I’m not a teacher, I’m a nurse. But I never could have become a nurse without my teachers.
What if I came to work but I had to bring bandaids and supply IV kits from home? What if I had to bring bedpans with me and foley kits? What if my own funds had to supply the resources I needed to help my patients become successful? And what would happen if I ran out of supplies and medications because not only am I underpaid but I also have a family of my own at home that I have to feed and have bills to pay? Do I just let my patients suffer?
That’s what they are expecting of our teachers. Them to pour thousands of their own dollars into creating a learning environment and having the tools to be successful.
What if I got paid based off if my patient’s actually took my discharge advice? I go over the discharge paperwork thoroughly with the patient, I try to relate the information to their lives as best I can, I give them ideas and I pack them with the tools they need to go home and be successful, but I still see the same people come in for the same thing all the time.
That’s what they are expecting from our teachers. Funding based off test scores. This only continues to keep low socioeconomic classes, low.
What if our funds cut our social workers, security officers, pharmacist, or case management just as you have cut music teachers, art teachers, counselors and school nurses! Members of the team that play a KEY role in the success of my patients and your students.
When I go home after a long shift, I get to decompress, relax and try to carry on about my day. When they go home from a long shift, they must prepare their lesson for the next day. They work at work and they work at home.
What about safety? If I’m in danger, I simply push a button on my phone and security and other staff are there within seconds. What are you doing for the safety of our teachers and our children? Besides doing away with school security officers, their first line of defense.
We get it, teachers.
We get it. We get being understaffed and having ratios that are overwhelming and workloads that seem unrealistic.
We understand that feeling of being spread a hundred different ways by your students as we do with my patients.
We get being frustrated, disrespected and talked to certain ways and having to maintain a professional approach.
On the other hand, we also get the joy it feels watching your student succeed as we do when our patient comes back thanking us for saving their lives.
We understand the pride of clocking into a job you actually enjoy when you put aside the burnout, ratios, numbers, and ever changing curriculums and policies.
Our teachers aren’t just fighting for better salaries (although, let’s be honest, have you ever heard of anyone complain of getting a better salary? I’d love a better salary for my hard work!). They are fighting for adequate supplies, classrooms that actually promote learning, resources like security and school nurses. They’re fighting to give these kids a chance to succeed and become productive members of our society. They’re fighting for something much larger than pencils, wages and respect by society. They are fighting for OUR FUTURE. Fighting for the little people of the world who will one day be taking our place, who will be our leaders. Why would we not invest in the future of our country?
We just want to let you know that we are thankful for you. And we stand by you. Because you shape the little nurses, little police officers, little teachers, artists, musicians, builders, and doctors of the future. And without you, there is no us.
So keep fighting for what you and our children deserve. We support you.
Love,
Your Nurses
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It has been said “a good teacher is like a candle that consume itself to light the path for other to come out of the darkness”
We as nurses teach patients to change their diet, to know the importance of adherence to their medications and to change their lifestyle to improve their own health.
Good Teachers in the world sacrifice themselves trying to change their student’s’ mind to improve the world
Awesome words!!!!
Thank you for connecting the heart that goes into teaching. Recently, when the media publishes the topics of salary.. others reacted so impulsively. Do the math on these numbers and you’ll see that all the negotiations from the past 10 years are below the rate of inflation yearly. Every teacher has taken a pay decrease knowing that it is in the best interest of the students to negotiate other terms that affect learning. The salary discussions this time are to maintain wages at the rate of inflation. As a teacher, I focus upon the environment for the students first. As a mom and wife in a family of 5, I wish more people to stop and think about the consideration of how the media and Government are spinning their side of the story.. the cost of living factor is an important consideration before making a judgment about wage negotiations from the news.
Teachers are wonderful and here is wishing more parents could actually see what is really going on within the school where your children are being taught.
Well Said!!
This is wonderful! From a fellow nurse, nicely written!
Without teachers there would be nothing!
Yes!!! A thousand times YES! Every profession is possible because of instruction & instructors.
A reminder to al. AT least 85 to 90% percent of juvenile delinquents are learning disabled and without their assistance in schools and tools to teach them how to read means those kids end up in prisons. And then they don’t help them to learn in prisons except the bad things so the circle of non learning life skills continues. DON’T CUT TEACHERS FOR GOD’S SAKE. Just think for a minute, what would you be if you didn’t have teachers to teach you when you were young? Not everyone is born with a brilliant mind and can figure things out on their own!!! Politicians should stop being so selfish only thinking forward to their next election. This does’t mean all politicians are like that but too many are. Would you like your own kids treated poorly in school? Answer honestly and do something about it for all kids in schools!!!
So true!!!!
