So, here’s a scenario that’s been playing out in my mind lately, and it’s got me seriously worried. Picture this: it’s 1:00 AM, and instead of being curled up in bed, dreaming sweet dreams of finally getting a break, teachers are wide awake, hunched over their laptops, shopping for resources on Teachers Pay Teachers (TPT). Not just a few teachers—a lot of them.

What in the world is going on? Because, while it feels awesome to wake up in the morning to a dashboard full of sales, something seems a little messed up here.

I’ll tell you what’s going on. Teachers are stressed out. They’re overwhelmed, and they’re desperately trying to catch up on work they didn’t have time for during the day. Because let’s be honest, when are we supposed to do all the planning, prepping, and resource-hunting that our jobs demand? During the school day? Yeah, right.

I’ve got one colleague in my department. 12 years of teaching. Worked at an inner city school, a rural school, and now here in the burbs. She REGULARLY stays in the building past 7:00 at night. She’s not coaching or sponsoring. She’s trying to plan…and growing increasingly agitated about it. The other night, she was IN THE BUILDING at 1:00am. Our contract day starts at 7:20AM. I was like, “WTF????” Because I can give her free access to my entire product catalog. I can meet with her for an hour every other Thursday during PLC. But she needs more help than that. She needs TIME—daily time–to work with other teachers, and she needs that time NOT to be between the hours of 7PM and 1AM.

Here’s the reality: most of us don’t have enough time to plan effectively during our workday. Sure, we get a planning period, but let’s be real—how much of that time is actually spent planning? Between meetings, covering for absent colleagues, putting out fires (sometimes literally), and managing the never-ending to-do list, there’s hardly any time left to, you know, actually plan lessons.

So what do we do? We push it off until later. We tell ourselves, “I’ll just take care of it tonight.” And before we know it, it’s midnight, and we’re still scrolling through TPT, bleary-eyed, trying to find that perfect resource that’s going to save our sanity tomorrow.

But here’s the kicker: this midnight hustle is killing us. Not literally (I hope), but it’s definitely taking a toll. We need sleep, people. We need rest. We need time to unwind, relax, and just be human beings—not lesson-planning machines.

And let’s talk about the bigger issue here: why are we even in this position to begin with? Why aren’t we given enough time during our workday to plan, collaborate, and prepare without sacrificing our personal lives? Why is it that in a profession that’s all about supporting others, we’re so terrible at supporting ourselves?

It’s time to face facts: the way time is allocated in schools is broken. Teachers should have the time—real, meaningful time—during the school day to do their jobs well. That means planning, collaborating, and creating without having to stay up until the wee hours of the morning to get it done. Schools are giving lip service to planning, and in some cases are trying to make real improvements. In my district, they’ve set aside dedicated time on Thursday mornings for group collaboration. They’ve added more PD days. And that’s…nice. But, when a colleague is struggling, an hour every other week and 6-ish hours every quarter isn’t going to provide the ongoing support she needs to feel secure and confident teaching her class. As Taylor Swift so eloquently sang: “Band-aids don’t fix bullet holes.”

So, to all my fellow night owls out there, I see you. I get it. But I also want to remind you that it’s okay to close the laptop, turn off the lights, and get some rest. Hell, take that Ambien; go for it. You know your doctor tried to give you a prescription. You deserve it. And more importantly, you need it. Because at the end of the day, a well-rested teacher is a better teacher. Let’s stop glorifying the midnight hustle and start advocating for the time we need during the day to do our jobs right—without sacrificing our health.

Now go get some sleep.

Tags:

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