We have normalized fatigue as simply part of the school year. The costs of fatigue are real and they impact educator retention, the quality of instruction, and it impacts students directly. We need to stop normalizing exhaustion and start building systems that preserve educator energy. We need to be open and honest about the challenge and take action now.

The class of 2026 is walking into a world that is moving faster than any graduation speech will acknowledge. Is it possible that what that diploma represents is depreciating in value. Not because students are less capable. Because the system is measuring things that are losing value.