Country Roads

This week is National Nurse and Teacher appreciation Week! Both these careers are extra special ones and deserve our thanks and appreciation.

It’s my opinion it takes a special and caring person to fill a nurse’s shoes. Through the years, I have had to have help from many trained and dedicated nurses and I’m sure everyone feels the same way. Many hours of schooling and working in the clinics and hospitals, takes a strong person. Having to go into the hospital’s emergency section after a car accident, three broken bones, and with COVID treatment, those nurses were right there doing all that was needed to be done. Surgeries are included in my medical history and though I didn’t get to visit with the nurses there, I felt like I was well taken care of. Then with my recent struggle with an illness, the nurses were there doing the needed treatments, offering positive thoughts and giving encouragement. Every nurse should receive an award.

Then there are the dedicated teachers. I have a granddaughter now serving as an elementary teacher. She said she felt the calling and enjoys working with the children. I’m sure there are the rewarding days, and days most teachers wonder why they are in the classrooms. Most teachers put in extra working hours and some use their own funds to get needed classroom materials. They care for the students and often encourage and push the students to do their best. I remember most of my teachers through the years. There were the teachers in the one room schoolhouses that had the duties of teaching students from the first grade through the 8th grade all in the same classroom, along with teaching all the courses from math, science, reading, history, spelling, writing and art. Those one room schoolhouse teachers had to arrive early and fire up the stoves, sweep and clean the chalkboards as there were no custodians on duty and there were no teacher lounges where they could have free time.

My country school teachers I remember the most are Mrs. Lippy, Mrs. Montgomery, Mrs. Fitz and Mrs. O’Hara. I’m sure there were other great ones I missed naming. In high school, at good ole Burr Oak High School, some of my memorable teachers were Mr. and Mrs. Hafner, Mrs. Jeffery, Mr. Quiring, Mrs. Mullins, Mr. Peters and Mr. Schmitt. Again, I probably left some of the good ones off my list. They were firm and most were strict in their teaching but I learned under their guidance. Every teacher deserves an award.

Of course, I could not forget the piano, gym and dance teachers, and sports coaches who taught students their skills and talents. Often pushing the students to do their best. We owe those teachers a lot also.