Perhaps I'm missing something but I just read this on some news site but similar articles are all over the news:
Quote"Some state governments and local school boards have made the decision to send stimulus money to teachers as a thank you for the efforts they made during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many teachers risked exposure by offering in-person instruction, while many others had to scramble to transition to online coursework during an unprecedented global public health crisis".
And this is the email I just sent to Governor Abbott and Senator Ted Cruz:
QuoteI am horrified the State of Texas is sending $1000 stimulus checks to teachers. For what? They sat in the safety and security of their homes most of the past school year, teaching from computers. Where is the extra stimulus for the nurses and other healthcare providers who literally put their lives on the line each and every day as they cared for people in hospitals, in their homes. Not only were they at severe and much greater risk than teachers - they also risked the lives of their family members each time they completed a shift and walked through their front door. Their spouses, children, elderly relatives..
Also, speaking of elderly, where is THEIR stimulus check. Are you aware housing (where they are going to live) is the greatest concern of seniors? How are they going to buy groceries? Pay for life-saving medications?
And yes? I am a retired senior nurse. I'm OK. I can afford my rent, my food; however, I worked with low income seniors for the past 3-4 years. Many are homeless.
So explain to me why hundreds of thousands of dollars are going to teachers while you leave out those that saved the lives of those teachers? And many seniors that made this country what it is?
This plan is abhorrent. I'm ashamed of my Texas government.
What am I missing here? I didn't even have room to talk about the nightmare of working in those many layers of PPE, having difficulty breathing through the masks, sweating from all the layers of protective gowns/caps...so many things...for 12-14+ hours...helpless while people are dying before your eyes...not having a family member with them. And what about all the HCP's that had to go to work (including unit sec, CNA's, ancillary people) and leave their kids at home to try to get computer educated???
OK...this is the reason I normally do NOT listen to the news - not good for an old persons B/P. I'm livid for my peers.
2 hours ago, rileybitera said:I thought this was a nursing community. Why is everyone so quick to oppose this opinion? Just for arguments sake? Or are you not really nurses. Honestly. We don’t get treated right no matter what and it’s exhausting. There’s going to be less and less of us. Hope none of you get sick.
Just because we are nurses it does mean we throw other workers under the bus.
I quit my school nurse job partly because I was getting paid a teachers salary, which was at least $20k less than what I would make outside a school. Teachers are as qualified or much more qualified than nurses and licensed and don't get paid for Summer. They spend out of pocket to educate our kids.
Teachers working in inner city schools also pool money to buy their students shoes, blankets and food. Routinely. They deserve much more.
The hospital, one year after COVID is one of the safest places to be because everyone is trained and aware. The school is not.
On 8/17/2021 at 12:04 AM, summertx said:What does that matter if it's poor and rural? I don't even think like that. I love where I live. School buses still pick up children even if they live out on a farm. I'd rather live at a friendly place than a cold, unfriendly city.
School buses pick up children to take them to homeschool?
Now that is very little critical thinking by a nurse.
On 8/20/2021 at 8:28 PM, SmilingBluEyes said:So anyone else wish to opine whether or not teachers deserve stimulus money?
I am on the fence myself. I think they take great risk these days being teachers but not specific to COVID.
Nurses take great risks too.
So do we deserve a similar bonus?
Nobody deserves stimulus money. There isn’t more money to be printed.
Many interesting thoughts and comments on this thread and some totally off course - as to be expected.
Everyone has an opinion and I respect all opinions. For myself, I'm mystified (irritated, befuddled, confounded) why teachers would receive stimulus payments while HCP's do not. I appreciate educators. After all, we nurses were all educated by educators. But no matter how you slice it, IMO, school teachers were not in the "thick of things" during this past year. Nurses, doctors, CNA's, ward clerks and all the other ancillary staff including housekeepers/dietary workers were tossed into the burning building to try to save lives - risking their own (and potentially their family members) with each shift.
Yes. Teachers had it hard, I'm sure, but they did not have to go into that burning building each day. They were able to sit at home behind the safety and security of their computer screens doing their best to teach in foreign waters. I didn't either. I had a relatively safe job where I could work my part time hours and not feel terribly threatened with the risk of contracting Covid. And I certainly didn't have to work short-handed and/or watch people die on my shift. I didn't have to confront family members who were not allowed to see their loved ones in their last days. I wasn't terrified of walking into my home in my scrubs (as many of my HCP friends were) and infecting at-risk family members
As for teachers using their own money to buy supplies? That doesn't elicit much sympathy from me. As long as they continue to do so the school boards/PTA's will allow them to. Why not? Saves them money/increases bonuses. And really, do kids really "NEED" all those fancy supplies to learn? Many of us got through school with pencils, paper and an 8 pack of Crayolas. Keep in mind, tho', nurses buy their own uniforms (teachers clothes can be worn anywhere), stethescopes, nursing shoes, pen lights...many never get any type of break or lunch break. The list could go on. As a rule, we are paid well (now) but every nurse I know earns every penny. Nurses work holidays and weekends when others are watching their kids play sports or open gifts. And from what I understand in my area, teachers can opt to have their annual salary dispersed over 12 months or the actual school year.
Perhaps not ALL HCP's are deserving of an extra stimulus. Personally, I'm not. As said, I was safe and secure throughout the trying times. Not so for many of my peers. Now would I want to teach?!? Oh (fill in the blank) no! But most of those teachers don't want to work as a nurse, either.
Many of us aren't "fighting" but merely expressing an opinion. If we all had the same opinions we would be nothing more than clones. That said, I will always support those in my chosen profession and if additional stimulus money is to be distributed, I would like to see my fellow HCP's receive their share of that distribution.
feelix, RN
393 Posts
This line of thought is vicious and small minded. Of course teachers are front line workers because they are exposed to the raw pathogens carried in the snot and cough of our children within an enclosed space. Teachers have not been sitting at home twiddling their thumbs. They have been overworked and stressed out in a different way during lockdown and now physically exposed during the opening.
They are more essential than nurses or doctors because there will be no nurses or doctors if there were no teachers.
It does not help to pit one at risk community against another.