On behalf of all teachers, both active and retired thank you.
In a society that continues to value our entertainment over our teachers, this was a refreshing viewpoint because nurses are undervalued as well. I realize that entertainment was never mentioned in this piece but come on!! It’s ENTERTAINMENT for gosh sakes! Teachers and Nurses save this world-let’s give them the resources and the salaries that they deserve.
I ,as a retired nurse of many years, applaud the nurse who wrote this fine piece!!!
He/she is right on the money when she says that our teachers made our careers possible!
God bless our teachers of today who have to be “all things to all people”.
May our Government “get this” and give them what they are asking for and deserve!!
A nurse did it write this.
Thank you to whomever wrote this and thank you to my wonderful RN ‘daughter’ for sharing it!!
Thank you! Your words of appreciation mean so much. You’ve brought me to tears 😭. It is such a hard thing to continually hear that you are “greedy”, “self-serving” and “holding children hostage”, when all we really want is a great place for children to learn and grow and become the best people they can be.
I appreciate you, not just for your kind words, but for what you do too. Each of us brings our own strengths to the world and I truly understand your strengths and what you Bring to your career too. We all need each other. ❤️
For a bit of turnaround….I’m a teacher of 20 years who just happens to have a couple of overlapping chronic diseases. On multiple occasions, nurses have collectively soothed my anxieties, brought levity to serious moments, kept me sane, and, of course, helped me heal. So, thank you! Without nurses, I could not be a teacher!
Thank you so much for your wise and kind words!! And thank you for the work you all do. We do appreciate you and understand the rediculous expectations to save a buck!
I spent 35 years of my life as a teacher in an economically challenged area. I could have transferred. I could have chosen another career. I didn’t. I spent time and money educating, nurturing and feeding my students. I took money that could have been used for my own children and purchased school supplies, food, resources and even provided weekly grocery money to students living in shelters. And I would do it again! And all of the people that I have worked with would do the same. Fighting the government for the basics necessary to carve out decent instruction for our students is something teachers have always done. The government’s reaction to our demands for justice for our students goes back decades. When it comes to balancing a budget, teachers have always borne the brunt. This strike and any other strike in the history of education has never been about an increase in pay – it’s always been advocacy for the most vulnerable in our society. As a tax payer, that’s where I want my money to go – a institution that strives every day to make the future brighter! Like the nurses, teachers have also been inspired by teachers to pursue teaching! I am proud to have worked with former students who pursed teaching and have contributed in countless ways to their schools – many of those students came back to their communities to give back!! Teachers, like nurses, see their “jobs” as a vocation not a paycheque! . Cutting resources to the education system will guarantee less inspiration for future generations. Perhaps politicians need to adopt the same philosophy and maybe they will base their cuts on justice rather than decide the future of our students by removing the tools necessary for success!
Thank you for your support and understanding! You made an amazing comparison between those services in our society that are crucial – nursing and teaching. If you think about it, nurses are teachers and teachers often nurse!!
WOW! Well stated. This is a great comparison of professions!
This should be read to the education minister, Mr. Levi and Premier Ford over and over again until they get the picture.
Having witnessed this nurse work everyday for six months, I can tell you that she is speaking from the heart and really feels the pain being experienced by the teachers.
Very well written, thought off and emotionally accurate.
Congratulations for putting heart thoughts to paper.
from a fellow nurse who had many tremendous teachers along the way! Without them where would we be? It is unfortunate that we have an uneducated Premier himself who fails to see the value in education! Give the teachers what they so deserve!
Very nicely written, & thought provoking. I truly hope that it reaches those that are presently in Power, they need to have their thoughts provoked!
“”A reminder to al. AT least 85 to 90% percent of juvenile delinquents are learning disabled “”
NOT TRUE!!
You better get your facts straight…..perhaps some juvenile delinquents require good & compassionate teachers, better parental encouragement and to increase their learning skills. The education system does not teach how to become a juvenile delinquent however; lack of teachers and parents and community support may turn out children that do not accomplish things in their life. Very sad that you are so biased and not open to show support to individuals in school and in your community. Here’s hoping you can also learn something new in your life at this time…..
Beautifully said .. thanks nurses your important too…
Thank you!❤️
Thank you so much for writing this! I depend on nurses right now for my very life! And I am a teacher….This made me feel like what I did, and hope to still do, makes a difference!
All I can say is thank you.
I don’t know what we would have done if it hadnt been for the school nurses and the volunteer M.D.s that were there to help our students coming froma poor economical class population. One Dr. Said he had NEVER seen a child so in need of medical and dental intervention. And,wh e n they ask me, why are you a Democrat, all I can think to say is “because I have HEART!”