Back then, I used to think that being a teacher was considered one of the easiest professions. Once I looked into the eyes of teachers after introducing the new system, I wished I hadn’t thought that way. Being a teacher is more challenging than I believed.

Seeing the new trimester system crossed my mind, making me wonder about how I could handle both academics and personal life. When I entered the first day of school, my teacher introduced our class to that system. Now I understand the pattern: the education department really likes to implement rapid changes to the education system. One curriculum after another, I questioned myself: If the department likes to change the system for students, why can’t they realize that teachers also have to rush through another curriculum, even though they are still mastering the previous one?

Then I discovered the truth—most teachers' time is spent on their profession. Being a teacher means working 24/7 without pause. Instead of the usual good 6 a.m. mornings, their mornings are filled with endless lesson plans, reports, and additional workload after just completing previous requirements. From 8 p.m. onwards, they endure the night in silence, with their only source of light being an overheated laptop with a dozen open tabs of presentations, slowly watching the clock strike midnight; they sacrifice their precious time for proper rest. Even so, they wake up between 2–4 a.m. to finish and prepare lessons and presentations. A week is already consumed by work, leaving no room for personal life, just a stack of workload.

Every time our teachers enter our classroom, the first thing I notice is their eyes while they teach. One glance is enough to see—they lack sleep. At every teacher’s desk, paperwork is everywhere. Once, my teacher had to interrupt our discussion just to finish paperwork and assigned us additional tasks. No wonder my teacher’s desk was filled with stacks of unfinished work. My teacher seemed like she just wanted to sit in that chair, put on headphones, and encode papers from her laptop. I guessed that 24 hours in a day is never enough for teachers; they consider wasting time on one thing to finish everything—rest.

I remember my teacher told us that rest is utterly necessary when preparing for class. This is indeed true. Thinking about it, they always remind us that although they go to bed near midnight and wake up early, the word “rest” is wiped from their minds when they are active at work. The truth is, their minds are always active because of work. “Rest” has vanished from their life. They know they are tired from working, but it seems like paperwork will always be waiting if it hasn’t been touched.

However, I realized that teachers go beyond their profession. They are no longer just teachers in my eyes; they are those who sacrifice their time and sleep to give us opportunities to learn. At first, teachers may not seem exhausted from their work. Yet, a look in their eyes, the stacks of work on their desks, and their long working hours reveal the harsh reality: they are already tired. Despite their energy seeming constant each day, it is the countless hours of work that drain them by the end of the day.

Sometimes, we need to look behind the curtains at teachers’ lives. For students, it’s important to learn that showing kindness—such as offering a polite greeting or maintaining a quiet, well-managed classroom—can significantly ease a teacher’s burden. Teachers are already exhausted from their heavy workload, so even simply listening attentively can reduce unnecessary stress in the classroom.

From now on, I know that teachers work in a 24/7 environment. After all, teachers deserve more time to live outside their profession. Not everyone can master one thing in a single sitting, nor can they rush through learning a curriculum while leaving other curricula stacked on papers or tucked away in files.

The Frontman