Bedtime Stories

In the Earnshaw household, there are two camps when it comes to sleeping, heavy and light. First, my son and I are in the heavyweight division. Once our heads hit the pillow, eyelids close, we’re in a mini-hibernation until the morning hours appear. We don’t need much sleep, both of us are always the first two up in the house, but that may be because throughout the night we don’t wake. My wife and daughter, on the other hand, they’re in the light division. They fall asleep fast, but any little creak, whisper, or slight breeze electrifies their eyelids open! Unfortunately for me, I endure a lot of shakes, yells, and yes, even punches, to wake me before my natural biorhythm clock would allow. 

Now I know what you’re thinking, are you really complaining that your poor wife and daughter wake you when they’re scared at night? C’mon, I’m not that bad of a husband and father, so yes, yes I am complaining that I am awoken by their fears. Oh stop it, you know you would be too. 

Now it’s my time to redeem myself. Many nights I do get up and sleepily stumble throughout our house, checking every door and window to make sure they’re locked. I check the basement, both the finished living area and the spooky unfinished part that still has ceiling lights that come to life via a string. I check closets, underneath beds, and even behind shower curtains. I’ve learned throughout the years that they know, somehow, they just know if I lie and tell them I’ve searched everywhere. Now, I check everything and everywhere. After that, they are back to sleep and all is quiet again. 

There are some nights though, that instead of rising from my bed like a zombie taking their first steps, I ascend my head a few inches off my pillow, make sure my good ear is facing the doorway, and listen. I then tell them in my best Tom Waits voice that everything is fine, just go back to bed. And I do. 

The morning after these nights are always a hoot. My wife or daughter, or both, do the shuffle into the kitchen that I should have done a few hours earlier when they were scared. I’ll always ask, “How’d you sleep?” 10/10 times on these mornings I’m told, “Not good. I was scared, you should’ve checked for us!”

Now, why am I telling you this? Do you care about what happens during the moonlit hours at our home? My guess is no, but let me explain why, if you’re an educator, you’ll want to. 

Those nights that I don’t check things out, I’m not helping my wife or daughter. I’m just moving on with my plans of getting 5 to 6 hours of sleep, and I get it sans the 2 minutes I said everything was fine. What about them? Do they get the same quality sleep they deserve? Nope. They are up, tossing and turning, listening for whatever originally awoke them, and many more sounds! 

Education is the same. Many times we reach all of our kids, checking on them, making sure they have complete comprehension of the material and concepts being taught before moving on. We do this because we know that education builds upon itself. If a student doesn’t have a grasp of the material, they will begin a spiral of being lost in lessons as the class progresses. This is why we have RTI tiered interventions, 504 plans, and IEPs. But do educators always ensure every kid has that understanding every time? Let’s be honest here, no, sometimes the world has turned and left someone there (who doesn’t love a classic Weezer reference?)

I’m guilty of it. I’ve done it as a teacher and yes, I’ve done it as a principal. Why? Because it’s easier. It’s easier to move on. It’s easier for us to stay comfortable and get to where we set our plans to go. It’s easier, but it isn’t fair. 

I became an educator to inspire others to know their strengths, own their weaknesses, not to fear asking others for help, believe in the power of collaboration, and be determined to change our world for the better. I made this my personal mission for every student, teacher, and individual I have the honor of serving. My mission will not be met if I don’t get out of bed for every single one of them. 

It’s our duty to propel every student along on their educational journey. There will be times it is hard, frustrating, and uncomfortable, many times for us. We can’t make that an excuse. We must help every child, every time. 

The next time my wife or daughter need me to scan the house while the rest of the world is sleeping, well, I will. I made a promise to protect them long before I joined hands in marriage and brought my beautiful daughter into this world. 

Oh, my son? He’s sleeping.