Teaching in our modern world, there are a lot of things for an educator to take into consideration when planning for the next day’s work:  Differentiation, classroom culture, aligned curriculum (vertical and horizontal), essential questions, data team strategy fidelity, growth mindset, student relationship dynamics, weather, moon phases ... anything you could possibly imagine can and will have a direct or indirect impact on our lessons. To say the least, this can lead to quite a bit of “middle of the night” anxiety. Luckily, we all have an inner administrator to constantly remind us of each and every potential flaw and worry, keeping us on track and crawling to the coffee machine each morning!

Your Inner Administrator knows that group dynamics are essential to the classroom, and can never be over-considered.

But try not to second guess yourself TOO much...

Remember!  There should be a clear sense of immediacy in your class.

And there's always room for learning and professional growth.

As the years go by, some nights will be rough...but the sun also rises.

Hey! What's your most dramatic middle of the night "message" from your inner administrator? Consider it therapeutic to share in the comments below.

Written by Keith Lambert, Education World Contributor.

Lambert is an English/Language Arts teacher and teacher trainer in Connecticut.