having a nice dinner with friends–but after spending 4 hours planning after school. now don’t get me wrong, you know i love my school. i love my students. i love their families. i even received a phone call from one student tonight as i was getting ready to leave, and i told her i was still at school preparing for her classmates tomorrow. she was in shock. she had no idea that her teachers spent so much time to create a positive learning environment for them each day. like my student, many people also are unaware of the late nights and weekends teachers spend regularly in order to stay afloat 