Nantucket Teachers Deserve A Fair Contract

To the editor: I have been a registered nurse for 27 years and a teacher for 5 years. I can honestly say teaching is harder. I have cared for patients in the ER after a trauma, women having postpartum hemorrhages in maternity, and infants requiring resuscitation. Teaching is harder.

I’m not saying being a nurse is easy but imagine trying to keep 20 to 30 students with different learning styles engaged and on task. Then add a few IEP’s and language barriers. Throw in a pandemic. It’s hard, yet our Nantucket teachers do this daily. Teachers also care for students’ emotional needs. Some students experience food insecurity, witness domestic violence, or have been the targets of cyberbullying. Teachers provide daily support for our students and for some are the only trusted adult in their lives.

When I clock out from a nursing shift I can’t physically take work home with me. I cannot take medical records home and chart. When I clock out my time off is my own. As a teacher, my time at home is often spent planning lessons and grading assignments. I’ve said to my husband that teaching is five times the amount of work for half the pay. “Then why do it?” he asks… because I love it.

Teachers do so much for our Nantucket children. Please pay them what they are worth. Fair Contract Now.

Jessica Douglas
Mom of two Nantucket students