One of the “entertaining” challenges of being a teacher for me at this stage in my life is teaching when I’m really tired. I probably got five hours of sleep last night…not consecutively. The strange thing is that I’m usually able to rally throughout the day. Things start falling apart after school.
The energy of students is a magical thing. It can sustain and reenergize. It’s a reminder of purpose that provides clarity through the haze of fatigue. This is why doing work when students aren’t in the building or during summer break always seems to go slower than work done when school is session. Things just snap together and start grooving faster and easier when I feel the spirit of my students.
It’s undeniable that teaching without being fully rested effects practice. However, in general I find that the changes and adjustment I make are not detrimental to the students’ experience with me in the classroom. One of the strange things my students have noticed when I am teaching on days that I get very loud, or “screamy” when I give directions and instruct. My students aren’t worried that I’m angry, they are just surprised at how loud I am.
The other thing that is interesting when I’m teaching while fatigued is that I don’t take myself as seriously. I find that any tendency to be overly picky about student behavior disappears as I lean into the fun and energy of the class. It’s weird, the students actually don’t behave worse in these situations. Maybe they are just confused/baffled at my apparent silliness, but they usually just go along with things.
Then there are the moments before or after class, or in the hallway when a student looks sees through the façade and notices that I’m tired. Sometimes it’s a younger student or an older one. Regardless, I’m touched when they ask. Most of my students don’t really look at me a full human being. I’m their teacher. It’s why they get so weirded out when they see me outside of the school building. Student shouldn’t think about me my well-being beyond a level of teacher-student respect. So I’m not surprised that most don’t look beyond my act as teacher to think about how I’m doing.
Empathy is a muscle and some students have exercised that muscle more than others, and for those kids, they notice. When they ask, I’m touched, and I’m usually honest about why I’m tired.
Life and work can’t be pulled apart. You have to learn how to make things work. The reservoir that grows when you become a parent also grows in your teaching. You learn how to work smarter, not harder.
Working with less sleep is not idea, but it pushes you to focus on what really matters in the classroom. Sometimes we over-complicate teaching. Lack of sleep keeps this from happening, because you don't have the energy to overthink. Right now, that's not such a bad thing in my life and in my teaching.
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