also know that just isn't going to happen. As long as I'm a teacher, I'll be pulling night shifts. However, I am confident that the thought and care I put in does matter to my kids, so I guess the long hours are worth it.